Blog
Notes on pricing, property, weddings and small business numbers — the mistakes that cost money and the arithmetic behind them.
WeddingThe wedding costs nobody budgets for
Venue, catering and photography are the easy numbers. The ones that break a wedding budget are smaller, later, and mostly not on anyone's list.
- Airbnb & Short-Term Rentals
Why your Airbnb made money last year and not this one
Same flat, same rate, same occupancy, less profit. Usually it is not the market. It is the length of the average stay.
- Construction
The quote that loses money
A contractor can win the job, do the work well, get paid in full, and still lose money on it. Usually for one of four reasons.
Real Estate & LandlordsA good cap rate that loses money every month
Cap rate describes the building. Cash flow describes your month. A property can look healthy on one and be underwater on the other.
Small BusinessDiscounting to chase volume usually moves you further from break-even
A ten percent price cut does not need ten percent more sales to stay level. Depending on your margin it can need forty.
FreelancersThe freelance tax surprise is a cash flow problem, not a tax problem
Most freelancers who get caught out by a tax bill knew roughly what it would be. They just spent it first.
- Homestead & Chicken
What a flock record is actually for
Not compliance, and not sentiment. Written records mostly exist so you notice a pattern before it becomes obvious.
AI & ProductivityAI subscriptions add up quietly
Twenty dollars a month never feels like a decision. Eleven of them is a salary line, and most teams cannot list what they are paying for.
- Creators
Pricing a brand deal when you have no idea what to charge
Follower count is the worst input available and it is the one most creators use. Here is what to price from instead.
- Small Business
When a spreadsheet is the right answer and when it is not
Spreadsheets are better than software for more jobs than people admit, and worse for a few they keep trying to use them for.
FreelancersThe invoice that never gets chased
Freelancers write off unpaid work more often than they invoice for it. The habit that fixes this has nothing to do with being pushier.
ConstructionThe renovation budget that drifts the same way every time
Kitchens tend to land close to estimate. Bathrooms almost always run over. The pattern is worth more than a bigger contingency.
- Airbnb & Short-Term Rentals
The Airbnb tax form nobody warned you about
DAC7 means the platform now reports your rental income to the tax authority automatically. If your own numbers don't match, that mismatch is the audit trigger.
- Small Business
Why your business bank balance is not your net worth
A healthy bank balance and a healthy business are not the same fact. Owners who confuse them make decisions on the wrong number.
- Freelancers
The budget spreadsheet that survives a bad week
Most budget templates fail the same way: they need a good week to stay accurate, and one bad week breaks the habit for good. Here is what actually holds up.