Katey Maddux | The Grit and Grace Project

6 Steps to Prepare for a Potential Recession

By Katey Maddux / Work & Money, Life & Culture

No one wants to live in fear, but the reality is: what goes up, must come down. Growing up during “The Great Recession” in Detroit, the Motor City, I remember what it was like watching all my friends’ parents get laid off and their savings turned to nothing. The recession hit Detroit hard when all the car companies were getting bailed out by the government. Not-so-fun fact: if the government bails out a company, their stock price and 401ks are now worth $0. Multiply that by the over one million people in our city, and a decade later, Detroit was still in recovery. It became very clear to me how important it was to prepare one’s self for the most unforeseen circumstances. […]

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I Never Thought I’d Find Purpose in My Pain

By Katey Maddux / HerStory, Faith

I was still reeling from the shock and pain of breaking up with my boyfriend of 5+ years just minutes before. He was my first love, and I loved him with everything I had… I was sitting in the car with one of my best friends, “D and I are done. We have to go out tonight. I can’t think about this.” Going out in Austin, Texas typically means going to 6thstreet. A row of bars, clubs, and debauchery that goes on into the morning. I think this is where my shame stems from… I wanted to go out and get drunk. I wanted to forget. And not face the pain that I knew was coming. I got more than I asked for.

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What You Need to Know About Self-Employment Taxes

By Katey Maddux / Work & Money

I’m too small…I didn’t make that much…they won’t notice…Social Security will be gone by the time I get there anyway! Excuses. Good, possibly accurate ones, but excuses nonetheless. Self-employment taxes are annoying, confusing, expensive…mostly annoying. So, it’s no surprise that a recent independent survey of 500 freelancers by QuickBooks Self-Employed shows “some 36 percent of self-employed workers are taking their chances.” AKA, not paying taxes. The Struggle (is so real) As the number one challenge, according to the Quickbooks survey, “31 percent of self-employed workers say they struggle to get paid on time.” As a self-employed person myself, I can totally relate to this. Just because we bill on Sundays, doesn’t mean we get paid on Sundays! Another 25 percent are worried

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Money Management for Your Business: This is How to Get Started

By Katey Maddux / Work & Money

Money management is rarely an enjoyable conversation for most people. It’s stressful, confusing, and uncomfortable. That is, unless you do accounting for a living, like me. I love inspiring people to take hold of their finances, create processes for record keeping, and improve efficiency through various technologies. As women, we not only run our homes, but many of us run businesses as well, making it even more critical that we are capable of managing our money. Someone told me once that we (humans) are like a coin in God’s back pocket. He knows it’s there, he’s saving it for something special, and he can spend it however he wants. That’s how he gives it purpose. Now, take that same principle and apply

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Now Is the Time to Get Quiet, Trust, and Dream

By Katey Maddux / Faith

I’m reading a book by Sarah Beth Marr called Dreaming with God: A Bold Call to Step Out and Follow God’s Lead. It reminds me that sharing my hopes and desires with God brings me closer to him. I’m a dreamer. I always have been. There’s nothing better than the moment your aspirations become a reality. Growing up, I loved fashion. From the time I was two years old, I was picking out my own clothes, and early on I told my mom I wanted to buy clothes for a living. At the age of 24, I became the youngest assistant buyer at the JCPenney headquarters in Plano, TX. When I was in high school, I joined the Italian club to learn

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This Is What Happened When I Know God Sent Me a Sign

I Knew to Trust God When He Sent Me This Sign

By Katey Maddux / Faith

God has His hands on us, even when we don’t feel it. As I sit here typing in my bed, I have an incredibly swollen back, and I should be on a shuttle to the airport en route to Colombia. The past 48 hours have been incredibly bizarre and humbling, but it showed me why I need to trust God. Let me tell you a story. I left in May for a two-month backpacking trip to Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. About two weeks in, some things happened on the trip while some unrelated things were happening back home, and I felt God telling me to go home. I didn’t really know why, and I didn’t want to. I talked to some

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Not Sure How to Answer the Question: “What’s Your Why?”

By Katey Maddux / Faith

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I think about it. Years of traveling, working in network marketing, and even starting my own business…the same question always arose, “What’s your why?” I never knew what to say. I didn’t have a hard childhood or rags-to-riches story. I didn’t need to support my family or go through excruciating adversity to get where I am today. So I would ask myself the same question: what is my why? I love to travel. I love to help people and to serve. I like making money…but you can make money doing just about anything. “Dig deeper,” they’d say, “there’s got to be something that’s driving you.” I never knew what, exactly. Until recently. I

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