August 14, 2025

Welp, New Mexico Levied My Wages

Behind The Scenes of Business Series

Dear Reader,

Last week I made a really big financial decision for my business. One of the biggest investments I have put into myself or the work I have done in the last thirteen years. A deliberate choice to level up. Risking it all to be on the edge of something new. We’ll get to this in a moment.

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As many of you know I have been working diligently to heal my relationship with debt, solvency, and vagueness around money - specifically around taxes. A few years ago I filed several years of taxes at once (hello IRS bill and payment plan) it also meant getting right with multiple states that I lived in. Ready to lift myself out of the haze around money I dove in.

It was my understanding that the last few years I had been completely solvent with my taxes and my debt with payment plans in place or balances paid to zero. Until I awoke last Thursday morning to the state of New Mexico levying all of my wages for my 2021 income taxes. No more money for Cody.

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First of all you must be thinking well Cody - they MUST have tried to contact you. They not as in the fun non binary they but as in the not fun state of New Mexico they. Well they did but it was going to my old address in Traverse City and my mail forwarding stopped because it was just Ace Hardware coupons and I figured I was all set. The letters were going to that address which in this season is used as a short term rental and no one was notifying me of their arrival.

The amount that I owed was almost the exact amount I had set aside to pay Katy, my girlfriend, to finish the inside of the Pilates shed. The Pilates shed was built by the amish here in Michigan and is a very beautiful sound structure but needs insulation, drywall, floors, electrical, and famously, a ceiling. I felt like I had no choice but to just pay it as fast as I could so that I could get back ahold of my Stripe account.

You’d think this was the right move but of course I am learning it was not.

It not only took days to get ahold of the right people for them to lift the levy, but as soon as I got ahold of the tax man he said - you shouldn’t have paid that they will just now hold that amount forever. So now Stripe is holding that exact amount of funds as “Reserve Damage Funds” which I can get back in ... wait for it...November of 2099. Now with a BFA in Dance I am not great at math but I sort of feel like I won’t be alive to see that money.

So for now my financial plan is to :

→ Set aside money each week to re-save to pay Katy to work on the Pilates shed and accept that it might have to go a little bit slower than originally planned and trust that that's ok
→ Be grateful I had the money set aside to pay something I did owe in the first place
→ Be grateful that now I am OFFICIALLY solvent on all tax matters through all states I have lived in and filed taxes for
→ Keep asking Stripe to pretty please give me the money they are “holding on reserve until 2099 because I have been an incredible customer for 13 years”

I should also mention the letter said it was levying my wages and would “seize my property” if I did not take immediate action. So of course I immediately figured out a way to pay the taxes and wasn’t thinking about making phone calls to release the levy.

I just want to really affirm to anyone who is struggling with systems of taxes and money - this shit is SO HARD. Especially for those of us with mental illness, any form of neurodivergence / spicy / squiggly brain - anyone who didn’t get taught how to deal with money. My guess is that if you are still reading this newsletter - that is you! I also want to say - respond to this email if you have questions, I have taught myself (with the help of MANY friends much smarter than me) a lot about money the last few years and I am happy to answer any questions.

I have also been working with Hadassah Damien of Ride Free Fearless Money and I truly cannot recommend their work enough. We have had TWO sessions. TWO freaking sessions. And I feel like it has integrated years and years of what I have been studying and learning. Changing entire pathways in my brain. She has a ton of free resources, classes, and coaching available. Don’t walk - run.

Alright team paying subscribers of Monday Monday - the little place I tell my biggest secrets to. First of all, thank you for being here. Thank you for investing in my writing. Part of me being able to even do this is because of you. The money I make from this newsletter will directly flood into this for four months next year. It is :

A PUBLICIST FOR THE PRACTICE OF ATTENTION!

While Sounds True (my AMAZING publisher for this book) does have an in-house team - there is nothing that compares to having a dedicated publicist for a book to land print and media placements. We’re talking TV, magazines, radio, etc.

Let’s manifest me being on The View and walking them through how to do an Instagram detox. Right?! I mean - chills! I will also be completely happy if this book reaches the 100 people it needs to reach. You know me. I am unattached to the outcome. But I am also ready for my little beloved books to reach a new level of success.

Hadassah helped me plug in the numbers to my spreadsheet, look at my projected revenue for the rest of the year, and figure out what was possible. It is a tight squeeze - but it’s doable. It will mean cutting a lot of spending in my personal life, but I truly feel like it’s worth it.

I know so many authors who wish they hadn't ever spent money on outside PR, and so many who were so happy they did. I interviewed seven publicists and narrowed it down to two. The whole time though I knew who it was : ) My intuition knew we were a right fit match, and they knew too. It was beautiful.

I look forward to letting my work grow to new heights. To letting it reach new people. To not being afraid of visibility.

You dear reader, your belief in me, your financial investment in my words, your reflections back to me. They made this possible. On the days when the government literally takes my money away without much warning, I think of you and how much you believe in me. On the days when I want to level up, I think of your belief in me. Thank you for that.

All my blessings to you and to your bank account. May the privileges we hold ripple out into service. May our struggles lead us to rest. May our struggles lead us to ask for help. May our weakness lead us to the river. May the river run us smooth like a rock. So be it!

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Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes