My wife first got Pregnant a few months after I got this job. (I worked there a bit over 14 months now. The first two months were really just be doing a design or two. for them.) Before this job the money from the other startups was even more sporadic. This, was almost a relief, having a solid amount of money per week at a job where I could do what I liked. (The area has few other tech companies.)
And you are completely rational in saying that it is irrational to expect to live on $500/week with two kids. However it is absolutely possible to do with one child, trust me. At the time this was the safest thing for us to do. My wife breast feeds, cloth diapers, and stays at home with our daughter. (If you ever have a child the first two will save you a significant amount of money.)
We just found out about the second child being on the way. This plays into my emotions and thoughts on having to do something about the situation I am currently in.
and my freelancing partnership offer is always there, and is something I hope you'll consider.
"He still gives all of us a 1099."
The 1099 is a form given out by the IRS in the USA. So you are in the USA. What the hell? Why would you have 2 kids on $500 a week in the USA?
lawsuits
Do not be surprised if your "boss" freaks out and threatens you with a lawsuit. He will probably be bluffing. You need to just ignore him and ride out the storm.
I actually had a boss like this once. Not quite as pyscho, but still in the same orbit of madness. What worked for me was quiting. Every time I quit he offered me more money. I went back 4 or 5 times. Over the course of 4 years, my pay went from $15 an hour to $50 an hour.
Mind you, it was important to really quit. Bluffing did not work.
If I said "I will quit" he would say "I am sorry to hear that but we have no extra money that we can pay you."
Only when I quit and went and got another job did he offer me more money.
There came a point when I realized that simply working for him was bad for my career. No matter how much money he paid me, his business was run on a profoundly unprofessional basis. It was never going to lead to something great, and every day working with him was a day spent learning how to deal with a psycho, rather than a day spent learning how to deal with a professional, well run business.
So in the end I quit, and he could not offer me more money to stay.
That is when he started threatening me with lawsuits. These came in 2 varieties:
1.) My non-compete agreement - he briefly argued that my non-compete agreement covered the whole technology industry, so I was not allowed to go to work as a computer programmer anywhere. This was a really a non-issue, partly because no court would uphold such a broad claim, but also because the non-compete agreement had a 2 year limit and when I quit we were only a few weeks away from the end of those 2 years. So the issue just went away.
2.) Copyright. He had stupidly never asked me to sign anything regarding copyright. So I owned the copyright on any code I'd written while an independent contractor for him. He then argued that we had had an implicit agreement, and that he would sue me if I ever re-used the code. But I re-used the code on another project, and he never sued me.
One thing about these kinds of bosses: they crave control. When you quit, they go wild, because you regaining control over yourself. At such times, such bosses go a little crazy. It's best to ignore most of what they say at such times. 99% of the time, it is all bluff.
"With this job I got myself into this nasty living paycheck-to-paycheck situation."
No, no. The job is awful, but that is not what put you in a paycheck-to-paycheck situation. Outside of New York, LA and San Francisco, a single individual can get by and be minimally comfortable on $500 a week. I've done it. When I was younger, I actually had some great times living on $500 a week. I could even save up for trips elsewhere. But having 2 kids changes things. A lot.
Having 2 kids makes it much more important that you immediately go find something that pays better.
And that is where I am headed.
"Yet, he treats us like employees. We have required working times, usually 8AM - 6PM, we only get a half hour lunch with no other breaks, and are on-call 24-7. Honestly, those items don't even bother me that much. "
On the bright side, it is illegal for him to treat independent contractors like this, so you can sue him if you want. The IRS has been cracking down on exactly this form of abuse lately.
You might be interested in this article:
http://www.inc.com/guides/managing-independent-contractors.h...
This article is actually aimed at the employers, but it warns them about the IRS re-classifying contractors as employees.
Some interesting bits:
"Legally, the contract is a key part of establishing a non-employee relationship, though it doesn't guarantee that the IRS or other agencies will agree that your contractor should not be reclassified as an employee. If the IRS deems an employee misclassified as a contractor, some states – particularly Colorado and Maryland – can enforce hefty tax penalties on the employer. When in doubt, consult the IRS's guidelines on the difference between an independent contractor and an employee here.
With the IRS estimating that 15 percent of the U.S. workforce is misclassified, you'll want to be firmly within legal grounds – and to document a work arrangement meticulously – when working with an independent contractor, so that there is no doubt about the nature of the relationship.
The basic rule, experts say, is that you determine the what and the contractor determines the how. You say you want a piece of market research or a graphic design turned into you by a certain date; the contractor decides how to create these deliverables, subject to your approval. It's important to outline specific goals, but the contractor must provide their own tools, equipment, and facilities to complete the work.
In probing the nature of the relationship, the IRS might examine the contractor's level of freedom, including setting his or her own hours, paying his or her own business expenses, and hiring support staff or assistants as necessary."
"and I am still making around $500/week. Which, in the beginning was great. However over the past year I have moved out, bought a car (out of need, the other died), gotten married, and have had a child. (With a second one on the way.)"
Why would you have 2 children if you are making $500 a week? Does your spouse make a lot of money? Do you live in one of the developed countries, or a 3rd world country?
I'm having a hard time figuring out how it could be rational to have 2 kids while making $500 a week. And why have children at all if you are working at a startup? Most of my friends follow the rule that startups are what you try while you are single, but if you have kids then you should try to find something more stable.