The numbers being played with above only refer to gross income, of course. I've no doubt all those who've posted in this thread so far know that $40 for a refi might not even cover variable and out of pocket expenses like paper, toner, fuel/electricity, let alone other costs of doing business (like insurance, maintenance, equipment, etc.)
So that level of work would not only run you ragged, it would drive you into debt (or deeper into debt) faster... The silver lining is that no one getting into this business these days has a snowball's chance of finding anywhere near that much work to begin with. And the slow market should make you ask if it really makes sense to work at a loss if there are no guarantees of getting sufficient work to survive even once acquiring some experience. It's something worth thinking about!
One last thought... At the standard mileage deduction rate for 2023 of $.655/mile, $40 for a refi would immediately have you in the red just for transportation if driving more than 30 miles each way. If you deduct paper/toner first (not to mention something for your time), the distance before you're in negative territory is much less.
[We should have the 2024 standard mileage deduction rate sometime this month. I just read that it might still go up because of increases in purchase prices, insurance, car maintenance, etc., in spite of fuel costs having come down considerably this year. I just got a taste of that myself on Friday when I found out the AC compressor in my car went out, with replacement at $1xxx. Operating my car with no AC is not an option for me!  ]
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