[joshcrews]

I second "raise your rates". I'm 90% sure you are significantly undercharging because a) you live in NYC b) you are getting work for SF companies, and one that's YC c) you care a lot about a $8,000 debt.

Double your existing rate immediately and don't look back!

[cat9]

For reference, I'd kick myself for undercharging if I billed that much for a week, and correspondingly consider it "annoying but not business-critical" if I had trouble collecting it. Charge more.

Your rates should not be pinned to a lowball bid for an annual salary for a newly minted CS student. You're assuming far more risk, and hang around just long enough to deliver major value and get out, rather than being just productive enough that it's not worthwhile to hire someone to replace you.

You need to operate like a business that is delivering a high-value service in exchange for a reasonable fee. And you should probably narrow down your offering & marketing to the point that you have very few direct competitors, and practically none once you account for location and availability.