BANKRATE: When you have a hit song like "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover," what is a song like that ultimately worth for you?

HAWKINS: It's worth millions. I will leave my catalog to my children. If there's still radio and people still play songs, it'll be worth something to them. Because even a small success like "Walking in My Blue Jeans" has amazing royalties. Even songs that aren't even radio hits will get played in Europe, songs off the album, cuts that you never would think get played in Singapore or Israel. You just can't believe the numbers.

BANKRATE: So even a song that's not big here is making you a lot of money?

HAWKINS: Yes. I also keep my overhead down. That's my biggest philosophy. I spend very little on a car, and I lease only because it's a deduction for my corporation, otherwise I would buy. I rent a studio that's very cheap. But where I put my money is in my work, my gear, my studio. Not too much money, but enough so I can keep totally current and professional. I don't spend a lot on clothes. I take Jet Blue. I'm very much into keeping the cost of my life down so I can enjoy it.

BANKRATE: You mentioned you had a lot of people siphoning off of you. How much do you think you lost because of people like that?

HAWKINS: So much that it gives me a stomach ache. So many millions. The first thing Gigi (her current manager) did is say, 'What the hell is happening with your money?' And I said, 'I don't know.' And she said, 'That's a big problem.' Because she knew the business. When I finally looked at it and saw that my business manager was making more than me at the end of the year, after taxes and all that, she said, 'Sophie, this is ridiculous. How hard is your business? How many checks do you really write?' [Bankrate.com]