Freelance Finance

The phrase “keep your nose to the grindstone” took on new meaning for me Friday, when Mire and I attended a woodworking class given by master craftsman, author, and self-employed worker Andy Rae. Though the class was about sharpening woodworking tools, I couldn’t help finding a double meaning in much of what Rae said.
I […]

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Where does a freelancer go to get some decent health insurance? This a huge, growing issue. Each time the number of freelancers grows in the U.S., the number of people who are going without some form of medical safety net jumps. The powers-that-be have historically consoled themselves with the quaint notion that only the indigent, […]

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Mire and I have yet to tell you guys more about our deal to produce a personal finance book for freelancers and independent workers for Random House. But there’s not much to tell. Obviously, the ball in is our court. We’ve had the idea for a long time. I’ve freelanced a dozen years; Mire for […]

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I don’t care what your craft is. If you love what you do, the work will always have its own rewards. It will be your rock and bulwark in tough times. It will sustain you and enrich your soul. And you’ll only get better and quicker at it.
But marketing yourself is not often in […]

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Another remarkable freelance friend—a brilliant writer and researcher—has, just yesterday, taken a full-time job. This comes after years of very successful, but tiring, work on her own. She will be performing the exact same kind of duties, except she will be performing them for a law firm. I am happy for her. Why? Because she […]

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There is no reason why you should subsidize the incomes of your clients. It’s customary in many fields for a customer to a deposit or advance for the work they want you to perform. The advance indicates that they are serious about the project. Up to 50 percent up front is reasonable, but you should […]

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Are you outraged about the price of mobile phones? You should be. If you go over your allotted minutes, your carrier hits you with fees. If you stay substantially under your allotment, you’re wasting money. Yes, yes, I know some carriers offer carryover. But if you haven’t used those extra minutes this month, what makes […]

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Personal finance for freelancers is, essentially, what this site is about. But in truth, “freelance” is much too limiting a word for the audience that this site seeks to serve. It offers personal finance musings (and, we’d like to think, some useful advice) to anyone who does not have the financial advantage of a salary […]

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How to save money fast…10 ways to get out of debt now…How to become a millionaire….and so on and so forth and blah, blah, ad nauseum, BLAH. With all of this free information available about personal finance, you’d think that Americans would be walking around in stellar financial shape. But alas, mon frere, you would […]

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Last week we did some traveling, sharing the Freelance Finance System with some new friends and acquaintances. One question that came up often: Will people really be disciplined enough to save money this way? The question is rooted in the notion that people are by nature bad savers, that they will routinely spend their cash […]

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