Comments on: Freelance Budgeting Tricks

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:27:06 +0000

Hi Nikki! Long time no see. :)

Good for you. No reason to hang on to a bad situation. We're freelancers. We can create our own realities. If we don't like the situation, we can leave it and find a better one!

By: Nichole

Nichole — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:45:45 +0000

Excellent tips all around! I'll be reminding myself of these and putting them into action as I say goodbye to a contract that I'm ending next month. This has been a toxic client for quite some time with ever-changing requirements (none of which are in the original contract). So as I look to replace them, I'll be putting these tips into action.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:52:16 +0000

Good point, Gabriella. I wouldn't have paid anything, but he was wanting the illustrations. Ironically, the book I bought (same one) has all the illustrations. The one he bought on Nook? Hardly any.

By: Gabriella F.

Gabriella F. — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:35:07 +0000

Lori, don't get me wrong. Illustrations are and should cost something, and if they were important to you, they're worth the $.95. But for straight text? Nobody owns that to charge for it!

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:36:08 +0000

Gabriella, I hadn't realized that! Thanks for the warning. I'll not buy another classic, that's for sure! We did have the option for free, but he wanted the illustrations. :)

Kim, makes perfect sense. I splurge on the food, too. Indian stores, farmer's market, specialty stuff that you can't find at the grocery store. Ask me how many masala chai varieties I've tried. It took lots of looking before I found a suitable replacement (a BETTER replacement) for my Teavana habit. Teavana raised the price of tea so much that my Masala chai is now $45 for about 10 oz. No way! I went to a friend's Indian store and found a bagged chai that's fantastic, and about $5 a box.

Great idea, Damaria! I'm doing the herbs in the kitchen this year. We tried veggies, but the deer or rabbits eat them. The tomatoes get this black spot on them as they ripen, so we're stuck with buying produce until we can protect them and get rid of the garden fungus.

Nicky, I love shopping. I hate shopping for people who don't know what they want or don't really want anything. I can accommodate that! LOL

By: Nicky

Nicky — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:12:03 +0000

Sensible ideas all around, for anyone! I too am a big generics fan. There are a couple of things that I am married to when it comes to brands, because I like their specific tastes – Diet Coke is one that springs to mind…..but other than that, I'm generic all the way. And I have dramatically cut back my Christmas gift buying. Now I literally only buy for my sister, boyfriend & one friend. The remaining, maybe 12, gifts I used to buy, I have canned completely. I just emailed friends a few years ago & said I loved them all, and their kids, but that I was giving up gift buying in favor of making a donation instead, & asked if they'd do the same for me. Helped a lot financially, and also with stress levels – I hate shopping!

By: Damaria Senne

Damaria Senne — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:32:09 +0000

I grow my own vegetables and herbs, with planting paced so I don't have to harvest it all at the same time. This means I eat well enough even during lean freelance times. As I live in a city, I dont have a lot of land for this, so I removed some lawn and also use containers and allow runner plants to grow vertically, so I can get a bigger harvest. The garden is a great place to relax too when I'm stressed.

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:02:31 +0000

I try to live below my means – but comfortably (if that makes any sense). My favorite splurges during lean times: organic skin care products and specialty food products, like Mediterranean pink salt and infused olive oils, for cooking.

By: Gabriella F.

Gabriella F. — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:53:38 +0000

Lori, nobody owns the copyrights anymore to classics anymore, so they should be free. (Most are on Kindle.) If the Nook is charging you for them, damn, that takes nerve!

Here's an example of a list of free Dickens books on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=dickens&x=0&y=0#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_browse-b_2?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Adickens%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&keywords=dickens&ie=UTF8&qid=1313625001&rnid=618072011

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:38:14 +0000

Gabriella, I don't know how it is with Kindle, but with Nook we were able to get a copy of a Dickens classic for 95 cents. In fact, most of the classics were very cheap.

I have no interest in paying more for an e-book than for a print one. I like ebooks, but I want to be able to lend them out, swap them with friends and relatives, etc. I always feel like I'm just "borrowing" the damned things. If I wanted to borrow, I'd go to the library and bypass the electronics. :)