The thing is, I just became a full time freelancer very recently myself after quitting a job at a company I’d been with for over 20 years. One criteria for my “readiness” to take the full time freelance plunge was to have my budget in order. To get there I used the “You Need A Budget” system and software (http://www.youneedabudget.com/). The system is based on 4 simple rules the first of which is to stop living paycheck to paycheck (or payment to payment for frreelancers…). It means you need to get real about your actual monthly expenses and get at least enough money to cover those a month in advance. This also means I do not have to worry about this month’s bills. The money to cover those is already available in my bank account and any money I’m being paid this month goes into next month’s budget (it’s actually more flexible than that as you can decide that some money is immediately available too but you get the idea).

Yes it does mean you need to follow the details of your expenses (or outflows) but it really is not very time consuming (the YNAB Pro software is really easy to use). What it gave me is a clear view into what I was really spending vas well as my real basic expenses (mortgage, utilities, etc). The system really forced me to be honest about my spending habits and it gave me a sense of empowerment and control over money I never had before. It really enabled me to go into full time freelancing with a much lower level of stress than I might have had otherwise. Yes, other things in my personal situation made it the right time to make the move but this aspect really helped reassure me I had a real shot at it.

I was surprised listening to the podcast that I think Von didn’t have the cashflow to meet upcoming bills. Using a system like YNAB would help avoid these kinds of situations as you’d never be in a situation of stress and urgency like that which certainly affected my own work when I ran into similar situations.

Get a look at the site. The program comes with great documentation that explains the rules and the system very clearly. For freelancers I think it’s an ideal budgetting system:

http://www.youneedabudget.com/

It crushes the spirit a little but is better for time management for me to try to really focus on just one thing at a time. However, it takes real discipline, and I’m afraid I’m still easily wooed by creative, random projects!

i’m not english speaking very well - you talked about a “niche” oder “nitch” in this episode - did you mean “niche” - would make sense to me, but i haven’t come across this pronounciation… or what else?

(sry for this stupid question, but your help helps me understanding is completely

Lately, I think I’ve earned the rank of Lt. Colonel Dryspell — forget Major.

2008 is the first year where I’ve found I actually had to dip into that 3-month reserve of basic living expenses. On the year, I’m down about 10% from last year, which equates to about an entire month of income simply not present.

The problem is that lately the multi-week projects — the ones that feel very much like full-time — seem to be more and more evasive. I’m somewhat ashamed to admit it, but I haven’t been in a 40-hour gig since February! These 2- and 3-day gigs are annoying, but the only way to pay the bills, it seems. Some months are up, some are down. All I can do is hope that things improve and that some connections come through.

The trouble is, I don’t think this is a Dryspell but rather a Major Shift. The system in which I existed for 2 years seems to be falling apart at the seems, and I wonder how much longer I can sustain it.

*sigh*

I have separate checking with my wife also and I would highly recommend it. It makes surprises much more special! I laugh at the people who say we are not married because we do not have a joint checking account.

Patrick

Rogers: we opted to skip the final music this session. It will return!

Mia: We left some tidbits in there, but thinking back, we did talk more about having than dealing in specific manners. Have no fear, I’m sure we will return to this topic soon enough. Perhaps you should send a message to the Freelance Radio address with a push to readdress next episode.

Thanks for listening everyone!