in october, i began the freelancer profile series, in order to help myself (and hopefully other readers out there!) assess whether or not the freelancing lifestyle really was for me.  what might i learn from fellow personal finance bloggers who happen to already freelance?

FWP’s first guest interview was with mary @ simplyforties.  a virtual assistant, she is happy with her choice of work arrangements.

in early november, i interviewed ms. micah, of finance for a freelance life.  in addition to her steady jobs as a librarian and newborn hearing screener, she also freelances as a blog consultant and web designer.  my, what a bundle of responsibilities!

i first heard about ms. micah when i came across the finwikian, where she is the founder/’librarian’.  i contacted her upon reading that she freelanced at her site, and requested an interview.  here is our november freelancer profile.

1. when did you know that it was time to go freelance ?  how did you know?

Choosing to freelance was more a leap of faith and a desire for change than anything else. I knew that I didn’t want to be where I was and since I had experience as a research assistant (similar to some freelance work) I thought that I’d be able to handle the responsibility.

2. what was your biggest trepidation about going solo ?

Figuring out exactly what it was I was going to do. Near the beginning, I did more writing and editing but I’ve found that I prefer web/blog work. I discovered what an annoying handicap my mild dyslexia is to writing/editing. At times, I was also scared we would die in a gutter. Even though I knew that I could always go to a temp agency and find work doing something (I have experience as a receptionist, for instance), I sometimes felt paralyzed by this fear.

3. can you describe what your life was like for the first few months of going solo ?

It was marked by periods of elation over having found and done a gig I really enjoyed and despair when either I wasn’t finding gigs or I was just feeling pessimistic in general. The whole starving in a gutter thing.

4. how long did it take you to achieve the minimum level of income you desired?

Well, we had a freelance cushion fund, which was great because it took me a while to get there. Maybe 4 months to really feel out what I was doing and get settled into it. Until then, I was sometimes meeting the minimum and sometimes missing it. Depended on the week. As it is, I’ve still got a way to go before I hit the level I’d really like to make, but I make enough now that we do just fine.

5. how much time lapsed between the time you left your full-time job to when you began to actually freelance?

Virtually none. In fact, I’d started doing some freelance writing in November before I’d left my old job. I wanted to be sure about what I was doing. It wasn’t that great, especially while working a full-time job, but it helped me know that I really could do it.

6. were there serious moments of struggle?  if so, what were they like?  what did you do, say, or think during those times?

Definitely. I’ve written a few times about Imposter Syndrome on my site. Sometimes I’ve felt like a complete fraud, like my work isn’t worth paying for, I can get really down on myself. I often ask Micah to help me talk through that.

I know that a) not everyone has the skills that I have and b) not everyone wants to take the time to learn how to do things and then do them. They’d much rather pay a professional. When I frame it as saving people time learning things they don’t want to learn or don’t have time to learn, then I can better-understand why I’m valuable.

7. were your family and friends supportive of this endeavor?

Pretty much. Micah was extremely supportive. He saw how miserable I’d been at my old position and he felt that anything which made me even a little bit happier was a good plan. I’m sure he wishes I didn’t have my down moments with freelancing, but they’re fewer and farther between than in my old job.

8. when do you think you started to feel a sense of freedom, peace, or contentment with your new path?

That’s a tough question. The feeling comes and goes. I think that early on I felt a huge sense of relief. I think I started feeling happier overall about 6 months in, in June.

9. if you had to do it all over again, would you still?  do you anticipate or see yourself joining a fulltime employment (not self-employment) anytime in the near future?

Yes I would. Working freelance has helped me discover what I want to do for a living. Even before, I had a strong pull towards libraries, but now I believe that I would like to be a tech-librarian. There have been a lot of little pulls along the way which led to my realizing how much I’d like to follow that career path. I had that realization about 3 months ago. Since then, I’ve been figuring out the best way to pursue it. I hope to get a junior reference job before going to library school.

However I don’t think I’m ever going to stop doing freelance work even if I’ve got a full-time job. I probably won’t be able to do very much, but I really enjoy it.

10. what is your favorite feature of being a freelancer?

Learning. I love facing new challenges, building off what I’ve done before, taking the time to learn independently (like on my local Wordpress install), and even being paid to learn something for clients. I also love teaching what I’ve learned, which is one reason I put a blog on my consulting site.

11. what do you do now that you weren’t able to do before, when you were employed fulltime?

I’m able to pick times of the day when I’m free. I love going for walks in the morning or afternoon. It’s something I missed a lot when working 9-5. There were days when I only saw sunlight on the way to work and maybe at lunch, because my company’s office had no windows!

12. is there anything you miss at all about the full-time employed/salaried life?

I really miss the structure. When you’re freelancing, you can choose your hours but you also end up working more hours than you would otherwise. I also often feel pressure to spend my free time working on a project because if I don’t work when I could I end up feeling guilty about that. With a 9-5 job you leave when you leave and you’re gone. Obviously some jobs blur that line more than others, but libraries aren’t too bad about it.

13. how/what did you tell your boss when you were giving notice?  how much time did you give?

I told her the basics. That I’d found something I preferred, I didn’t give too much detail since I didn’t want to tell her how unhappy I’d been at the old job. She was nice, but also sensitive and very pessimistic which made it an awkward atmosphere. I gave 3 weeks notice because she was going to be out of town one of the two weeks before I left, so I figured she should have a full 2 weeks to look for someone.

14. how have things been going lately?

Pretty well. I’m a bit stressed because I’d really like to hear back one way or the other about a library position I applied for. It’s potentially a huge change in my life and I just want to know whether or not it’s going to happen. How I plan to grow my work from here depends a lot on whether or not I get the position.

* * *

thank you for sharing this with us, ms.micah!

if you have a question for ms.micah, please feel free to post it here in the comments!

please be sure to visit ms.micah’s site at finance for a freelance life to learn more about her adventures as a freelancer!

other resources:

• freelancing within the law
• 101 essential freelancing resources
• the monster list of freelancing job sites
• how to be a rockstar freelancer

“My limited experience with it has instructed me that debt complicates my finances and invariably costs money.”

–little brother

if someone asked me who my heroes might be, i would immediately say the amazing mr. benjamin franklin with his many contributions to mankind, and the current (14th) dalai lama and his infinite compassion towards all beings.  but there is one person that i also admire in our day-to-day ‘everday’ lives, and that would be one of my younger brothers.

this younger brother — we’ll call him Little Brother — is currently 21 years old.  i helped to raise him since i was 10.  over the years, i have watched him grow up into the awesome person he is today, with much amazement and pride.

Little Brother has been quite frugal and careful with money ever since his youth when he became aware of the role of money.  although always appreciative and happy whenever he received gifts from me or others (monetary or otherwise), he has always been rather humble and respectful towards money.

he has never asked for much, and when he has, it has been usually something practical.  for instance, for several years he just wanted a subscription to discover magazine.  he does not spend much, if anything, despite having the financial resources.  he prefers used over new, saves, and invests.

as such, he has been taking great care of any assets that he has grown over the past several years since he completed high school.  he is currently with the US air force as a linguist in the mid-west.  i wanted to ‘interview’ him to better and more thoroughly understand his attitude towards personal finance, and to share with you some of his habits in and attitude towards spending, frugality, investing, and saving.

* * *

big sister: tell me about your assets?  (types of accounts,amounts, banks use).  what is your feedback about those products/businesses’ quality/service?  would you recommend to other?
little bro: I kind of put off doing anything with my money for the majority of the first year of my enlistment. I think it was in the autumn of 2006 that I had something like USD10,000 just sitting in my BOFA checking account. I decided to open an HSBC Online Savings, and kept directing my monthly salary to it until around spring of 2007. Around that time I started reading about mutual funds, and I had in June the avarice enough to throw in 12k across a few T. Rowe Price emerging market funds (latin america, new asia, emerging europe), with automatic monthly transfers (~250/mo. overall). Over the next few months I put a few thousand dollars towards some careless stock choices using Zecco. The expense ratios for the international funds are pretty high, but my original hope was that in the long term it would be worth the price. Zecco is great, though, for not charging commissions for the first 10 or so trades every month.

big sister: what are you thoughts, concerns about the economic downturns lately?
little bro: I had that sinking feeling in my gut when I reviewed my investment accounts the other week and saw the  total value of investments reduced by 17k, or around 40%. I think  I should to try to take advantage of the discount prices to lower the average cost of my investments, and hope everything bounces back by the time I’ll end up needing the money. I feel so ridiculous out of all of this; certainly I’ll adopt more conservative strategies concerning my money. No more trying to get rich quickly.

big sister: what advice might you give another young person just starting out with work and the ways of the world wrt money?  for instance, our baby brother?
little bro: I don’t think baby brother should take the sort of risks that I did. I would suggest to him to allocate the majority of his investments in CDs and other low risk investment vehicles, and to do the kind of research that I mostly didn’t do

big sister: do you think personal finance should be taught in high school?  sooner?  later in college? or ?
little bro: Absolutely yes. My econ teacher in high school ever so briefly touched upon investing and related topics, but as something so tied to one’s well-being as this, it’s something that deserves a broader introduction for young people.

big sister: do you do your own taxes?  why?
little bro: yes/no? I use turbotax online because it streamlines everything. I can provide them with the account information for my stock/mutual fund accounts, and all the data is transfered automatically.

big sister: where do you go shopping for clothes, other things?  used over new?
little bro: I typically shop online whenever I need something new, but rarely. I’d purchase used if there were a Goodwill nearby.

big sister: what do you use to pay for things?  cash?  check?  credit cards?  atm/debit cards?  a combination?  how do you decide to pay for various things?
little bro: Whenever possible I use my credit card, for its cash back rewards, and pay the balance off at the end of the month. Otherwise I’ll simply use cash for goods/services at places that don’t accept credit.

big sister: when do you hope to retire by?  what are you doing at the moment in getting closer to that goal?
little bro: I’m not sure I know how retirement works? As long as I’m physically able, I think I’ll always keep myself active and productive. Currently I’m not so concerned with saving for retirement as I am for university. But can I have work and at the same time draw from any retirement funds that I might have, or?

big sister: what is your philosophy about debt?  about credit?  about frugality?  about simplicity?
little bro: My limited experience with it has instructed me that debt complicates my finances and invariably costs money. I’ll never take a loan for anything, ever; not even for a house!

big sister: what do you think are the most helpful lifestyle habits or changes to assist a person (or at least you) with your financial goals, outside of finances directly?
little bro: Speaking for myself, I always try to find lower cost alternatives in the areas I spend money in, and in whatever way possible. For example, I might make my own lunch rather than go out, or limit going to the cinema, or buy used books, and so on.

big sister: who has been the biggest role model for you in forging your perception and attitude towards money?
little bro: It’s likely daddy. He still wears clothes that he received as gifts in the 80’s! It’s something I took notice of only later on, in high school, but he rarely buys things for himself, except for bare necessities. He reuses even floss, for example.

big sister: do you have a book or literary resource you would recommend for all to read to gain valuable insight?
little bro: Unfortunately I haven’t read very many finance books. Tangentially, I recommend everyone read ISBN 0425202399 and 0399153128, and his forthcoming 0399155376. His blog is readily available with a google search of his name.

big sister: i know you’ve suffered a bit of financial loss recently.  what are your plans or reactions to that moving forward?  what advice might you have for others from your own experience or knowledge experiencing the same?
little bro: I don’t think I should freak out. I don’t currently need the money, so I’m willing to wait a few years for my funds and stocks to bounce back, and in the meantime lower their average costs by pouring money into them.

* * *

hmm.. i never knew our dad reuses floss.. gross, i think that’s going a little extreme!

incidentally, i had first heard of hsbc from this little brother.

i remember learning from our dad that my german tutor (and his friend) had saved up for his house, and did not take out a loan to purchase one!  ..although housing prices were quite different 50 years ago.  however, somehow knowing my little brother, i wouldn’t be surprised if he found a way not to borrow to purchase a house someday.

well, there you have it — wise words from a young but bright saver and investor.  thoughts?  questions?  comments?  please feel free to leave them below, and i will ask him to respond as appropriate.

a few months ago, i was in a meeting at work. my supervisor was sitting nearby.
“i’ve been having some problems with my back”, he commented something to that effect.

“oh. why is that?” some of us inquired.

“because”, he replied, as he reached for something in his pocket. “my huge wallet!” as he plunked down an average sized folding leather black wallet on the table.

except that the wallet was HUGE. it was stuffed like crazy with papers and money and cards and gosh know what else. it was so bulgy that it might eventually get round! i suspected it must have been quite heavy.

why do some people carry such crazy giant wallets?? what is the point of carrying around the receipts from your purchases from the past month for another month or more in your wallet? must you really carry all those business cards you’ve collected? do you actually regularly use the bank account cards, rewards cards, etc. that you have been carrying around for years?

surely having an extra 5 pounds on only one side of your back pants pocket isn’t healthy? every morning when you pick up your wallet from the dresser, do you actually force that thing to fit into the pocket??  how is it that the pocket hasn’t been torn off yet?

i found an article online on potential health problems associated with gigantic wallets:

“Wallet sciatica is the medical term for leg and back pain caused by sitting on a wallet for too long, causing the pelvis and spine to contort slightly and putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.

It might seem slight, but chiropractor Micheil Hanczaryk said the effects add up from the pelvis and spine getting thrown off by what’s essentially a speed bump on your backside.

“It’s like if you tried to walk but put quarter- or half-inch shims in one of your shoes … something’s going to go the wrong way,” he said. “Any amount of stuff back there is no good because even a little wallet will cause you to shift, but the bigger the wallet is, the more of a problem we have.”

yikes!

sort of as a joke, in response to my supervisor’s comment i responded,“maybe you can get a second identical or similar wallet, take out half of the weight from your first wallet, and carry the second wallet in your other back pocket.  then you can be more balanced?”

i found it hilarious that i found this ’solution’ has already been similarly implemented, according to a post online:

“Do you remember George Costanza’s mammoth wallet? It was so enormous, he had to stuff napkins in his other back pocket to keep himself balanced when sitting down.”

when you go to the store, can you actually find anything in your wallet, and quickly at that?

when i come home, almost daily i take out anything i won’t need to use the next day from my wallet — receipts, business cards, extra cash, miscellaneous pieces of paper, mega change. in my wallet, i only regularly carry the following:

• my main checking atm debit card account
• emergency credit card
• motorcycle insurance card
• health insurance card
• dental insurance card
• somewhere between $1-40 in cash (usually less than $20)
• some change for meters, etc.
• motorcycle association towing card

and that’s about it.  no pictures, no store memberships or gift cards, not 10 credit cards.  no business cards from colleagues 5 conferences ago.

when i know that the SO and i will be going to a particular business, then i bust out a relevant card for it (if available), and take it along with me that day.  some examples:

• costco membership card (in case the SO misplaces his somehow)
• jo-ann fabrics’ coupons
• local public library card
• a shopping/errands list

otherwise, these type of things are on my desk, on my whiteboard, or in my drawers.

i’m relatively organized and neat, but i’m also lazy.  i think that is actually one of the reasons i prefer not to drag so much around.  i dislike dragging stuff around if i don’t have to.  perhaps it comes from being a motorcyclist and finding less to carry around less of a burden.

for a while last year, i used a minimalist jimi wallet that i received as a birthday gift.  before that, i used a minimalist leather kawasaki motorcyclist wallet, which i sadly lost in southern california during a trip.  before that, i had been using a simple, cheap, plastic, clear white business card holder (maybe fit about 12 cards?) that i had bought in japan.  at some point in between, i was using binder clips or rubber bands (which meant no carrying change for me during those times).

currently, i use a black vinyl inexpensive simple ‘normal’ wallet until i find something that is similar to my lost motorcyclist wallet that i can really like.

if you’re looking for a minimalist wallet, check out the responses from a thread started at 43folders, what’s your favorite minimalist wallet? slim wallets don’t have to be expensive at all, while doctor visits or prescriptions to enormous-wallet-induced-back-problems might later be!

in the secrets to a super-slim wallet, the author offers excellent advice on how to slim down.

there are other advantages though, to slimming your wallet down:

• less complexity
• less time wasted scrounging around for stuff
• minimizing financial resources (eg, from not having (m)any credit cards) may minimize your spending!

what about you?  what is your wallet situation like?

this article is part of the wellness wednesdays series.  to receive more entertaining stories and useful advice for your wealth, consider subscribing to the rss feed.