contracting, freelancing and linklings
This gruesome economy…what fun we are all having. We started asking around about listing our house and moving, and we were horrified by the depreciation in our home value. In the New York City area, things have changed – drastically. Most of my neighbors worked in the financial services industry, like me, and the money has disappeared. Disappeared. It’s a scary time in this area, although we all recognize it’s a payback for the 80s and 90s. The timid are scurrying for new jobs at reduced pay rates; the tepid are settling for more work at the same salary, and the aggressive are thinking crazy. My neighbor (formerly a consultant) buckled under to his client and started working as an employee for less than he made as a consultant. Me – I’m sticking to my guns, aggresively pursuing a new contracting opportunity at the same time I’m hoping I’ll never need one as my “alternative income” takes off. So far, so bad – the economy is tough everywhere, including blogs.
I haven’t even decided yet for myself what the difference is between contract consulting and freelance consulting is – is it the length of time served? The terms? I guess so far I’ll assume that length of time served is the key. I’m aiming for shorter assignments that I can perform remotely rather than longer-term contracts on-site. It’s hard to find the short-term stuff; what I’m used to identifying is long-term (6 month plus) contracts. Brave new world…
Link it out:
Slow Economy Has More People Learning How to Cook: Count me in – I’m cooking a lot more at home than eating out, although I always knew this was the best way to eat.
The Best Money Blog You Aren’t Reading: A nice find – I’m always interested in new blogs and this one looks like it’s worth reading.
2008 Tax Law Changes: I can’t believe it’s time to start worrying about taxes again – but it is…
What Exactly is Moolanomy?: If you haven’t read Moolanomy yet, you should – Pinyo’s got a great site and is apparently involved with almost the entire internet 
Rich Brother Rich Sister Book Review and Giveaway: I am a fan of Kiyosaki – there, I said it. This book is another book of his that I’d like to read; I didn’t even realize that he had a sister.
Have We Been Sold A Bunch Of Lies About Money?: Ugh. This post reflects a lot of the concerns I’ve had – have we been sold a false bill of goods? Should we have been more cautious? In hindsight, yes. Personally, I’ll get more conservative, because that’s my nature.
Amex Took Care of Me When My Card Number Was Stolen: I love Amex, too. If they aren’t your primary credit card, they should be – they are the best when it comes to customer service and problems with theft (physical or identity). Plus, they have two great reward programs (cash and points).
Our Investment Returns Show Stocks Down 50% YTD
ShareBuilder Review: My New Account: I have more Sharebuilder accounts than I can remember – at least five for my two kids, my nieces and nephews. It’s a great service for the infrequent trader; if I was beginning again today I’d probably start my brokerage there since I don’t trade frequently.
squawkfox ” 6 Words That Make Your Resume Suck: A few great tips from a sharp blog – don’t have a resume that sucks. I can’t see how that would help.
fritz haber: Unintended consequences are horrible – an amazing piece from a fascinating blog.
The Razor’s Edge: Lessons in True Wealth: Sad, in the way that any story about death would be sad, but a great point – life HAS to be about the journey, not about the score. Easy to say, almost impossible for many of us to achieve.
Should You Take a Low-Paying Job? and ” Should You Take A Low Paying Job?: Two good posts on something I’ve considered writing about: should you settle on rates/salaries? I think no… once you move backwards in what you’ll accept, you’re setting a standard for the rest of your life.
The Most Depressing Calculator You’ll See Today: I just added this because I want everyone to feel crappy. Don’t feel like feeling crappy? Don’t click.
Tip #25: Earn more money using your God-given skills\: This post describes where I’m headed – freelancing is tough new area for an ex-contractor (or an ex-employee) but I’m convinced it’s the way to go, short term…
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I know, I know … it made me feel bad just writing that post!
It is amazing to see the destruction in the economy. I feel like we are no longer falling off a cliff – there was a while there when we didn't know which bank would be around when we woke up the next day. But now it's like entering a deep winter – things are just not moving.
Thank you for the kind words about me.
Many things here resonated with me, Steve, but perhaps the most was your comment on setting a standard for life by taking a lower-paying job. I don't know about it in that direction, but the variability in salary for the same work in our society is amazing. It's a combination of your expectations and the type of employers that you find yourself working for. I have a good friend who worked several years for a low-paying employer, and at 32 was happy as a clam to be paid his age times 1000. A couple of job changes later, he found a high-paying employer, doing similar work, and is well into the six figures.
Many things here resonated with me, Steve, but perhaps the most was your comment on setting a standard for life by taking a lower-paying job. I don't know about it in that direction, but the variability in salary for the same work in our society is amazing. It's a combination of your expectations and the type of employers that you find yourself working for. I have a good friend who worked several years for a low-paying employer, and at 32 was happy as a clam to be paid his age times 1000. A couple of job changes later, he found a high-paying employer, doing similar work, and is well into the six figures.