All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
Making the decision to be a full time parent or not, is usually
a complex and difficult one to make. Aside from all the obvious
reasons women work, society adds unseen pressure on both sides
of the spectrum. However, financial needs seem to be the number
one reason why women work. "I can't afford to stay at
home." "We really need my income." These are
excuses heard almost everyday, all over the world. And yes,
I truly believe that these are just that, excuses. Don't stop
reading just yet. Let me explain myself.
Society puts a lot of pressure on women to be a supermom.
You are supposed to be able to juggle a successful career,
run a spotless household smoothly, volunteer at your child's
school and in your community, attend church tree times a week,
bake and cook homemade meals for your family, be a fantastic
lover to your spouse, and do all this with a brilliant smile
while wearing a size three business suit that you button up
with your manicured nails everyday at 5 am. This is not my
idea of a supermom. It is no where close.
If you
and your spouse decide that it would be better for you to
become a one income household, you can. Let's get back to
the money. You just have to do a little math to figure how
to manage it. You'll be surprised at how affordable it really
is to be a full time parent. It simply takes a little creative
financial planning and a change in lifestyle.
Map it
out. Any prepared traveler has a map and a game plan. So should
you. Sit down with your partner and start by listing every
expense your career costs you. Things like: childcare, dry
cleaning, work clothing, gas for the car, a 2nd car and insurance,
meals away from home, home cleaning services, additional education
and training to stay ahead in your field, special beauty needs
(haircuts more often, manicures, etc.) and other expense.
Once you come up with an amount, deduct it from your income
after taxes (don't forget those you pay at the end of the
year). Divide by how many hours you work a year .... WOW,
you're worth more than that!
Next you
need to figure how you can earn the difference in your working
expenses and your actual income. When I say "earn",
I mean save. Start by keeping track of your expenses for one
month. Journal every penny you spend from the car payment
to the pack of gum you bought this morning. At the end of
the month, place each expense into two categories. One for
the necessary expenses, and one for the unnecessary expenses.
When your finished, take a second look at the necessary expenses.
Is cable television worth being away from home to work? If
not, add it to the unnecessary category. Continue to weed
out the unnecessary items until you have an amount of monthly
expenses you can live with.
Ok, so
you know you need things like food, shelter, water, clothes
and insurance. But are you paying the least possible amount
for your necessary expenses. If you are renting a home, is
there a less expensive place you could move to. Maybe even
closer to your partners work to save on gas also. If you are
a homeowner, consider refinancing your current mortgage to
save you money. Consider selling one of your vehicles. You'll
save on car notes, maintenance, gas, insurance and registration.
Join a coupon swapping group and learn the fine art of shopping
with coupons and sale items. Create and use a price book to
ensure that you are always paying the least amount possible
for your food and other household items. Cook from scratch
and experiment with new ideas. Hang your laundry to dry instead
of using a costly dryer. Purchase clothing at your local thrift
store or consignment store. Swap clothes with a friend. Give
homemade gifts as presents, they mean more to the recipient
anyway.
There
are literally thousands of ways you can creatively save money
each and every day. Don't think the little acts of frugality
do not count, they add up into one big one. Keep focused on
your goal and you will succeed. Before long you'll analyze
each expense you make and saving will be second nature to
you. Once it becomes a lifestyle for you, that's when the
real changes occur.
Roxanna Ward, Community leader and staff
writer for http://www.BabyUniversity.com,
lives in Georgia with her husband, Stan and her three children,
Kirstie-Raie, Chase and Kale. As a published freelance writer
and breastfeeding advocate, the focus of her writing is concentrated
on sharing household tips, her experience with her frugal
lifestyle which is compensated by being able to afford to
be a stay-at-home mom, as well as the phenomenal process of
breastfeeding, child rearing related issues and romantic relationships.
She is also currently the Editor of three newsletters: What's
New at BabyU?, Intimate Encounters and At Home with Baby University.
Roxanna can be contacted at Roxanna30135@aol.com
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one's employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.
BUSINESS PLANS: Business Plan Examples, Samples, Templates, Software and ToolsIn any type of the business including those people that perform freelance work, the proper tools are necessary to become a success. The following links consist of selected online tools for the freelancer to develop an effective business plan.
FREELANCING AND FINDING WORK AT HOME JOBSThe difficulty lies not in the fact that there aren't plenty of work at home jobs available but rather in the fact that genuine, quality, money-earning work at home jobs are all mixed up with work at home scams. This makes finding a work at home job that's legitimate a not-so-easy task for people who are just breaking in to the freelancing business. But don't worry; once you learn the lingo and know the basics, finding a work at home job gets a lot easier!
Business plans are necessary in all types of businesses … and this also includes freelancers. Writing an effective business plan will help you plan out the success of your future business. Factors such as customer base, profit potential, as well as many other factors will be placed in this document. The business plan will help you, the freelancer, think through every aspect of your future successful business. We found the following business plan articles to be very helpful and we hope that you will find them to be useful too.
HOW FREELANCER WRITERS CAN DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCKHelpful hints and tips to overcome the dreaded White Page Syndrome - There is probably nothing more dreadful and problematic for a writer than not being able to get going, being stuck on a menacingly white page. Read on for more ideas on how freelance writers can overcome Writer's Block.
WAYS TO GET MORE CUSTOMER REFERRALS FOR YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe amount of customer referrals will often determine how successful one's freelance business can really be. As word spreads quickly, having customers refer others to you and your services is a wonderful way of gaining new freelance business and making more money. There are a few distinct ways to get more client referrals for your business.
FREELANCE HOME OFFICE DISTRACTIONS VS DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING IN AN OFFICEOf course, distractions are different depending on whether you are freelancing from home or working in an office. Both kinds have their pros and cons so let's take a look at some of the basic ones so that you can start getting a grasp on good vs. bad distraction behaviors for freelancers.
WORKING FULL TIME WHILE RUNNING YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe key to being able to make the transition to full time freelancing is in setting goals that allow you to focus on moving away from working full time for someone else and towards putting more hours in to your freelance business.
60+ UNIQUE LOCAL & OFFLINE MARKETING IDEAS FOR YOUR CONSULTING BUSINESS Although online promotion is important for your freelance business, it's crucial to remember to go back to your basics and do offline promoting as well locally, nationwide, and worldwide depending on who you are marketing to. Here are over 60 ideas to market your consulting services locally. Let Freelance work find you.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOOGLING INFORMATION ON YOUThis can be an issue for freelancers whose customers google them and try to find out information relating to them and their business. The following is a list of what to do when your customers are googling information on you.
26 THINGS TO DO WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW AND IN DOWNTIME MODESome freelancers are anxious to work day in and day out which may present a problem for them when business is slow. However, there are many things which freelancers can do to bide their time while waiting for new freelance work to come in. Here are 26 ideas for staying productive during your consulting business downtime.
ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS FOR FREELANCERS & THE SELF EMPLOYEDThere is a casual attitude about communication that takes place online and that creates an environment in which customers sometimes don't take your work seriously, leading to problems with projects and payments. In order to avoid those problems, you need to make sure that you are conducting all of your online work in as professional a manner as possible. Here are some tips on how to do that.
TOP 150 PLACES TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR FAMILY WHEN YOU STILL NEED TO GET WORK DONEWhen you are self-employed, there is no vacation time to save up, and there is no one to cover for you when you're away. For many that mean giving up on vacations altogether, and this is what I have been doing for awhile. Most of These All-Inclusive Family Resorts Have Kids Clubs in Which Your Child can enjoy supervised and fun activities while you and your spouse can have fun or get freelance work done. Take a look below and enjoy!
DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO FREELANCE OFFSITE OR ONSITE Deciding to work onsite or offsite sounds like a relatively simple decision, but it's actually one which isn't easy to make. Sure, when you're lying in bed just after the alarm has gone off and you see that it's raining outside and all you wish was that you could go back to bed for ten minutes and then do your freelance work from home, working offsite sounds ideal. But there are as many cons to the offsite work job as there are pros and you need to weigh them carefully when making the decision about whether to work onsite or offsite.
IS FREELANCING RIGHT FOR YOU? Freelancing, a term introduced by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), is when you work without being committed to an employer. With development of internet and communication technology, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people going their own way and leaving behind the cubicles. You are reading this book, so you must be contemplating becoming a freelancer, but before you make your move there are a few things to consider.
FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO TIME MANAGEMENT The most common problem that freelancers face is figuring out the balance between work and the rest of life. While there are a few freelancers out there who don't work as much as they need to in order to pay their bills and improve their business, most freelancers have the opposite problem - they work ALL the time. And that's why there are a great number of freelancers who "burn out" after a short (or if they're lucky, a long) time. In order to make sure that you aren't one of those people who "used to freelance but got burned out", you need to set limits on how much you work. Then you need to stick to those limits.
SHOULD I TURN DOWN FREELANCE PROJECTS? As freelancers, we often feel as if we have to say 'Yes' to every single job out there. However, we as freelancers are in a position where we can choose to say 'No' if we want to. Believe it or not, there are certain projects that you probably shouldn't accept. Turning down work is probably the hardest decision you will need to make when running your business, but sometimes turning down a gig is necessary. In this article I will explain to you the details that you need to consider when you aren't sure which route to take. Consider the following:
COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can't find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
