Justin Wright » Blogging

5 Personal Finance Tips for Freelancers

Justin Wright — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:16:38 +0000

There are many benefits to being a freelancer. You have no boss to answer to, you can work from the comfort of your own home, and your income is only limited by the amount of time and effort you want to put into making money. However, being a freelancer also comes with a certain amount of serious responsibility – responsibility that you wouldn’t have if you did have a boss, and worked for a company, and had a regular paycheck. This is especially true when it comes to financial matters. Protect yourself and your financial well-being by following these five critical personal finance tips for freelancers:

Budget. Develop a monthly budget and stick to it, so as to avoid being sideswiped by unexpected income fluctuations. Because your income is irregular, you will need to determine an approximate monthly income to use for your budget. Total up your previous year’s income and divide that amount by twelve, then use that figure as a measure of what you can and cannot afford.

Safety net. As a freelancer, it is likely that your income will almost always be at least slightly unpredictable (and sometimes extremely unpredictable). It’s important that you prepare yourself for the tight months by saving during the bountiful months. A good rule of thumb is to keep three to six month’s worth of expenses in an interest-bearing savings account, for “just in case.”

Save for tax season. Don’t allow yourself to be caught off-guard by a tax bill at the end of the year. Set aside a bit of each paycheck you get to avoid tax season shock, and to soften the blow of what could be a hefty IRS debt.

Debt. Avoid it. Period. Keep your monthly expenses down to the bare essentials: rent/mortgage, utilities, car, groceries, etc. This may be the biggest favor you will do yourself as a freelancer. Staying out of debt means freeing up your cash flow, which will come in handy when you have a slow month (or more). This is especially important considering that interest rates for things like credit cards can be very high, and that missing a payment (if the worst happens) can send you into a vicious cycle that will end up costing you way more than you originally borrowed.

Retirement. Don’t forget to develop a plan for retirement, unless you plan on working forever. The time to start planning for retirement is now.

Just like any self-employment venture, freelancing can be a risk. But there are things you can do to hedge that risk. Follow these personal finance tips and set your mind at ease.

About the Author: Dona Collins is a full-time writer and IT specialist who knows how important it is to have a financial safety net. When she is not working she can often be found helping other IT professionals find work through groups like Modis IT recruitment services and other local agencies.

Photo Credit: 401KCalculator.org

Life After the Cubicle: How To Escape Your Job And Work From Anywhere

Justin Wright — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:23:48 +0000

It has been almost two years since I quit my office job and escaped the cube farm. I must say, they were two of the greatest years of my life. Not only have I learned a ton about business and life in general, but I’ve also been lucky enough to live the lifestyle of a digital nomad and experience a bunch of new places.

If you are unfamiliar with the lifestyle, check out my post – What Is A Digital Nomad? It covers some of the basics about being location independent and will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

More or less, it’s all about using the power of the web to make a living. Whether it’s through freelancing, internet marketing, blogging, or running an online business. The possibilities are literally endless.

With that said, I would now like to introduce to you a book that I have been working on for what seems like forever. Life After the Cubicle is guide on how to use the web to earn income, as well as how to escape your current job situation.

What Inspired Me To Write The Book?

Believe it or not, my main inspiration for this book were all of the comments I’ve received on this post – Office Jobs: The Tipping Point. It still amazes me how many people search for things like “I hate office jobs” and manage to find that post and leave some feedback. It’s proof that a lot of people feel the same way I did when I hit my tipping point.

This book is my attempt at helping anyone who feels that way about their job. I want to get you started in the right direction and open your mind to what’s possible using the internet. I want you to take back your freedom and start living.

A Brief Book Overview

First off, then me make it clear that this book is NOT about how to get rich quick, nor is it about making ridiculous amounts of money on autopilot without doing any work (though I do cover passive income).

If that were the case, I would of filled this post up with pictures of my exotic sports cars. Funny thing is, I don’t even have a car – though I suppose I could have included a picture of myself kneeling in front of my bicycle.

Anyways, the book starts out with some of the basics regarding the digital nomad lifestyle. I answer some of the common questions I receive from people, as well as give you some information on why the time is now and why making a million is not the answer.

From there, I dig into the techniques that I have personally used to make money using the internet. Everything I share with you in something that I have personal experience with. I felt that I should not include anything that I haven’t done myself.

Last but not least, I then cover the escape route and how you can make the transition out of your current job as easy as possible. Some of the things covered including building a nest egg, looking at your benefits (health insurance, etc.), and giving that awesome two-week notice.

A Few Bonus Items

If you decide to check out my book, you will also get some great bonus material to help you get started in the right direction. I’ve included two bonus guides, one on how to use WordPress (so you can start your own blog), as well as one on how to simplify your life. Trust me, simplifying can make your life feel so much better.

Last but least, I will also include five audio consulting sessions that cover some great topics like minimalism, blogging, and finding clients for your business or freelancing career.

My Personal Guarantee

I know how frustrating it can be to purchase something that doesn’t work. I’ve purchased tons of products over the years that either broke, didn’t work, or promised the world but didn’t deliver.

Because of those bad experiences, I want to offer you a personal guarantee on my product. If you purchase my guide on how to become location independent, read it, and give some of the techniques I mention an honest-attempt, I do not want to keep your money if you do not see any results.

All you have to do is shoot me an email within 30 days of purchasing the product and I will refund your money…it’s that simple.

Ready To Get Started?

If you’re ready to escape your job and take back your freedom, this book is just for you. Besides giving you my personal guarantee, I am also offering the whole package for only $27.

If you would like more information about the book, hop on over to Life After the Cubicle for a full overview. You can also use the add to cart button below to get started right way.

Back From My Blogging Sabbatical

Justin Wright — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:33:41 +0000

If you check this blog often, you probably noticed that I haven’t posted in well over a month. That’s the longest break I’ve taken from blogging since I started this blog in May of 2007. The goods news is I’m officially back from my sabbatical and have a bunch of ideas for upcoming blog posts.

Why The Break?

For the most part, I just needed to spend some time away from my blog. I also disappeared from Twitter and Facebook, which improved my productivity more than you could ever imagine. I realized how much time I spent on those sites and the very little return I saw from them.

During the sabbatical, I managed to take a few trips including a super long drive to Wisconsin and back. Making that drive by myself ended up being far more difficult than I anticipated. I made it there just fine with only a few hours of sleep at a rest stop, but the lack of sleep caught up with me when it was time to make the drive back. I ended up having to crash at a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, a city I was not impressed with.

My girlfriend and I also went and checked out Jacksonville and Orlando. Jacksonville Beach was pretty cool, but I much prefer the beaches on the Gulf Coast, since the water and sand are much nicer looking. However, the Gulf is currently the same temperature as the air (possibly warmer?), which makes it feel a lot like a hot tub.

Besides traveling, I also grew the longest beard I have had to date. I’ll most likely be blogging about once it gets to the length I’m shooting for and will compare it to my previous mustache experience. So far, I’m liking it a lot more than the mustache, since I feel less creepy. However, that could easily change if I don’t trim it soon.

Last but not least…

I also managed to finish the ebook I’ve been working on for over a year! A couple of you have already read it and I am now putting the finishing touches on it.

What’s it about? It’s all about ditching the cubicle and using the power of the internet to make a living. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like the “get rich quick” schemes or the “make $10,000 on autopilot” books. Instead, it’s a practical guide based on everything I’ve tried, learned, and experienced on my own journey from a cubicle slave to a digital nomad.

I’ll be posting more details once I have it finalized, so stay tuned for updates!

(Photo: andreweick)

Quick Interview at Blogger Talks

Justin Wright — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:07:29 +0000

Hey Everyone, just wanted to let you know about an interview I did for Blogger Talks. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a blog devoted to interviewing various bloggers from around the world. It’s an awesome content and something I find very interesting.It’s always cool to see what other bloggers have to say.

You can check out the full article here: Justin Wright Talks About Passion, Zoopmedia

Headway Theme Overview

Justin Wright — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:10:03 +0000

Headway, a new premium WordPress theme, is unlike any other themes out there. It utilizes some awesome features such as a layout editor and leaf system.

I just finished creating a brief overview of the Headway theme to help a few people understand how it works and wanted to share it with everyone:

If you’re interested in Headway, you can visit their website here. You can also check out the detailed Headway theme review over at the ZoopMedia blog.

Moved To A New Server

Justin Wright — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:30:25 +0000

Last night, I finished moving my blog over to a new server. Everything should now be complete and there should be no issues (I hope).

Why The Move?

Over the last two years, my blog has been hosted on a GoDaddy shared server. It worked great in the beginning but it’s been getting slower as each week goes by. It’s most likely from having more daily visitors, using more images, and adding more and more posts.

Luckily, my blog should now be loading MUCH faster, which is great for all of us. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you notice the speed difference (or any issues).

Use FriendFeed As A Lifestream

Justin Wright — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:42:43 +0000

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been doing some cleaning up on my blog over the last week and a half. I’ve removed a few things from my single post pages, as well as made some changes to my sidebar. The main thing I did with the sidebar is integrated a lifestream showing all my updates from various websites and social networks. Here’s how I did it:

1. Decided Which Tool To Use For The Content

There are a few programs out there that will create a lifestream for your blog or website. However, none of them are as easy to use as a simple FriendFeed widget. I actually used the same widget I was using in the past, which looked exactly like this:

As you can see, it’s a bit ugly. The border didn’t match anything else in my sidebar and it looked a little out of place. The major drawback to using the FriendFeed widget it that it doesn’t give you many options for customizing it when you set it up. Luckily they do have some custom CSS settings you can use. Which leads us to the next step.

2. Styled The FriendFeed Widget

The next step was a little tricky since I couldn’t get it to work at first. FriendFeed gives you some CSS codes to use, which can be added to your active WordPress theme stylesheet. I messed around with it for awhile and ended up adding the follow code to my stylesheet:

#friendfeed { border: 0px !important }
.widget { border: 0px !important; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times;}
.feed { border: 0px !important; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times;}
.body { border: 0px !important }
.logo { border: 0px !important }

As you can see, I went a little overboard with the “border: 0px” but it managed to remove it. I also added the font-family my theme uses so it matches the rest of my site.

Here’s what the finished widget looks like:

It looks a lot better in my opinion. I’m a big fan of no borders because it makes it look a lot cleaner.

3: Added Some Links Below The Widget

As you can see in the picture above, I also added some links below the widget. This was simple html code that I added directly below the widget. For the subscribe link, I simply pointed it to my FriendFeed page since I prefer people going there. You could also make the link go directly to the RSS feed of your FriendFeed.

I also decided to add a “view full lifestream” link, which I’ll talk about in the next step.

4: Created A Lifestream Page

After debating for awhile about whether or not I wanted to have a lifestream page, I decided to go with it. It allows me to list a lot more content for those who want to view it without forcing everyone to see my super long sidebar on every page.

To do this, I simply created a page titled Lifestream. I then embeded the same widget code I used for my sidebar into the page, which looks like this:

(If you want to use the code, make sure to remove the line breaks.)

If you look closely, you’ll notice I set the number (num) to 300. This will set the widget to list 300 of your latest items. However, I have noticed there seems to be a limit on how many items you can list. I’m not even sure if it’s listing all 300 of my latest items or not. Either way, it’s listing a lot more than I am on my sidebar.

Here’s what the finished product looks like:

Of course, the main page lists a lot more stuff. Overall, it looks pretty cool.

All Done!

So that’s everything I did to get my lifestream up and running. It’s fairly simple to implement and makes a good addition to your blog or website. As to how useful it is, we will see. I’m not real sure how many people really use lifestreams but I figured it was worth a shot.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. I’ll try and help you out.

Woopra: Analytics On Steroids

Justin Wright — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:04:55 +0000

One of the things I took away from WordCamp Dallas/Fort Worth was a Woopra account. Prior to the event, I had never heard of the analytics service. However, I am now fascinated by it and can’t stop playing around with it.

What Makes Woopra Any Different Than Google Analytics?

The answer is real-time stats. I can literally see who is on my website anytime I feel like it. I can also see what page they are viewing, where they originally came from, and all the brower/operating system stats I could want.

If that isn’t enough, I can even send a chat request to anyone currently visiting my site and have a real IM style conversation. It’s amazing!

It sure beats looking at delayed stats…

The Interface

Another thing I really like about Woopra is the interface. They offer a desktop application for PC and Mac which allows you to monitor your stats right on your computer. I would consider it the TweetDeck of analytics software.

Check it out:

As you can see, I wasn’t kidding about calling it a TweetDeck version of stats. It actually looks similiar in a few ways. You can browse through all different stats, such as live visitors and referring URLs. You can also look at a map and see where your current visitors are from.

Overall, the interface is really cool and pretty simple to learn.

What About Regular Website Stats?

Just like Google Anaytics, Woopra will also show me regular stats like visitors, unique visitors, and where they are coming from on a map. However, I do not like this part of Woopra and actually prefer Google Analytics.

It just seems easier to monitor long-term stats using Google Analytics, plus all my data is already in there. Plus Woopra is still in beta so I would not trust it as your only source of statistics. I currently have my sites setup with both and have not seen any downsides or slowdown from it.

Installation

Installing Woopra is a breeze. Just like Google Analytics, you simple paste a line of code right above your closing body tag. That’s it. You can then view your stats on Woopra’s website or download the desktop application (which I prefer).

The only downside is since they are in beta, they require that your site be approved before you can start using it. So hurry up and submit your sites so you can start using the software.

Use It For Real-Time Tracking

Overall, I would say this is a great complement to Google Analytics. The real-time stats are amazing, if not a tad geeky. I find myself stairing at them getting excited when I have a few people on my blog at one time. However, it isn’t a full on replacment for your other analytics programs so I would plan on using more than one.

I recommend testing this out and playing around with it. It’s a great way to see how many people are on your blog at any given time.

Get a free acount today at Woopra.com.

Back From #wcdfw09

Justin Wright — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:50:04 +0000

I Made the drive back from Dallas last night and managed to make it in one piece. Overall, WordCamp Dallas/Fort Worth (#wcdfw09) turned out to be an awesome event where I learned some awesome things about WordPress.

I met some awesome people (including @sivori, @claygriffiths, @grantgriffiths and @plagiarismtoday) and learned about the future of WordPress from @photomatt.

If anything, it gave me a big boost in motivation to keep on going and try as hard as I can at blogging. Plus I managed to hand out a huge stack of Zoopmedia business cards which is always a good thing.

The only downside to the whole trip was me not winning the MacBook Pro they gave away. I did get an iPhone case though so I’m not complaining.

Happening This Week

I thought I would also use this post to focus on some upcoming events here in Austin. I’ll be attending both events so come check them out and look for me.

WordPress Wednesday

When: July 1st at 9 AM
Where: Central Market Cafe (Second Floor)
RSVP: Go Here

The Social Media Rockstars meetup group will be meeting once again to talk about blogging and WordPress. It’s an awesome group and a great place to meet fellow bloggers and learn some new things about blogging.

Beer and Blog Austin

When: July 5th at 6 PM
Where: Opal Divine’s Freehouse
RSVP: Go Here or send a tweet to @beernblogaustin

The Beer and Blog Austin Chapter will be meeting again to drink some beer and chat about blogging, WordPress, and anything else on our mind. It’s only our second meetup so the more people the better. We still need help marketing as well so feel free to spread the word.

Recap Of WordCamp

Over the next week, I will be posting about the things I learned and summaries of presentations from the WordCamp event. The majority of them will be over at the ZoopMedia blog but I’ll probably squeeze a few in here as well.

The first post, Using WordPress As A CMS, is already live so go check it out. It’s got some great information about plugins.

TweetDeck Vs. Tweetie

Justin Wright — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:45:14 +0000

I’m hanging out at WordCamp Dallas (Live Stream) and it seems like everyone is using desktop applications for Twitter. However, when it comes to which one is the best it’s a mixed bag. People seem to all have different opinions based on how they use Twitter.

Some people prefer TweetDeck while others prefer Tweetie. Someone even told me about Nambu which is a brand new application that’s still in beta. I gave it a quick try but wasn’t feeling it so I uninstalled it right away.

I’ve been using TweetDeck since it first came out and have been really happy with it. I like the fact you can monitor everything using columns and it has a boatload of features.

However…

Since I arrived here in Dallas, I’ve been stuck using my 13″ screen (which is a pain in the ass). At home, I have a 24 inch monitor and have no problems with screen real estate. I can have TweetDeck up all day and it doesn’t bother me since I have a lot of desktop space.

As soon as I opened TweetDeck on my MacBook, it took up my entire screen. So I narrowed my columns and hid some of them. It fits fine on my screen now, but I miss seeing all the columns for my various Twitter accounts.

Tweetie Test Drive

So I installed Tweetie yesterday and decided I would give it a test drive. I previously used it when it first came out but I was so used to TweetDeck that I decided it wasn’t worth my time. I uninstalled it and went on my way.

But now that I’m using it again, I like it far more than TweetDeck. I can add all my accounts and monitor them in a super easy way. From an interface point of view, Tweetie is amazing. You simply click on your avatar for the various accounts and you get all the features you need.

What I really like about Tweetie is how they have managed to do everything in one column without making you feel limited. I feel like I can do everything I can in TweetDeck without the huge command center window. Plus it looks so much better and reads like an iChat conversation.

Which One’s Better?

It’s a tough call. After using it all day yesterday, I’ve decided to stick with Tweetie. It’s so painless to use and takes up as much space on my screen as iChat. But I think it really comes down to what you prefer and what features you use the most.

As far as the iPhone goes, I still plan on using TweetDeck since I really like the interface. For an in-depth review, check out TweetDeck for the iPhone.

I’m interested in hearing what applications everyone else is using.

Which Do You Use?