If someone told my mother she had to survive on $100 for an entire year, she could probably do it. She would walk five miles to save five cents. Don't get me wrong, I adore my mother, but I must confess we do not share the trait for thriftiness.
Put me in a bookstore or an office supply store, and I can gather a couple of hundred dollars' worth of merchandise before you can say, "Stop that!" My Amazon Kindle nearly ruined me. I was afraid I was going to have to convince my friends to break my fingers before I finally learned to control my impulse to order every book that popped up on the screen.
Having the financial self-control of a delayed wombat is not exactly a good thing when you're launching a fulltime freelance business and scrabbling for every penny.
I realized the first week that I was going to have to curb my spending--and fast. That is, unless I wanted to do my writing on a manual typewriter in a cardboard box under an overpass. So, I put together a few budgeting guidelines. So far, they've kept me out of the poorhouse.
1. Understand the Difference Between Wants and Needs
I may want an expensive, hard-to-find biography of Edward VI, but do I need it? Hardly. By the same token, I may want to buy a premiere brand of my favorite food because it tastes better, but the store brand will provide me with exactly the same nutrition, so I stick with the store brand.
2. Make a List
Today, I ran out of ink cartridges for my printer. That meant a trip to the office supply store, one of my danger zones. I handled it by making a list of exactly what I needed. When I entered the store, I went directly to the aisles where the supplies I needed were stocked and forced myself not to look at (or buy) anything else that looked interesting or helpful.
3. Rediscover the Library
In the past when I saw something about a book that sparked my interest, I surfed right over to Amazon and bought it. Now, I'm retraining myself to surf to the local library website instead. I can put a hold on the book and pick it up as soon as it's available. No, it's not as immediately gratifying to have to wait a month or two for popular books to become available, but it's much easier on my wallet.
So far, my impromptu financial planning has kept me solvent, if not wealthy. Now, it's just a matter of focusing on growing my business. Until then, maybe I'll find out I have more in common with my mom than I thought I did.
I had to chuckle when I read this. I feel your pain! It's one thing when you strike out on your own and another when you realize you have to give up a few luxuries and stick with only what you need and even then you have to consider if what you need is REALLY what you need.
You can do it! You seem to have enough determination to succeed. :-)
Good luck and keep writing!!
Posted by: Jodi Hughey | Aug 24, 2011 at 02:39 PM