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I'm an independent consultant.

I live within my means and never worry about money, much less have cash flow problems. Considering I get to do what I love in the process, every day is like Christmas when I put it in perspective.

I have health insurance. It's actually cheaper than what my contribution was the last time I had it "provided" as a benefit, for about the same coverage. Being part of a big risk pool is nice, but at least hedging against catastrophe with "self employed" insurance is too cheap/easy not to take advantage of.

If you don't make time, you'll never have time. The author seems to be falling into the all-too-common trap of equating long hours with productivity. You can find yourself on that soul-crushing treadmill regardless of whether you drink your morning coffee at a cafe or in a cubicle.




"If you don't make time, you'll never have time. The author seems to be falling into the all-too-common trap of equating long hours with productivity."

Not necessarily. It probably depends on the market you are in. The author is a writer: maybe it is a bit harder for him than for a software consultant: maybe he has to work more to earn enough money. Also I have a freelancer friend who is very productive just somehow he is trapped into a market where there is not too much money. (He (and I) lives in Eastern Europe, and works for not too big/rich companies.)


For what it's worth, paid writing projects are a non-trivial portion of my income. I've found time management and hard negotiation to be even more important in that area than in software development.




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