I just read a blog post with some good financial tips, and also took a survey about money, financial planning and investing. In addition, this week I have been taking financial stock of my business (earnings to date and year end projections), so I've got money on the brain.
It's certainly official in my world - the economy completely tanked starting in the fall of 2008, and I'm not seeing much in the way of recovery as of this date (2 years later). My 2010 earnings will be 19% of the amount I earned in 2008. That is an 81% drop in earnings.
I am just the tip of the iceberg. My circumstances and experience are replicated and experienced by untold thousands of people just like me - self-employed consultants who only get jobs if our prospective clients can afford our services. And far fewer businesses and individuals can afford anything these days. They are all trying to keep the lights on themselves. Things continue to be pretty grim.
I immediately have to look on the bright side. I am currently paying a mere fraction of the income taxes I usually pay. I also managed to earn this 19% of my previous income level working for just 7 months (I used to work for 9 months when generating the higher amount). And I am still able to set my own hours and working conditions, which is priceless to me. No office-prison and wage-slave situation for me! I can still earn more, and in far fewer hours, working for myself than entering the salaried workforce.
Things would have to get much, much worse than this before I'd look for a regular job. And then, if things were much, much worse there likely wouldn't even BE any salaried jobs available. So I must do what I can, where I am, with what I've got.
Todo bien. (It's all good.)
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