If you pay tax estimates, you know it’s currently the worst time of year. While everyone else is planning to blow their tax return on a Memorial Day excursion, we have just paid our tax bill for last year and our first quarterly estimate in April, and for some infuriating reason, the second quarter is about to be due in June. So if you made more money last year than the year before–which is everyone’s goal–three huge tax bills are due in a two month span. Hey, IRS, that’s not how you divide 12 into four.
The Work/Life Balance Blur
I’m sitting in my mother’s living room, trying to get some work done. It’s hard here. Not just at my mom’s house, but in my small hometown in general. I was born in Tawas City and grew up here. I feel like a kid here, always. I drink my mom’s Diet Cokes without fretting about the aspartame. I roll through stop signs. I nab dog toys from my dad’s vet clinic, and nobody seems to care. Nothing counts here, but in a good way. It’s like the magical protective dome of my childhood is still in tact and waiting to receive me each time I return.
Being 1 in 7 Billion: Standing out in the world as a freelancer
Earlier this week, the Diane Rehm Show featured a discussion on the rise of freelancing in the US. They touched on a number of great points, from misclassification of employees as freelancers to the unique financial challenges freelancers face. I rolled my eyes, however, when a caller chimed in to complain about competition from international freelancers who can afford to work for pennies on the dollar. How can a designer/writer/programmer compete with them?
Natalie Burg 