John Scalzi on a writer’s income, or rather lack thereof.
Most of these are more true than not. I’m probably in a better position than most, because:
- I have a day job, and have had a day job of one sort or another (with occasional gaps as long as nine months) for the entirety of my adult life.
- I’m a cheap bastard. Save my bookshelves, just about every piece of furniture I’ve added to my house was someone else’s castoff, so my house resembles that distinctive decorating style known as “Early College Student.” My TV is an old non-HD hand-me-down. My phone is the cheapest piece-of-crap Verizon had five years ago (and I’ve since replaced it with a used copy of the same model bought cheap off eBay); I suspect Fisher-Price now sells a phone with more functions. It only took me five years to decide that I could finally afford to buy a $10 spoon rest. (You get the idea.)
- I’m paranoid enough to always keep a good chunk of money in the bank for emergencies. (That’s also why I paid off all the bills I wracked up in my 20s in my early 30s.) Given the additional uncertainties here in the era of Hope and Change, I’ve recently doubled that amount. As former Intel Chairman Andy Grove was wont to say, “Only the paranoid survive.”
I would mention that my health has generally been pretty robust (certainly nothing like the host of maladies that, say, poor George Alec Effinger suffered), but that’s just asking The Giant Frying Pan of Fate to whack you upside the head for tempting it so. So (*cough*) I guess (*wheeze*) I won’t. (*Uh-oh*.)
Anyway, I’m doing a lot better than some, but I’m always looking out for ways to add to my financial cushion, the better to keep the wolves a few steps further from my door. A working spouse would be nice. If you’re an attractive single female, the line forms to the right. (No shoving and, as always, please, no wagering.)
By the way, on a completely unrelated note, I’ve added a Paypal donation button to this page…
Tags: economics, personal finance, writing