| Hey hey. I was in the same boat last year. Loved the company but there just weren't enough contracts coming through the door to keep me fully employed. One thing that really helps to keep me sane during tough times is to catalog every teeny tiny expense I've made over the past year. When you know exactly where your money is going, it will help alleviate lots of stress. Before I did this, I felt a vague sense of panic. After I did it, I realized that I had already earned two times more than what I typically spend in a year. It gave me a sense of calm, knowing that I had plenty of "runway" before having to dip into my investments. If you have any egregious expenses (I know I did), now is the time to systematically eliminate them. You might be money poor, but you are time rich now. If you treat your life like a business, now is the time to make some big cuts to ensure your longterm survival. Just last month, I cut my phone bill in half, figured out how to cut food expenses by a few thousand a year, and reversed a bunch of b.s. charges for services I no longer use. Make this your new job & you will thrive. |
If you haven't done your taxes already, do them. It will give you a better picture of where you stand & what you can expect in terms of a refund (if you get one).
Admittedly this advice probably applies more to the self-employed folks as we have to pay quarterly estimated taxes. The worst thing that can happen is to lose a client and then discover that you owe the government a few grand in April.
But if you are getting a refund, it should make you feel more calm about your situation.