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Two weeks ago I went camping in the desert, without a phone signal or Internet connection. During the 10 days when I was “unplugged,” a handful of urgent issues formed. A nasty virus infected Afford Anything, triggering “malware” alerts every time a reader tried to visit. Google de-listed me from its search rankings until I…
Myth: Winners never quit and quitters never win. Fact: Winners quit ruthlessly. We’ve all heard the cliché, “winners never quit.” Like most clichés, that’s an oversimplified myth. The truth is much more nuanced. Winners quit constantly. They quit frequently. They quit decisively and without regret. They make a rigorous assessment of the hard facts. If…
Ever met a “should” – er? A person bound by invisible scripts who wants you to conform to their world view? People seem to crawl out of the woodwork with opinions about how you should spend your money and manage your career. “Now is the best time to buy a house!” “You have to go…
The biggest mistake I’ve made as an entrepreneur? Confusing my role as an investor with my role as the general manager. As an investor, my role is to infuse money into a project or a company. Then I kick back and wait for the returns. As the general manager, my role is to oversee the…
The other day I saw this great graphic comparing How People Think Professional Photographers Spend Their Time vs. How They Actually Spend Their Time: (Click “display images” if you’re reading this by email.) People who work in “glamourous” industries often face these misconceptions. “Oh, you’re a journalist! You can jet off to Paris as…
Today is my first day back at work after a one-week “unpaid” vacation. I’ll earn less this month than I did in the previous few months, since I only worked three-fourths of the time. This is because I trade my time for money. I have a huge limitation on how much I can earn. Everything…
Today, Afford Anything turns one year old. Exactly a year ago today I wrote my first post on this website, and geez, it was a terrible post. I’m too embarrassed to link to it. I had no clue what I was doing when I started this site. I didn’t know HTML coding. I didn’t know…
This was originally published in 2012 as a series of separate blog posts. For the sake of simplification, we have consolidated these blog posts onto this one page that you’re reading. Unless otherwise noted, the information has not been updated, so all numbers and information reflect 2012. I’m changing careers. Well, sort of. About two…
When I started freelancing, I thought I’d reached the pinnacle of worker freedom. Every morning I pour a cup of coffee, pull on a warm fuzzy pair of slippers, and plod into my home office. I watch commuters battle the busy streets while I wear pajamas at my desk. I thought this was the goal. But it’s only…
I recently received a question from a reader named Briana, who asks: “Paula your story is definitely inspiring. I’m having a bit of trouble though. Since being laid off in January, I’ve been pursuing a “career” as a freelance writer, and while things are steadily looking up, the fact of the matter is I’m still…