Consulting in California

Yep.

Not good for your body. Eat at home, home-made bread. But yes, set the lunch hour just like you'd do at a company. I always eat 12:10 unless some urgent biz call came in, just like in the corporate world.

Amen!

Or use phone cards. $20 at Costco, 700 minutes. Lasts forever. We always have one for biz use that gets expensed and another for personal use that doesn't get expensed. For international pre-dials like 1019898 can be a better deal. All this may sound like extra work but it sure saves a ton of money. On a cell phone you'd probably wreck the battery rather quickly and IMHO the audio quality can be inferior.

I do pay stuff from personal. It's a matter of good book keeping. Records get filed and promptly entered into a MS-Works database. That program comes included with many PCs.

Or just use the IRS mileage rate. Unless you drive a newer expensive model it's pretty much a wash.

VERY important: If there is the slightest blemish on your health records you may become a pariah, IOW uninsurable. The worst that can happen is you apply and they all turn you down. One filled prescription of an anti-depressant or whatever can be enough.

Yeah. Watch out for red flag phrases like "cost is no issue", "c'mom, let's get it done" (without a detailed upfront cost study), "it should be a piece of cake for you", "let's not worry about agency approval right now" or "there'll be tons of money once we sell it".

You need a rather extreme lowpass function behavior in your finances. Plus a six month buffer, at the least.

And: Get organized. IMHO everything should be in databases that can be auto-sorted in all fashions, _not_ Excel. Each client gets an invoice code plus a monthly incrementing number that also has the year in it, and client directories for work files must be strictly separated. Meaning don't store all the sim files in one LTSpice directory etc. No multiple piles of paper on the desk, you should be able to clean up in minutes to receive a client visitor and he shall not be able to see any other client's stuff. For example, in my case it's in binders and they are in a locked cabinet. Recent work not yet filed away (that I still need to work on) is in manila folders, also in a lockable cabinet.

Backup: Have everything backed up very regularly and occasionally one copy should go off site in case a natural disaster strikes. For example the safe deposit box at a bank at a reasonable distance. I carry around a USB stick but only I can access the files on there. U3 code can come in really handy with this.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Yep. I work a perfectly normal 12 hour day ;-)

Around 3 times a week ;-)

Yep.

I have separate business and personal phone lines.

Get a card that says "Company Name"

Not much for me... the "company" truck, now some 7 years old has just a little over 20K miles on it. But you can deduct insurance, plates, and maintenance.

Pray that you can get into a group. Just prior to the switchover to Medicare I was paying $850/month for $5K deductible

I like to have about 3 months of reserve. Don't always make it though :-(

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
     It\'s what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.

Uhm, do you weigh yourself once in a while?

[...]

That sounds like my kind of yearly mileage.

Careful, that can grenade on you. As evidenced by the hyperinflationary rates in the IEEE pool. Bottomline group pools are usually entered into by people who otherwise only received declines, mostly for a reason. Then claims skyrocket, cost skyrockets, rates skyrocket some more ... death spiral.

Nah! Didn't you once write in this here NG that all your SS payments go onto the rainy day pile?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

I have not been in a fast-food place in probably 20 years.

I looked into IEEE rates, then went it alone thru State Farm... a little pricey, but ultra-reliable.

Not this year. The hip surgery set me back significantly in getting business rolling again :-)

I'm fine now, but it was a nasty roller-coaster ride.

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
           Liberalism is a persistent vegetative state

[snip]

"Fast-food" lunch today: Mahi-Mahi and salad and, of course, a glass of Chardonnay ;-)

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
           Liberalism is a persistent vegetative state

My go out for lunch is an hour or so playing with the dogs. Stress level drops immediately. A definite advantage of working from home. Also (to the OP), keep your daily schedule. Dont fall into the trap of "I can sleep in a little today, I'll just work late tonight", or "I know I can do that job in N days, I have time, think I'll go fishing today". Next thing you know day N+1 will be here and the customer will be on the phone wanting to know where that code, schematic, etc is.

Good idea on the phone cards. When I was starting out a long time ago I got hit with a $1200 phone bill, and of course, I had maybe 500 bucks in the bank. Too many LD calls to clients who wanted to chat about the weather...

I'm keeping actual this year. Not convinced they will index for the real cost of gas. I've also tried to cut down on trips.

No kidding. I had a dental implant 2 years before we did our current insurance. When we applied the wanted to know why I had gotten a prescription for pain killers. Dental insurance is another issue.

I also try for 6 months of normal expenses. That gives me a little more buffer in that I can scale back to the bare essentials. Unless you can look at the check book and understand that your balance is not really X but X-buffer then move the money into a safe place. I know one person that keeps 3 months in the savings account and another 3 in a 3 month CD. That way the buffer is at least making him a little money.

And DO NOT share that computer with anyone else in the family. Have a work computer and a home computer. I have the home computer on a different sub-net with a firewall between them. I can see the home system but it cannot see my work systems.

I do this also. I have 3 that I rotate. I also have a small NAS that I use for daily backup, etc. Just a few weeks ago I had a drive in one of my work systems go bad. Was working fine when I went to bed. Powered the box up the next morning and and it would not boot.

A note to the OP, BobW. Dont take this path if your only reason is you are tired of working for someone else and want to be your own boss. Unless you are independently wealthy you are always working for someone else and as a consultant they can whack you over the head a lot harder than if you were an employee.

--
Joe Chisolm
Marble Falls, TX

And if you have dogs (we've got two) don't design switchers below 35kHz. They hate that, at least the shepherd does. The daily dog walk is part of my break but we scoot that around according to weather, or right now wildfire smoke. But like everything else it's budgeted time.

[...]

Plus don't think VoIP is the cat's meouw. It ain't. Yet. Also, maintain at least one regular old POTS phone that keeps working after the electricity went. You don't want to lose work just because a kid spun out in his Honda lowrider and smacked it into a transformer (happened

1/2 year ago). He survived. The next one didn't :-(

They just upped it to 58.5c.

Oh, and don't let the tax advantage of an HSA slide away. I was actually enticed to look into that by folks in this here newsgroup.

[data backup]

Interesting. Everyone seem to use three rotating backups.

But once you have a great reputation they treat you like we treat doctors. IOW wait in line until the doctor is in :-)

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:13:21 -0700, Joerg wrote: [snip]

Good to know about the switchers. We have 4 Border Collies. Day starts at 6am with walks or play.

[snip]

All my systems are on UPS. That gives me plenty of time to shut down. We loose power out here all the time. Need to find time and wire in a generator. When we loose power we loose the water well and the wife becomes an unhappy camper.

[snip]

Thanks for the link

[snip]

Yep - I try to max out the funding in Jan of each year.

[snip]

It does beat punching a time clock....

--
Joe Chisolm
Marble Falls, TX

Thanks for the tips, Joe.

I'll look into joining "some business group with a group plan" to save on health care costs. I'm paying about $400/mo now for COBRA coverage, but I've heard I can get it cheaper on my own.

Bob

--
== All google group posts are automatically deleted due to spam ==

How did we get to toner cartridge refilling? Argh... topic drift.

Anyway, some decent rebuilding instructions might be useful:

The problem with laser cartridge rebuilders is that some of them cut corners. The key part is the rubber wiper blade. It wears out, causes streaking, and eventually scores the drum. It should be replaced with every rebuild. If they just reload the toner, the results are usually awful.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

[snip]

Shop around a lot and watch the fine print. And keep your COBRA coverage until the dust settles. Most plans we have seen have a waiting period for some procedures. Some plans require a 90 day wait before a basic physical or other routine exam. Look at high deductible plans and a Health Savings Account. How many times a year to you go see the doctor? What does a office visit cost? How much will that monthly prescription cost? Weight that against the various plan deductibles.

I'm very up front with the doctors about my insurance situation. I question if a procedure is *really* needed cause most of the money is coming directly out of my pocket. Ask the Dr. office manager if they will give a discount if you pay in cash. Many will cause they dont have to deal with the insurance paperwork.

Good luck and have fun.

--
Joe Chisolm
Marble Falls, TX

I head my invoices with: "Rich Grise, Contract Inventor". ;-)

Cheers! Rich

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:15:57 -0700, Joerg wrote: ...

You can get them from vendors for free. ;-)

Also calendars. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

But first you have to blow $50 worth of gasoline to get there. Puts you negative $40 right there.

I only need one calendar for my daytimer and that's slightly over $6/year at Walmart.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

And, if it is a larger medical practice, they will tell you that they CAN'T give you a cash discount! If they do, it shows that their 'normal' charges are pushed up to get additional funds from the Insurance companies, and that is illegal in many states! I think it is part of the conspiracy that, you MUST have insurance, you can't just pay cash for things...

-- Charlie Edmondson Edmondson Engineering Inc

We have several doctors here in AZ offering immediate service for a flat $1K annual fee.... a different kind of "insurance" ;-)

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
           Liberalism is a persistent vegetative state

...

That's kinda like what I heard they do in China - you pay the doctor to keep you healthy, and if you get sick, you stop paying him until he makes you better. ;-)

My Grandpa Grise was a doctor during the depression. People paid him with farm animals and stuff. One of his patients paid his bill by signing over his house to Grampa.

Cheers! Rich

Sounds like a deal. My deductible is a lot more than that.

--
Keith