Holding on to flexi-time schedule

(photo by jbonnet of flickr.com)

When we migrated to the U.S., I started with no other job but to tend to the house and the kids, watching my garden grow. I liked this simple schedule but finances were too tight to hold on to this lifestyle. So I applied for a freelance writing job with the local paper and after many weeks of waiting and following-up (almost giving up!), my first article got printed in the The Antioch Press. I am paid per article so it took about a year to get myself stable in that set-up. There were times I would run to the driveway early in the morning to fetch the paper and nothing was printed, therefore I had no pay, therefore the grocery budget shrunk and there was not going to be new clothes and toys for the kids. I toyed with applying for a full-time job then. But I truly did not want to trade in my precious flexi-time schedule for more money. So I applied for a home-based online research job for a grant-writing coach and author Dalya Massachi. This job paid me per hour. But remember, home-based is the key word and priority.

Soon, my editors Rick and Dave started to notice me (I think specially after my photos got more vivid. Thanks to my Canon Rebel!) and started not only to print me more, but to actually assign me to more frequent stories. Now, I have an average of 3-4 articles a week--printed. And just about the same time, I found my bearings with the research job, learning deeper Excel and gathering data learning about non-profit organizations, and gaining more hours a week.

Just when I felt my financial contributions to the house budget was already substantial and I gained, at the least, more grocery-buying freedom, (I even afforded a carpet for the living room), my husband was laid-off. . . .