Went from 10 clients to just 3 over 8 months - did I make a mistake?

I used to take ANY freelance writing gig that came my way, even the $20 blog posts, but after a burnout meltdown last January I started saying no to low pay and bad vibes. Now I only work with 3 regular clients who pay me $200+ per post, but my monthly income dropped from $4k to around $3.2k even though I work less hours. Is it smarter to build a stable, higher-paying base like this or should I go back to grabbing every crappy job just to hit a higher number?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna9832mo ago

Heard a friend try this and she ended up way happier even with less cash.

skyler_adams2mo ago

Yeah, I've seen that happen too, @anna983. Sometimes cutting back doesn't feel like losing anything, it just clears out the noise. My neighbor downsized from a huge house to a small apartment and she says she finally has time to actually relax instead of cleaning all weekend. Money is nice but not if it chains you to stuff you don't need.

taylor.paige15d ago

Thing is, @anna983, I actually wonder if the people who are happiest after downsizing didn't really have less cash in the end. My cousin made a similar move and she found that without the big house payment, the car payments, and all the upkeep costs she suddenly had more money left over at the end of each month. It's like the cash looks smaller on paper but it goes way further when you're not constantly throwing it at stuff you don't need. Plus she stopped buying clothes and gadgets to fill up space in a big closet. Her savings account actually grew even though her salary never changed. So your friend might not have had less cash at all, she just had less stuff eating it up.