FINANCE TIPS FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED: “That money part is what I hate about being self-employed. Anyone who says they don’t love a steady paycheck is lying. A paycheck is so nice. It’s reliable like a friend, it makes you safe, it gives you a way to organize your life.”

I do a fair amount of outside writing and a little bit of paid speaking. But it’s given me huge sympathy and respect for people who make their living that way. Just this weekend I finally got a university to cough up the money for a speech last summer. It was mildly annoying that I had to email them several times, but it would have been much worse if I’d expected to pay my mortgage with that check.