What a week! It started out on a somber note, with an overnight trip down to MD for a cousin’s funeral, but quickly turned around, with a job offer, my very first career coaching teleclass, and some exciting new projects. Excitement!

While I go do my happy dance (again), I’ll leave you to read this week’s link love:

• The Change Blog’s 7 Keys to Successful Public Speaking
• TravelersNotebook’s How to Develop a Personal Brand as a Writer
• Copyblogger’s How to Persuade People to Accept an “Unfair” Offer
• MediaMemo’s AOL: We Need to Fire 2,500 “Volunteers”
• Jezebel’s Do We Need Websites for Women?
• Penelope Trunk’s What Makes a Blog Successful?
• Not Jessica McGann’s How Much Should New Writers Get Paid?
• Los Angeles Times’ Apres Gourmet: Food Magazines Find Their Niches
• All Freelance Writing’s 10 Costly Money Mistakes Freelancers Should Avoid
• Copyblogger’s How to Make Money with Free
• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s The Importance of Networking — with the “Competition”
• All Freelance Writing’s Getting Started in Copywriting with Angela Booth
• TimesOnline’s The Top 100 Best Books of the Decade

My husband battled his fears of eventual bankruptcy by supporting my decision to leave my staff job and pursue freelancing full-time. And when I succeeded in bringing in my former staffer income within half a year as a freelancer, I sort of wanted to wiggle my butt and point and scream “In! Your! Face!”

The only thing that kept me from doing so was the knowledge that I still had a lot of debt to manage…debt that I probably should have taken care of before leaving my job.

There have been some awesome finance-centric posts floating around the blogosphere lately. April Borbon wrote about the 10 Items You Absolutely Need For Financial Security over at Freelance Switch, and I immediately began implementing some of her tips (better late than never!), such as throwing 30% of each paycheck into an interest-bearing savings account for quarterly tax purposes, and working harder on becoming debt free. Jeffrey Way helps out over at Freelance Folder with a simple budget how-to.

I’ve since transferred all of my credit card balances to two 0% interest rate credit cards, and have been throwing chunks of money at them monthly. I’ve also signed up for Mint as a means to track my finances. Most drastic of all, I’ve locked my credit cards away and now pay for everything with cash.

While this means that I’ve placed an embargo on pretty-dress-shopping (sad), it also means that I will most likely be debt-free (student loans aside) in one year’s time.

Any money-saving, debt-smashing tips to share with the masses?

Photo: ‘Derek J’ by Phil Watt

It’s been almost a year since I left behind a viable book publishing career for the terrifying uncertainty of freelancedom.

A questionable move considering that, three years before, I had been applying to just about any full-time staff job I could conceivably be considered qualified for.

To make an excruciating story less excruciating, let’s just say that I wasn’t feeling quite right within the corporate environment.

Now I work a number of freelance gigs, most of them from home, and I’ve never been happier. So, of course, I want everyone else to try it, too!

But as much as I advocate trying out new career paths, jumping blindly isn’t the smartest way to go.

Make A Plan and, for the Love of God, Stick With It. Achieving your dreams can be as simple as writing down what it is you want, and then figuring out the steps you must take in order to get there. Do you need further training? Perhaps you need to take some night classes or pursue an internship. Are you unsure what direction you’d like to take? Setting up informational interviews or attending networking events or Meet-Ups could help. What else should appear on your to-do list? Frequenting online forums in the area you’re interested in. Reading a ton of books. Piling on a second night job. By the time time you get through this list, you’ll most likely have arrived at your dream destination

Prepare Yourself. This took many forms in my case. With interests in narrative journalism, magazines, and blogging, I:

• Took some night classes. The classes I ended up taking through both MediaBistro and the New School led to clips, contacts, and an oh-so-helpful writing group.
• Took advantage of post-college internships. Don’t think you’re above it, because you’re not, and it’s sooo helpful. My first post-college internship, done during my year of unemployment, led to a part-time job and, eventually, through the power of connections, a full-time job with another publisher. So of course I turned to an internship program again at the start of my freelance career. So far, it’s landed me my most enjoyable freelance gig, and a good dose of added experience.
• Read a ton of books. I was a book nerd anyway, so this was completely painless. I couldn’t get enough of books such as Test-Drive Your Dream Job, One Person/Multiple Careers, Get a Freelance Life, and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide, not to mention the more writing-specific ones, such as The Renegade Writer, The Art of the Interview, Spunk & Bite, ProBlogger, and Ready, Aim, Specialize!

Save Your Pennies. Even with heavy preparation, success is never a sure thing, and the life of a freelancer can go up and down in terms of income, new clients, etc. Do you have enough in the bank to pay the bills? Your savings account should probably have 6 months’ to a year’s worth of savings (at least). Or if the thought of unsteady income gives you butterflies in your stomach, it might be smartest to seek out a part-time job you can count of, as a means of supplementing your freelance income. Think of it as training wheels.

Make Sure Everyone Is On Board. If you’re married or living with someone, this decision you’re preparing to make affects more than just you. Make sure your man (or woman) is on board and comfortable with your decision. Discuss your fears and figure out safety measures to put in place. It may be infuriating to have to compromise on the way to achieving your dreams, but that’s what you signed up for when you said “I do.” (::sigh::)

Spread the Word. Make sure all your friends and acquaintances know what you’re up to. It can’t hurt to have them spreading the word. And speaking of spreading the word, network like hell. I attend MediaBistro’s cocktail parties, in addition to blogger-specific meetups. Ed2010 also has happy hours for those interested in magazine publishing, and Networking for Professionals has…well…networking events for all types of professionals.

The above may seem like a lot. Many called me obsessed. But hot damn, when I was ready to leave my full-time job, I was ready.

Next step? Draw up your letter of resignation, give your two weeks’ notice, and do a little happy dance.