is collecting the checks! I love freelancing. I get to write different stories, I get to work in my pajamas, make my own schedule, and most important I can say "No" to projects I don't want to do. My last boss didn't afford me that option.

But the worst part is tracking down the cash once the project is done. Most companies pay Net 30, so you get your check 30 days after the end of the month in which you finished it. I have no beef with that.

However, a lot of times there's a hitch-- the editor loses my invoice or forgets to turn it in on time and I have to send the dreaded reminder email. The "could you please check the status of my invoice?" email.

I hate doing it. But, it happens a lot. Today, I had to send two reminders for March invoices totalling $4600 and change.
They checks should have arrived in May, but alas, May is almost over and no checks. so the emails go out. Then waiting another 30 days or so to get paid.

Boo. This is why I keep a pad in my checking account. So I'm not too dependent on any one check, because you never know when they are going to arrive!

That said... What to do with the $4,600 when it does arrive. I have toyed with the idea of opening a self directed 401k which would allow me to stash a lot more for retirement than an IRA. But, I may skip that this and put the money toward our last home improvement project-- a new roof. It's the last big cash outlay for a necessity for the house . Looks like I have a month to think about what to do with the cash!

I just socked another $15.24 in the tiki $20 challenge fund. The money came from sales of a display ad on one of my Web sites. I'm happy that there is now over $600 in the tiki bar fund, and it's only March.

We also managed to sock an additional
$175 in the 529 plan for the soon-to-be-born bean
$200 extra in the savings account
$180 in the stock-buying account.

Feels nice. Also, when the checks for my latest freelance project come in, it should be enough to max out my IRA for the year. Yay!

Being forced to articulate my goals on this blog has really helped me make things happen. I wish I had started sooner...

Yay! I added $67.29 in Google adsense profits from my Web magazine to the Tiki $20 challenge.

2008 Total: $560.25, $939,75 to go!

I also paid an extra $143 this month on my student loan, bringing the balance to about $16,140. Down from $40,000 in 2001!!

I have long had an "accelerated" payment plan for the loan. When I work full time, I have used any money I've made as a freelance writer to pay extra on the loan every month. It's really sped up the pay-down.

I know it has a low interest rate and all, but it's our last outstanding debt, and I want it paid off. I totally hate debt.

I got to add $9.51 in profits from Amazon marketplace sales and $3.40 in profits from a sale on my Web site to the tiki bar fund.

Tiki "$20" challenge: $12.91
Total this year: $487.96

Well, the tiki fund isn't growing as much as I'd like it to this month. Seems like I just can't get moving. Sales on my Web sites and on Amazon have been slow, and I haven't dedicated any time to crafting more items to sell.

I guess this is the trade off. My normal professional life has been busy-- I have a new, potentially lucrative freelance gig that only lasts for the next 6 to 8 weeks-- until this baby pops out.

And of course add in that being very pregnant is exhausting, and I'm not much of a go-getter at the end of the day.

I am happy to have an assignment that will help me max out my IRA for the year and contribute to the household budget. But that doesn't get me much closer to the dream!

Well, looks like a local store might be interested in selling some of my handmade bags. A friend of mine went in there wearing one, and the store owner totally loved them and asked me to call her.

I've never sold consignment before. But, I am familiar with the store and really like it and what they stand for.

Usually, I only sell on the Internet. I get to keep more of the cash, minus Paypal and shipping fees. With in-store consignment, I'll only get 55 percent of the purchase price but it's good exposure to a new audience who might not otherwise find my Web sites. What to do...

I think I might go for it. I did the math and even at 55 percent, it will still be a profitable venture, just not as profitable per item as I am used to.

But if it boosts sales, that just means more money in the Tiki fund. And that's the goal right?

Have any of you sold on consignment before? Anything I should look out for?

Another check from a freelance assignment came in the mail today, so that's another $225 toward the IRA goal. I'm now up to $2,199 out of the $5,000 I want to contribute for 2008.

Here's the rub. I was reading the IRS guidelines on IRA contributions (yes, I'm a geek) and it appears that I have to subtract half of my self-employment tax from the amount I am allowed to contribute. .

If I have a good year, this won't be an issue, as I will have enough freelance income to max out the IRA and then some. But if I make less than $5,000 this year, I won't know exactly how much I can put into the IRA, due to the SEP calculation.

What to do.

I guess these are the challenges facing the self-employed.

At the moment, I've just been putting the entire freelance check into a reserve bound for the IRA account. I guess I can wait and see how much I have in it at the end of the year and do a quickie calculation.

Any other ideas?

Thanks to an eBay sale and another sale from my Web site, I added another $11.97 into the Tiki Bar savings account today. It feels good.

I know it's only small amounts, but just deciding to do this and keep track of the results really keeps me motivated and constantly thinking of new ways to make extra money.

Thanks to some craft sales and another Amazon book sale, I'm adding another $55.97 to the Tiki Bar fund. It isn't a lot, but it sure feels good to make some progress! I've also decided to raise the Tiki Bar Fund savings goal to $1,500, since I'm almost half way to my original goal of $1,000.

I sold two book through the Amazon marketplace, so those profits are going to the Tiki Bar Fund.

(I'm applying the $20 challenge principle to my Tiki Bar Fund-- using new sources of revenue to boost my savings.)

The total sales came to $17.87, but after shipping and fees my profit was only $7. (Boo.) The tiki bar fund total is now $399.19.

I should be able to add more to that by the end of the month, due to some pending eBay sales.

On a more exciting note, I just got a check for $1,947 for a freelance project I did late last year. It's going directly into my IRA.

My goal is to max out my IRA this year with $5,000 in contributions. This is a good jump start. Only $3,053 left to go!

On another note, I just got $75 worth of Amazon gift certificates in the mail. We use an Amazon credit card to and these are our accrued "Rewards". I used the certificates to buy my crib mattress, so that was a nice bonus for baby that didn't have to come out of our pockets.

Today was productive. I just set up an eBay auction for some very nice perfume I won at a holiday raffle. I also put 4 like-new books up for sale on the Amazon marketplace and posted two listings on Etsy.com, the craft Web site, for some tote bags that I made out of vintage Transformers and Batman fabrics. Hopefully some of these will sell in the next few weeks so I can pad the tiki bar fund! (although, not as much as I like because auction fees really add up. What a racket!)

It's time to also think about expanding my craft repertoire to boost sales so I can get closer to my goals. I'm thinking of designing/ selling a simple and inexpensive sewing pattern for reusable grocery bags. And maybe branching out into sterling silver jewelry. That will take a whole new skill set, but would be very exciting to learn.

It's that time of year again. Time to empty the giant plastic beer bottle "piggy" bank. It's the receptacle for all of my spare change, linty pennies I picked up on the street, as well as my go-to guy for bus fare and parking meter money. When it gets overwhelming, I empty it out. It's been about a year.

This year, with my honey's blessing, I'm putting that money in the Tiki Bar Fund. This will probably be the last big "easy" boost the fund will get this year. A sad thought considering it's only early January. I'm actually going to have to go out and (somehow) earn the rest.

I rolled as many coins as I could last night while watching television. Holl-ee cow. When I counted, I had $112. I also cashed in pennies at the Coinstar, for a total of $26.19.

I know, I know. Coinstar charges 8.9 percent to sort, but I ran out of wrappers and my bank won't take loose change. I wrapped all of the silver, so it's worth it to me to pay $2 or so just to get those pennies off my hands. I guess that isn't very thrifty of me, but I'm choosing my battles.

I went to the bank this morning to deposit all of my ill-gotten gains. This afternoon, I'll transfer it into the official Tiki Bar Fund online savings account.

The grand total: The pennies came to $26.19, for a grand total of $138.19 in change. Plus, I found a bonus $4-- a lottery ticket that my mom gave me for Christmas, so I'm adding $142.19 to the fund. Yay! I'm now up to $392.19!

Now the real work can begin.