Several fellow bloggers have written about money woes recently. I don't claim to have all the answers, but since I opened a small business account and starting keeping track of my writing expenses separately, things have run more smoothly and I feel comfortable knowing I'm not eating away at my savings.
My issues are computer-related. I don't need a financial planner (yet), but I do need tech support on call 24/7. I was totally irresponsible and let my anti-virus software lapse, so when I had a virus scare last week, I immediately dipped into my freelance fund and renewed it. Turns out I don't have a virus, but I'm out of memory (joy). It took over an hour to download the updated anti-virus software, then things came to a screeching halt.
Another computer shortcoming: I've hidden it well for the past year and a half, but my Dell laptop only came with WordPerfect. It's a huge nuisance, because every time someone sends me a spreadsheet or a Word document with graphics, I have to go to the library to open it. So a few weeks ago I decided "I'm a working writer, I should invest in basic writing software" (basic meaning $200+!) MS Office was going to be my next computer purchase. Nope. Now I need more memory just to function normally.
I called my boyfriend (who has an engineering degree, by the way) to ask him about it. "How do I check my computer's memory? I don't know what to do!" I moaned. It's ironic, really, because at my first post-college job, I was the IT person (it was a non-profit, we wore many hats). His guess was as good as mine, because he's a fan of antiquated software and still works in Windows '97. Thankfully, one of the people I volunteer with (a brand new theatre company that needed PR consulting) has more tech sense than I do and offered to advise me on purchasing and installing more memory. I did a little research and discovered that a memory upgrade for my sad little Dell will run $80+ plus another $40 for installation. After shelling out $50 for virus protection and anticipating the eminent need for MS Office, I'm wondering if it's time to abandon ship. Hopefully my new best friend the IT guy will be able to talk some sense into my laptop.Now, if you'll excuse me, this soul-sucking work week has left me exhausted. So instead of going out for a Grey Goose martini to bring on the weekend, I'm going to watch Grey's Anatomy. That's right, I'm a huge nerd and I'm not ashamed to admit it!