Ready to Quit the Rat Race? Here’s How to Save Some Cheese When You Go Solo
Does your daily grind or dwindling bank balance have you dreaming of a new career? Perhaps you have a brilliant idea that everyone tells you is sure to earn you millions. Or maybe you’re finding it difficult to leave your adorable offspring in the hands of someone else each morning before the commute. There are as many reasons for wanting out of the old 9-to-5 as there are donuts in the break room.
But setting up shop on your own is a scary prospect, full of unknowns. To help stem that fear, I’ve lined up some bargains on tools that’ll help you pull it off. Whether you need a new job, a whole new set of skills, or just some gear to make working in cafes more palatable, it’s always nice to save a little money in the process.
FlexJobs
Ever searched online for jobs that let you work at home? You stepped right into a filthy mess of online scams, cons, and low-wage horror stories, didn’t you? So how do you find work if one of your main criteria is that it offers the flexibility of working from home — at least some of the time? Flexjobs is a non-scammy job site with a team of specialists who track down legitimate telecommuting, part-time, and freelance work. Membership usually starts at $15 a month. But I got you 30 percent off whichever subscription option you choose. Go to FlexJobs.com and enter the code Saving30 at registration to get this deal.
Xero
Whether you plan to just freelance or to set out to start up an enterprise of your own, you’ll need to invoice clients, keep track of your money, and pay your bills; if things go well, you might even need to pay employees. None of that needs to be as scary as it might sound. Xero is a cloud-based accounting tool that simplifies everything and makes managing your money (dare I say it?) even a bit addictive. I got you 30% off of six months of this lovely — I mean that, it’s really good looking — accounting service. Use the code XEROYAHOO when you sign up. Hurry though: This offer expires on October 17, 2015.
Udemy
Perhaps it’s time to revamp your own skills so you can land that new job or build that brilliant concept you are hatching. Udemy offers thousands of courses in all sorts of subjects, taught by a wide range of skilled experts. The price for each class is set by the instructor, so costs range wildly. But I got you a deal on select courses that might fuel your exit from your current grind: C Programming For Beginners, Learn PHP Programming From Scratch, The Online Marketing Crash Course: Traffic, Leads & Clients, Effective Project Management With Trello, and The Practical Way: Learn Electronic Music Production. Use the code YahooTech when you sign up, and you’ll bring the price for whichever course your choose down to $10. The code is valid until 12/31/2015.
Meze Headphones
Whatever you end up doing — sticking with your current gig, launching a small business, going freelance, or telecommuting — you will probably want a pair of headphones so you can talk on the phone or listen to music while you work. I got you 40 off these sweet Meze headphones. Just use the code YAHOO40MOFF at checkout.
Toshiba Satellite Radius 15
If you are planning to live the freelancer life, a new computer probably wouldn’t hurt. And it had better be a powerful laptop that’ll let you work wherever you park yourself, right? The Satellite Radius 15 is a sweet Windows 10 machine with a touchscreen that swivels back, so you can use it as a tablet or with the keyboard in laptop position. It’s speedy and versatile and will have you covered, whatever the new workday brings. And it’s on sale at BestBuy for $930.
Wireless Touch Keyboard K400
Whichever computer you use, it could probably benefit from a better keyboard. This Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad will connect to your laptop, desktop, or even the TV. It’s on sale at Walmart.com for $25 (originally $40.)
