How to live on $12,000 a year (yes, $12,000!)

How to live on $12,000 a year — that’s an article I found via StumbleUpon. The writer claims to live in the US on a budget of just $12,000 a year. Yikes! But it makes for interesting reading. It’s possible that the writer’s income is more than that, but her or she chooses to live on a modest budget.

Still, new consultants should take the article’s tips into consideration. I sometimes run into new consultants who quit the business after a couple of months. It takes a little time to work up to a full-time consulting income — two months is a pretty short period of time. Sometimes, cutting back on your expenses can help you move forward.

Of course, I recommend taking up consulting as a side job, unless you’re already out of work, retired, independently wealthy, depending on a spouse, or otherwise in a position where picking up small projects suits you just fine. Consulting can definitely keep you occupied (and compensated) on a full-time basis, but most people need a little time to work up to it. On the flip side, you can jump into consulting on a full-time basis, if you have some savings or perhaps a part-time job to sustain you.