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    #11
    Originally posted by Crossroads
    In terms of when to turn down work and take a long break, I've been meaning to do it since 2004...

    I will do it either i) between contracts [not had the chance yet] or ii) once the mortgage is cleared and I have sufficient savings to scrape by.

    That's pretty much what is happening to me now. Just wanted to check that I wasn't the only one.

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      #12
      Originally posted by Gonzo
      weather

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        #13
        Gonz. My advice to anyone wanting to contracting is to ensure that they have three months money in the bank.

        Once contracting my advice has been to ensure that you have 6-12months money in the bank(preferably) 6 months worth.

        I tend to base one month off for every 6 month in the bank. So do a years worth of contracting, then take two months off.

        Always stay ahead of the game.

        I once met a guy who introduced himself to me as a contractor(back in 2003). He told me he contracted for a few years 1999/2000/2001 and had been raking it in(we all did). He flew business class everywhere(even to Paris/Edinburgh). He leased a 70k car and spent spent spent he told me. He took a couple of months off.

        Then the market crashed in 2001 and he found himself without work. He had no savings, the car got reposessed and he lost his house which he had a huge mortgage on. He never worked in IT again.

        The moral of this story is

        Make hay while the sun shines but don't be a c-nt by not burying some nuts.

        hth.

        MF
        What happens in General, stays in General.
        You know what they say about assumptions!

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          #14
          Originally posted by Sockpuppet
          I will dispute that Sockpuppet.

          When I am sober my spelling and typing are spot on.

          When I am not sober my typing goes out the window but my spelling never does

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            #15
            Dammit! We need another smilie.

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              #16
              Originally posted by MarillionFan
              Gonz. My advice to anyone wanting to contracting is to ensure that they have three months money in the bank.

              Make hay while the sun shines but don't be a c-nt by not burying some nuts.

              Sound advice.

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                #17
                Which means 'pay off the mortgage' (once you've got one, obv MF )

                And don't forget refocusing and taking the long view. CPD for contractors is just as important as it is for permies, it's just called a Business Plan in this case (although I stick with CPD).

                I'm earning £150 more per day than I did in 2003 through training, refusing fur-lined contracts and accepting lower-paid ones that took me in the right direction.
                "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

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                  #18
                  What's a fur-lined contract? I've read the thread a couple of times and can't quite nail it down.

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                    #19
                    From previous post. Work isn't really stimulating or what you want to do but it pays ok/ is close to home etc...
                    "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                    - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

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                      #20
                      Tough one this, I have stayed at a couple of places way too long, where I was really not enjoying it but the money was too good to walk away from because the market had dipped.
                      Trouble is - why is going somewhere else guaranteed to be great ?? Could be just as bad/further away/bad attitude towards contractors etc.
                      It's called work for a reason, you wouldn't do it for free.
                      I am 3 weeks from unemployed and only making a few feeble efforts to get work. I am happy to chill for a few weeks but will also want reassurance that I could get a job if I wanted it !
                      It's this basic insecurity that drives people back into permie work/or to stay in it.
                      Personal view - I always stay till they say bye but I should really get other offers when I am not happy, trouble is I am usually too lazy to do this unless I am on my way out !

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