Closely related to my Unpaid Vacation / Holiday Time post is the fact that when you're self employed, you don't get paid sick leave either.  I am normally very healthy, but I was abruptly reminded of this subject last weekend when I got sick for 5 days, and I'm talking about the kind where you only have enough energy to roll over in bed, forget about sitting in front of a computer!  I will really be reminded of this again in a few weeks when I receive payment for the work performed this week and it's significantly lower than past weeks.  Sure, my client was understanding and didn't yell too loud when I said the deadline might have to slip a little bit because of my illness, but he sure as heck isn't going to pay me for hours I didn't work.

Please understand that I'm not complaining here.  I know how this game works (I've been playing it for 12 years now).  And it has been by my own choice.  I just wanted to highlight this for those of you who are not self-employed but are considering it.  It's little things like this that people tend to forget to take into account.  So, now you've been warned.  Obviously, I still believe the benefits outweigh the costs, but for you, the answer might be different.  (And yes, I'm much better now, thanks for asking.)