4 ms·

This is a complicated multi-facetted issue so I'm only going to comment on one aspect of it. Your attitude and mental health. Just think carefully about each a

This is a complicated multi-facetted issue so I'm only going to comment on one aspect of it. Your attitude and mental health. Just think carefully about each avenue you want to take and how that will impact your well-being and productivity. There's an opportunity cost to chasing the money. In the time spent chasing it, you could instead be earning it back doing other work and be happier for it. Then it may be worth considering. I don't have a full picture of your earning potential and financial situation so I can't comment either way here. Anecdotally, I was over billed by my electricity suppliers by ~£50. I could have let it go but I chased it and spent hours on the phone and writing emails to them. I filed complaints and threatened to go the regulator. It made me very angry and I could have spent that time far more productively and earned £50 doing something else. So with hindsight, I would do things differently. I know my example is small compared to yours but useful none the less.

subhobroto 8y ago
Fantastic input. That said, this would be a good learning experience as they don't teach "How to be a free lancer" in college. I shared my thoughts here and would like to hear what you think (besides the awful formatting) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17148628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17148628
Regardsyjc 8y ago
Adding to this. My first job out of college was with a con artist who is probably still conning people today. There were contracts, everything seemed reasonable, and then the excuses for non payment started piling up. By month 3 I still had seen nothing. Even after a year very little had been paid. Years later, thousands of dollars still unpaid and just lies and excuses. I still hate asking for money that's due to me and not getting paid for the work you did is a real shitty place to be. This person did the same thing and berated me when I said I would take legal action. When I did take legal action, their entire company was a scam and I couldn't even deliver a court notice because they were hiding out of the country. Every time I see this person's name it angers me because I just want to metaphorically burn their business to the ground. When I blocked this person and erased them from my life, I became a lot happier. I took it as a learning lesson and developed an archetype for psychopaths to avoid. Some day they will get their reckoning but it's not worth my time or mental health. Tl;dr: The impacts to your mental health might be many hours over years. It was for me anyway.

subhobroto 8y ago

Fantastic input. That said, this would be a good learning experience as they don't teach "How to be a free lancer" in college. I shared my thoughts here and would like to hear what you think (besides the awful formatting) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17148628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17148628

Regardsyjc 8y ago

Adding to this. My first job out of college was with a con artist who is probably still conning people today. There were contracts, everything seemed reasonable, and then the excuses for non payment started piling up. By month 3 I still had seen nothing. Even after a year very little had been paid. Years later, thousands of dollars still unpaid and just lies and excuses. I still hate asking for money that's due to me and not getting paid for the work you did is a real shitty place to be. This person did the same thing and berated me when I said I would take legal action. When I did take legal action, their entire company was a scam and I couldn't even deliver a court notice because they were hiding out of the country. Every time I see this person's name it angers me because I just want to metaphorically burn their business to the ground. When I blocked this person and erased them from my life, I became a lot happier. I took it as a learning lesson and developed an archetype for psychopaths to avoid. Some day they will get their reckoning but it's not worth my time or mental health. Tl;dr: The impacts to your mental health might be many hours over years. It was for me anyway.