I'm lucky enough to have a 9 to 4, but I do freelancing on the side as well. I've gotten lowball offers after sending contracts over, one in the past week that

I'm lucky enough to have a 9 to 4, but I do freelancing on the side as well. I've gotten lowball offers after sending contracts over, one in the past week that was 35% below my rate, which I already thought was low to begin with. If nothing can be worked out I'm able to politely refuse, but I'd be pretty sad if I wasn't financially secure to begin with and had to barter with these types. I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but one other idea is equity, whether it's with the company or ownership of IP/software. At the moment I have a client who has offered that I have all rights to the software I'm creating for them, in exchange for a rate of about 50% less. Of course this may or may not make sense depending on the company/project, but just thought I would mention it. Good luck to you and your wife.