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Exchanging programming services for money is a great idea in the long term, but it typically takes on the order of months until the first chunk of money arrives

Exchanging programming services for money is a great idea in the long term, but it typically takes on the order of months until the first chunk of money arrives, which means it's far too late for that alone to help you right now. What you need right now is an emergency bail out. You say you're in a foreign country, and you don't have any family back home who could help with the price of an airline ticket? In that case I would suggest going to your country's embassy and explaining your situation.

GuiA 12y ago
> You say you're in a foreign country, and you don't have any family back home who could help with the price of an airline ticket? In that case I would suggest going to your country's embassy and explaining your situation. Embassies aren't "get out of jail free" cards. Sure, it's better than nothing - but they get tourists without a return ticket home so often that there are strict policies on these sort of things. Even if they do help you, it might end up in you getting your passport revoked for a significant chunk of time, etc.
- eric_bullington 12y ago
  Yeah, I wouldn't recommend approaching the U.S. embassy with this kind of situation. You're far better approaching a Canadian food bank or other social aid organization if things get dire.
  - rwallace 12y ago
    Well it seems to me that while getting your passport revoked would be annoying, it would be far better than ending up homeless and starving in a foreign country where you don't know a living soul. That said, if there are other options, by all means try those first.
- eli 12y ago
  I'm not an expert, but I don't think the US gov't ever just gifts you a ticket home. They could probably help you receive a wire transfer from friends or family, but it's very unlikely they would buy you a ticket.
  - napoleond 12y ago
    You could ride a bike from Vancouver to the US. If OP is a US citizen, and getting back to the US is a valuable undertaking, there are several ways to get it done for <$60.
deleted 12y ago
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vellum 12y ago
Exchanging programming services for money is a great idea in the long term, but it typically takes on the order of months until the first chunk of money arrives Freelancers should require a deposit upfront. 50% for jobs <= 1 month, 30% for jobs > 1 month. The rest can be paid at milestones or hourly/daily. If it's hourly/daily , bill bi-weekly, and try to get paid net 15 [1]. For long term jobs, if the client does net 30+, increase the deposit to secure your cash flow. And always use a contract. 1: http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/03/02/the-best-invoice-payment-terms-to-help-you-get-paid-faster-and-more-often/ http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/03/02/the-best-invoice-p...

GuiA 12y ago

> You say you're in a foreign country, and you don't have any family back home who could help with the price of an airline ticket? In that case I would suggest going to your country's embassy and explaining your situation. Embassies aren't "get out of jail free" cards. Sure, it's better than nothing - but they get tourists without a return ticket home so often that there are strict policies on these sort of things. Even if they do help you, it might end up in you getting your passport revoked for a significant chunk of time, etc.

eric_bullington 12y ago
Yeah, I wouldn't recommend approaching the U.S. embassy with this kind of situation. You're far better approaching a Canadian food bank or other social aid organization if things get dire.
- rwallace 12y ago
  Well it seems to me that while getting your passport revoked would be annoying, it would be far better than ending up homeless and starving in a foreign country where you don't know a living soul. That said, if there are other options, by all means try those first.
eli 12y ago
I'm not an expert, but I don't think the US gov't ever just gifts you a ticket home. They could probably help you receive a wire transfer from friends or family, but it's very unlikely they would buy you a ticket.
- napoleond 12y ago
  You could ride a bike from Vancouver to the US. If OP is a US citizen, and getting back to the US is a valuable undertaking, there are several ways to get it done for <$60.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

vellum 12y ago

Exchanging programming services for money is a great idea in the long term, but it typically takes on the order of months until the first chunk of money arrives Freelancers should require a deposit upfront. 50% for jobs <= 1 month, 30% for jobs > 1 month. The rest can be paid at milestones or hourly/daily. If it's hourly/daily , bill bi-weekly, and try to get paid net 15 [1]. For long term jobs, if the client does net 30+, increase the deposit to secure your cash flow. And always use a contract. 1: http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/03/02/the-best-invoice-payment-terms-to-help-you-get-paid-faster-and-more-often/ http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/03/02/the-best-invoice-p...