Drew Wright (u/the_drew)

Posts

Wasted $40 on a global SIM card that barely worked in Thailand

I grabbed a $40 global SIM from an airport kiosk before flying to Chiang Mai, thinking it would save me hassle finding local options. Turns out the data speeds were so slow I couldn't even load Google Maps, let alone join a video call for a client. Anyone else had bad luck with those universal SIM cards or found a better way to stay connected abroad?

3 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

the_drew•4d ago

Pro tip: a fellow camper told me my tent stake method was wrong

Was at a site near Moab last spring and this older guy walks over after watching me try to hammer a stake into hard dirt for like 10 minutes. He says 'you're fighting the ground, not working with it.' Showed me to start the stake at an angle facing away from the tent, then push it in as I tilt it straight. Sounds dumb but it works way better. No more bent stakes or swearing. Anyone else learn a basic trick way later than they should have?

3 comments

c/first-time-home-buyers•

the_drew•5d ago

Switched from a fixer-upper to a move-in ready and I'm glad I did

Honestly, I was dead set on buying a cheap fixer-upper in Austin for like $220k. Thought I could save money and do the work myself over a year. But after touring a few, I saw the electrical and plumbing were way worse than I expected. Ended up picking a $280k move-in ready place in Round Rock and closed in 45 days. Has anyone else changed their mind on this and regretted or not regretted it?

3 comments

c/garage-storage-solutions•

the_drew•10d ago

Finally found a better way to hang my extension ladder after 3 falls

I used to just lean my 24-foot ladder against the wall in the corner, and it fell over on my car twice and nearly hit my kid once. Last month I installed two simple J-hooks from Home Depot for about $12 total, and now it hangs flat on the ceiling out of the way. Has anyone else tried mounting ladders horizontally or do you have a different system that works better?

2 comments

c/solo-sick-days•

the_drew•12d ago

TIL my sick day 'buffer' system needed a total rethink after 3 hours lost

Honestly, I thought I had it figured out with this buffer system where I'd leave 4 hours free each day for unexpected sick time. Then last Tuesday I got hit with a stomach bug and spent those 3 hours just staring at my screen trying to type. Turns out pushing through the fog only made the work worse and I ended up redoing it the next day. Anyone else find that their backup plan for sick days just falls apart when you're actually ill?

3 comments

c/freelance-legal-help•

the_drew•14d ago

Quote vs. flat fee - which one bit you harder when a project went sideways?

Last fall I took a $2,000 flat fee for a contract review gig in Austin. Thought I had the scope nailed down. Then the client dumped 40 extra pages of subcontractor addendums on me two days before the deadline. I ate 12 extra hours of work. My buddy swears by hourly quotes only for this exact reason, says you always get burned on flat fees. But another freelancer I know says clients hate hourly because they feel nickel and dimed. Has anybody else had a fixed price job blow up in their face like that?

3 comments

c/freelance-seo-hub•

the_drew•17d ago

Was totally skeptical about automated SEO reports for clients, now I'm a believer

For 2 years I was handwriting every monthly report for like 8 clients. Took me 10 hours easy. Tried a free trial of AgencyAnalytics last month after a guy on here wouldn't shut up about it. Set up 3 client dashboards in maybe 2 hours. The auto-generated PDFs are actually clean and clients understand them better. The big one? One client emailed me saying 'this is the first report that actually made sense to me.' Has anyone else found a tool that saves them real time without making the reports look generic?

3 comments

c/the-invoice-squad•

the_drew•19d ago

Can we talk about clients who 'forget' to approve the invoice

Had a guy last month string me along for 3 weeks saying he'd 'look at it tomorrow' on a $600 web design invoice. Finally sent a screenshot of our email chain with 12 follow-ups and he paid within 2 hours. Is there a polite way to call out this stalling game or am I being too nice?

3 comments

c/deadline-panic-room•

the_drew•22d ago

I finally figured out why my clients always push deadlines after 4 PM

For like 6 months straight, every single time a client would email me to move a deadline up, it was always between 4 and 5 PM on a Friday. I started paying attention and realized they're probably just trying to clear their plate before the weekend without thinking about how it screws up my whole schedule. Has anyone else noticed a specific time of day when clients drop these bombshells?

3 comments

c/rate-my-setup•

the_drew•23d ago

Update: That cable tray took me 6 hours to install properly

I picked up a simple under-desk cable tray from Home Depot thinking it would be a 30 minute job. After misreading the instructions and drilling into a desk leg bracket twice, I had to patch the holes and start over. Then I realized my power strip was too wide for the mounting clips so I had to rig something with zip ties. Did anyone else fight with a cheap cable tray way longer than you expected?

3 comments