[Money Monday] Freelancers Gift Guide

Well, it’s December. Christmas is officially here – although it seemed to start in the shops about a month ago.

So what are you going to buy the freelancer in your life? Obviously everybody is different, so for the sake of this article we’re going to generalise somewhat. We’re imagining the freelancer you know and love is forward-thinking, independent, tech-savvy and probably startlingly good-looking. Here are some ideas to get you started…

The Programmer

Spending all day hunched over a computer staring at lines upon lines of Java can be taxing on the old body, so why not book them a back and shoulder massage – especially a deep tissue massage, which can help with muscle problems relating to posture. If you want to go really fancy why not get them a Hot Rock massage. A Natural Balance in Brighton offers hot rock massages from only £55 for an hour.

The Writer

Keyboards are so predominant these days that a great many writers (this one included) long for the simple days of yore when all you needed was a pen and paper. And I’m not talking any old pen – a really nice pen, one so smooth and ergonomic that the user can’t help but rediscover the joy of the written word. If money is no object then we’re quite taken with this Porsche Design Fountain Pen, however if your budget is slightly more down-to-earth you can’t go wrong with the Parker Frontier GT, a true design classic. And why not throw in a Moleskin Notebook while you’re at it?

The Designer

Obviously designers are creative, love visual data and most likely will appreciate good design. Why not get them a present that combines all three? The excellent coffee table book Information is Beautiful combines real-world statistics with gorgeous, deceptively simple visualisations. If you want to get a feel for the kind of thing I mean, you can check out their blog.

The Techie

There’s never any shortage of gadgets being hawked around Christmas time, and it’s often difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff - we’ve tested and owned hundreds of the things at Freelance Advisor, so we’re going to share our current favourites. First off for the freelancer wanting to get work done on the go, the diminutive ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM (catchy name, right?) netbook is perfect. Although the first generation were fairly crappy, netbooks have now reached a point where their speed and build quality allow them to stand toe-to-toe with regular laptops. The 1015PEM is the best value of the current crop, and looks pretty sexy to boot!

Our other favourite gizmo right now is the Sony Ericsson LiveView. It’s basically a second screen for your Android phone – connect it via Bluetooth and all your emails, text messages, Twitter updates etc. will be displayed on the tiny unit. It’s a first generation product and by no means perfect, but as sometimes-purveyors of tight trousers the ability to read an email without taking out our phone is fantastic.

The Accountant

An accountant’s work is never done – there are always new rules and legislation to stay on top of, not to mention the constant rate changes. Help the accountant in your life stay on top of their game by buying them some up-to-date guides. Having spoken to our resident accountant, he picked the Tiley & Collison UK Tax Guide, Corporation Tax Guide and VAT Guide as his favourites. Exciting bunch, aren’t they?

If you’ve got something you’re particularly craving, why not let us know in the comments – then you can link your significant other to this page as the ultimate subtle gift suggestion!

Money Mondays are sponsored by Crunch – ridiculously easy accounting