When I was younger, I was a staunch DIYer (Do-it-yourself) programmer. Granted, this was a great advantage in many ways in those days.

• I didn’t have to spend money on add-ins or have to spend time to learn how to use them. I also didn’t have to spend money on software in general.
• I learned a lot about different technologies, especially free ones, and how they could help me create the results that I wanted.

I really focused on producing the required outcomes to the best of my ability without any ActiveX controls and trying to code using native Access libraries as best as I could.

I think using Access was also driven by low cost in my early years as it was not an expensive platform to acquire for me or for customers and typically was already available with Microsoft Office (most of the companies I worked with had the “Professional” version at the time which included Access)

Then throughout the years, my time became more valuable. I had more to do and therefore less time to do it in. I haven’t yet figured out how to get more than 24 hours out of a day!

As the value of my time increased for me, solutions from other developers who created useful tools started making more sense to me. Spending small amounts of money to decrease my time searching through code or queries became a no-brainer, especially at less than $100.

Nowadays I find that in order to be able to help customers and survive as a programmer of custom Access applications, I am pressed up against a glass ceiling that I haven’t been able to break through.

I have tried many things to change this – becoming more efficient at programming, changing pricing structures to try to create win-win profitability for both me and the customer, reducing administrative costs, and utilizing systems.

I have tried to focus on different target markets. Small businesses, individual programmers, departments within larger businesses.

I think maybe one thing I haven’t done very well is to niche down on a market. I think my overall strategy has been as a generalist and trying to appeal to a crowd.

What do you think? Have you found a way to make a pretty comfortable living with Access?

FYI – Also spending within my means generally hasn’t been a problem for me individually, but when it comes to relationships, I have often had a problem trying to make enough money to keep up with our collective spending. I have found that trying to keep increasing income to keep up with spending is pretty much a lost cause. If you find yourself in that situation, you really need to figure out how to spend less than you make. It’s really the only way to be successful. In fact, maybe that’s my answer!

Ok, question 2, any savings tips out there?