Full-time freelancers do not have the same financial security blankets that 9-5 employees have. When we become the boss, our livelihood depends on us. That is why we must practice good money management. I have been learning, and I continue to learn and benefit from money management advice for freelancers. Now I will share with you some simple yet effective money management advice for freelancers. Check out the following 6 money management advice for freelancers:
1. Have a Financial Plan
As full-time freelancers, our business pays for our livelihood. Hence, we need to monitor and spend our money wisely to enjoy the benefits of a freelancer’s lifestyle.
Thus, we should identify our long-term and short-term goals. Thereby, we know what we are working towards accomplishing. These can range from monthly expenses to buying a house, and even to make investments. Thereafter, we identify and commit ourselves to reliable income-earning opportunities.
2. Have Multiple streams of Income
Freelancing can be an unpredictable business. Sometimes we earn consistently and other times we have intermittent large contract payouts. There are also those times when our main income earners slow down in demand, or we encounter personal challenges, like illness, that prevent us from working. Whatever the reason, we must have a variety of income earners. These may be passive income streams that can come from affiliate marketing, a monetized YouTube Channel, or even from the Google Absence paid out for advertisements on your website.
3. Separate Personal Funds from Business Funds
It is never a good idea to mix our business affairs with our personal matters. Hence, we should consider having a bank account for our freelancing business, separate from the one we have for our savings.
The benefits are that we can better monitor our earning, spending habits and not “mix up” our payments. Thus, we should pay our salaries directly to our account and leave our business funds in their separate account.
4. Budgeting
We should ensure that we know our monthly expenses to track and manage our earnings to meet our financial commitments. We can do this by separating our business account from our savings. When we do this, we can better monitor expenses, facilitate savings and schedule consistent monthly payments like your subscription fees for your business tools, bill payments, among other things.
5. Pay Your Taxes
Self-employed persons living and working in the United States of America (USA) must pay federal income tax. Hence, it is paramount for the American freelancers amongst us to follow the IRS’s rules. For those living outside the USA, we must also ensure that we are up-to-date with our country’s tax regulations for the self-employed.
In Jamaica, registered businesses must file taxes. However, the freelancers who do this as a side-hustle do not have this obligation. They can choose to make payments to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the National Housing Trust. These options have good benefits, like amassing retirement funds and enabling access to loans for housing, respectively.
6. Savings
Typically, many of us think about saving when we want to know how much money we need to buy the things we like or to cover our vacation expenses. However, our savings must facilitate health insurance, an emergency fund for the slow earning periods, and retirement funds.
These are only a few of the good money management strategies and approaches that I have been learning over the years. Assess your financial management practices and see how you can improve in this area. Hopefully, these tips and advice will help you.
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