Working as a freelance writer is an amazing life. I get to work when I want to work and I get to work as much (or as little as I want to work). I am my own boss – mostly. Getting paid is still a primary need and sometimes the paychecks to not come on a regular basis. It is important for me to learn some tricks that let me budget my income no matter how unusual that income may be.
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1. Budget for last month or two months ago. You need to be working from what you do have and not from what you expect to get.
2. Set aside 1/3 of all income that you make. This will pay for taxes and other year end expenses.
3. Save what you don’t spend. Ever dollar that isn’t budgeted and even those budgeted dollars that are spent should go into savings.
4. Horde the unexpected payments. Any bonuses, gifts and other unexpected payments should go into a special account until you are around six months ahead with your savings.
The freelance life is something most people are interested in but few actually want to live. It can be unnerving not knowing where the next check will come from. Having a solid budget and following that budget helps make the freelance life much more peaceful.