Freelance Finance

Saving money as a freelancer, independent contractor or whatever you choose to call yourself if you don’t happen to have a full-time job with bennies, is tricky. We’ve discussed this before: Saving regularly is more challenging when your income is constantly changing. This is why Muck and I stick with percentages, which has worked like […]

[Read more →]

Another remarkable freelance friend—a brilliant writer and researcher—has, just yesterday, taken a full-time job. This comes after years of very successful, but tiring, work on her own. She will be performing the exact same kind of duties, except she will be performing them for a law firm. I am happy for her. Why? Because she […]

[Read more →]

Last week we did some traveling, sharing the Freelance Finance System with some new friends and acquaintances. One question that came up often: Will people really be disciplined enough to save money this way? The question is rooted in the notion that people are by nature bad savers, that they will routinely spend their cash […]

[Read more →]

The problems that arise with money and the freelance life are often ones of organization. If you set up your financial accounts properly, your financial goals will be right in front of you every time you check your finances. The way I see it, every independent worker should have at least FOUR bank accounts:
1. The […]

[Read more →]

Paying yourself first is the cardinal rule of all income-earners, whether you are a self-employed freelancer or not. As you may have noticed, Mire and I like to call this feeding the monkey. Suppose you decide to save 15 percent of your income. Save it as follows: 10 percent to a retirement account, and 5 […]

[Read more →]

When I first went freelance, I took the advice of a friend who had been doing this longer than I had. As each check came in, she socked away a third (roughly 30 percent) in a separate account intended for taxes. Each quarter, when she needed to pay her estimated taxes, she dipped into the […]

[Read more →]

Your savings will only grow if you establish a savings plan and stick to it religiously. Employed folks have 401k’s and other options that allow them to pay themselves first, before they get their hands on their money. This reduces the chance that they will spend it before they save it. A self-employed person can […]

[Read more →]

This morning was a first.
It marked the first time that Muck and I took the big plunge and immediately knocked a full 40% off the top of our latest check (which posted this morning, thank you thank you thank you) and stuck it into various savings accounts. We have been talking about doing this for a […]

[Read more →]

A friend was telling us the other day how she was about to start giving her kids, ages 4 and 6, an allowance. Starting yesterday, they received four quarters. By parental fiat, each child had to deposit one quarter into a glass jar earmarked for the Charity of their choice. Each child dropped a second […]

[Read more →]

We read everything we can about personal finance, and I have to say, it usually disappoints us. Eighty percent of the time, writers, editors and gurus make the assumption that they are talking to an audience of people who have a steady paycheck, health insurance and a retirement plan at work. If you are, in […]

[Read more →]