Michael Curry
Most freelancers spend their professional and personal lives trying to navigate the world of entrepreneurship. This life presents its own set of unique financial challenges that freelancers must properly prepare themselves for. Read on for six financial tips to guarantee success as a freelancer.
1. Limit Business Expenses
Since freelancers work for themselves, every expense they make essentially comes out of pocket. This is why it’s important for every freelancer to keep their fixed expenses low. While this isn’t an easy feat, freelancers can start keeping track of their finances by planning for large expenses in advance and carefully budgeting for regular expenditures such as office supplies and essential equipment.
2. Choose the Right Credit
Thinking about applying for business credit? When reviewing your options for credit, be sure to avoid a high-interest loan. Instead, consider self employed loans. These types of loans are loans for self-employed individuals like freelancers.
A self-employed loan is one of the best options for freelancers applying for loans with a self-employed income. As long as you can prove your income and repayment ability, you should be able to qualify for a loan with attractive terms.
3. Separate Business and Personal Finances
When working as a freelancer, it can be all too easy to blur the lines between business and personal finances. However, it’s important to clearly separate the two as failing to do so will result in improper bookkeeping, complicated taxes, and other similar problems. One of the most important ways to delineate the line between personal and professional is to have separate credit cards and loans for both aspects of your life. When using these loans and cards, be sure to stick to strictly using them for their intended purposes.
4. Consider Insurance Options
Another important aspect for freelancers to consider when working as an entrepreneur is a plan for insurance. As freelancers are self-employed, they need to find the best ways to cover their own benefits as well as insurance policies for their business. While paying for insurance can be an unwelcome surprise for new freelancers, making the decision to invest in the right policies will give them the necessary financial security they need for their professional and personal lives.
5. Build a Retirement Account
When reviewing their finances, freelancers also need to make a decision about retirement. As freelancing doesn’t come with a plan for retirement, these self-employed individuals must make sure to set up their own retirement accounts. The best retirement plans will allow freelancers to plan for the future by saving some of their earnings now.
The mistake that most freelancers make when it comes to retirement is not budgeting for it. Freelancers that are ready to start investing in the right retirement account should be sure to factor this into their contracts with their clients to guarantee that their financial needs are met.
6. Invest in Technology
Technology is another area that freelancers must invest in when growing their businesses. Whether they’re saving money for a better laptop or buying equipment for their home office, freelancers need to invest in the best tech to continue to do their jobs properly. By adding a section for technology upgrades to their budget, freelancers will be able to make sure that their business continues to thrive.
Life as a freelancer is all about learning what works and what doesn’t. Make the most effective business decisions by applying these six strategies to your finances.
