Budgeting on a Freelancer’s Salary
Posted by : Premraj
| Posted on : Tuesday, September 29, 2009
By Heaven Stubblefield
When I first began working as a freelance writer I thought this income was going to be used for Christmas. However, within my household, we had some changes take place and needed to use this income for more tangible things. It is possible to budget on a freelancer’s salary. All you need is some careful planning and a strict way of thinking.
Before you begin working freelance, it is important to have a cushion of money in your savings account. If you don’t, I strongly urge against leaving work full time for this type of income. If, on the other hand, you were not working at all and this money is simply extra, enjoy! You have earned this type of lifestyle after some careful planning and successful saving. Here are some tips that make my freelance dollar go further.
Needs vs. Wants
If you are blessed to have a freelancer salary as extra income that is not needed to make your household function successfully, then this category doesn’t apply to you. For me, it became a necessity when some medical bills came rolling in. At first, I thought I needed name brand food and a cupboard of snacks for unexpected guests. Now, when I go grocery shopping, I buy what I need at a discount grocery store and buy only what I need. Shopping this way has helped not only trim the budget but also my waistline. Keeping soda in the fridge has become a thing of the past. Now I drink water, milk and juice and if I need a snack, I stick to a protein which keeps me fuller.
Even though I don’t like to shop for clothes, there has been a need to purchase some pieces of clothing. While a freelancer’s lifestyle as a writer lends itself to a wardrobe of sweats and t-shirts, I have found opportunities to dress a little nicer. For me, consignment shops and garage sales are the places for me. Since I hate that I have to pay taxes on my hard-earned income, I prefer garage sales, as I don’t spend more than what is allowed by law to keep my closet filled with the necessities.
Finally, as mentioned, being strict with yourself is necessary in order to make your budget work. I remember hearing stories on television of medical doctors during their residency living off of ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. With this new freedom comes the responsibility of staying true to yourself. I know that during my morning walks in the park with my daughter that I cannot stop at Starbucks every morning for something yummy. The gift I receive from being a freelance writer is getting to spend time with my daughter and be a mom, wife, then writer. So making sacrifices like that is totally worth it. Besides, I can do whatever I want during the day. My fortunately, I know my budget is not as free as me.
Fall is officially here and everything good that comes with it. For me it’s the fact that football is underway as well as some fun new shows to watch on TV. For others it may be some of those fall savings they can try to take advantage of. I love the fall, nothing like some […]
Read More >>
We are just a couple of weeks away from the latest BudgetPulse site update. We have taken a lot of suggestions from the users for this release as we have done in the past and we have been working hard to improve the tool for everyone. Although our site redesign received a ton of positive […]
Read More >>
By Heaven Stubblefield At one time, banks were all about getting people to put money into a CD. While these things use to be used exclusively by the music industry, banks caught on started spreading the word on an incentive to make money with them. Unfortunately, CD’s are not worth it and here’s why. There […]
Read More >>
One article from the BudgetPulse Blog was selected as a top post of the week for the Carnival of Personal Finance 223: Financial Meltdown, a year later. It was the excellent article written by Heaven about using canvas bags in grocery stores that generated a lot of debate from readers and was a fun topic […]
Read More >>
By Heaven Stubblefield It seems these days everyone and everything is go, go, go. Kitchens have become another room that holds your things without ever being used. The restaurant business has skyrocketed simply because people are spending less time in their kitchens and more time in the hands of other people to cook for them. […]
Read More >>
By Mala Lal As a freelance writer, I am always looking for ways to keep my finances in order. Here are my top 10 benefits of using an online personal finance tool. 10. It works on my time: With my tool being online, I never have to make an appointment to go over finances. There […]
Read More >>
By Heaven Stubblefield If you are like me and every other American in the country, you think big. One philosophy that has been instilled in us is that we can never have too much of something. But there’s a rule of thumb that we all need to think about whenever we get the urge to […]
Read More >>
By Heaven Stubblefield Congratulations! You have found yourself liking someone else and wanting to spend time with them. While it seems that a lot of money goes into impressing that special someone, you can be in a successful relationship without breaking your bank. As a woman who has been on a lot of dates, I […]
Read More >>
Hope everyone is having a happy Friday and excited for the weekend and the beginning of the football season. On Wednesday, I participated in a DC networking event involving a lot who are active in new media within the city. I have met a few of the people there before at past events and have […]
Read More >>
I hope everyone had a great summer and labor day weekend, but now we enter the last quarter of 2009. Back to school for kids and parents of kids alike, the weather will be slowly cooling, and maybe the most important part of the fall…..football is back! If you are like me, Sundays are dedicated […]
Read More >>
DELICIOUS
SU
REDDIT
