Six ways to save money as a freelancer
Struggling to make ends meet? Here are six ways to save money as a freelancer.
There are times when freelancing can be tough. You may not know when the next paycheck is coming and may need to be very frugal with your spending.
Or you may not have time to juggle all your responsibilities and still spend the time freelancing that you want, so miss out on much-needed paying work.
Whatever the reasons why you might be struggling financially right now, here are a few tips to help you save money while doing the freelancing work you love.
1) Batch cook
When you take the time to do some cooking, try to throw extra food in the pot. Make a bigger batch of whatever you are cooking, so when you need to have a meal during work time, you don’t have to spend that time cooking – it is already prepared, giving you more time for work.
If you want to be really organised, you can spend a day preparing big dishes of food, such as lasagne, that you can freeze in individual portions, giving you easy to grab, healthy, home cooked meals when you need them.
2) Take advantage of public wi-fi
These days, you can find wi-fi almost anywhere. If you can work from your computer but don’t want big data charges on your home or phone internet bill, then you can do your work remotely.
You can spend time in a coffee shop or mall and take advantage of the public wi-fi there without having to spend anything on your own. That said, you do need to factor in the cost of any coffees and food you consume while working there.
3) Hire a cleaner
This may sound an odd tip if you’re trying to save money, but bear with us.
Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money. And if your time as a freelancer is very valuable and you have as much work as you can handle, then you may want to consider hiring someone to help you around the house, or just take care of some of your responsibilities.
You can hire a driver to transport your kids to school and back home again, hiring a cleaning company to do household chores, says Katherine from Beverly Hills House Cleaning, and hire a dog walker for your pet.
Just think: how much time do you currently spend on these tasks? And how much could you be earning if you replaced that time with working? Or marketing to bring in more clients?
You might find that giving up chores like housework can actually make you more money. A win-win!
4) Schedule meetings for your free time
Every freelancer knows how time consuming meetings can be, particularly when you are talking to a new client and hashing out all of the details. These conversations can really cut into your working day and make it hard to get everything down that you need to.
So why not schedule these meetings for those times when you are taking a break, having your lunch or after your normal working hours? This way you won’t lose valuable work time on a meeting that overruns.
5) Track your spending
It’s easy to let your spending get out of hand when you aren’t paying close attention to it. Whether this is shopping for personal items or buying work supplies, if you don’t track purchases, then you can easily spend more than you planned on.
It’s important to be careful about what you are buying and how much it costs if you are going to control your finances. And small amounts here and there quickly add up. So keep on top of your spending and only buy what you need.
6) Use tax deductions
When you are your own boss, there is no one to explain all the rules to you, and you might be missing out on some tax advantages if you are unfamiliar with how the law relates to your business.
There might be some tax breaks you can enjoy, if you know what to look for. So make sure you research what you are entitled to or, even better, hire an accountant or tax specialist to do it for you. Yes you’ll need to pay for their services, but they may save you more in tax breaks than they charge you.
