How To Be a Financially Solvent Freelancer

• Posted on Allena Tapia
• in For fellow writers, Freelance world
• on November 29, 2008
• 1 Comment.

I’ve discovered the secret to freelance success. Well, ok, like I’ve talked about in the past, tenacity goes a long way, but what I’m talking about here is financial success.

A couple days ago I talked about how difficult it is to budget as a freelancer, since all the money seems to roll in at once, at the end of the month, which is right when my hub’s check comes in, anyway, leaving us lean for 29 days and rolling in dough for one (until the bills go out the next day).

But there is a solution to this roller coaster. Actually, there are a couple:

1) Saving. I know I almost wince at such a word in this economy, but stay with me here. I have an account that pays me quarterly (it’s a quarterly magazine). It pays quite a bit, but, again, not often enough. Now, instead of rolling out all that dough at once, it would behoove us to only pull out 1/4 of it per month, turning it into, basically, a monthly contract instead.

2) Get the Holy Grail of freelance jobs. Make it your business to seek out a position that is ongoing, pays weekly and and is open-ended (ie not just a one time project.) In this vein, I’m especially grateful to my new editorial client, The Current Events. Welcome aboard the GardenWall train! 

3) Pay yourself as an employee. I think times are hard. I think I basically pay myself the money that GWP  earns. But the plan was to pay myself a certain salary every two weeks (gosh, what would that be like!) and leave the rest in the business account. I’ll be looking at working on this in the next year.

Recently I’ve been really interested in freelance money management, so please, let me know if you or a blog you know of has explored the topic lately. I’m ready to learn more!