Tag Archives: Self employment

Money Saving Tips for the Self Employed

April 15, 2019 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , 25 Comments

*Collaborative post.

 

Working for your self can be very tricky. One month can be very busy with you making more money than you know what to do with it. Another month can have you literally surviving with the coins in your wallet. Which is why you have to be savvy with your money to survive as a self-employed person. You can not afford to spend every penny you make because you never know how busy or not busy the next month would be.  This is the reason why many people cannot afford to work for themselves.

When there is no steady pay check, many people will struggle to manage their money. They may easily find themselves struggling to pay their monthly bills, when work is quiet. Which is why I am grateful there are credit facilities like CashLady and Credit Cards to use on essentials when money is tight. You never know when you will need services like them, so it is good to know they are available.

 

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Here are some money saving tips for the self employed –

 

Buy everything you need online

This may not sound like a money-saving tip but trust me it is. I do 99% of my shopping online. The 1% is when I am out and about and need to grab something. Or the odd time we run out of groceries, and I need to head out to our local supermarket to grab some essentials. I do all my shopping online because he saves me money. Shopping in the stores is way too expensive for me. Apart from the fact that I have to get to the shops physically, which costs money obviously, I am usually tempted to buy more than I planned to buy. Shopping online keeps me focused. I buy exactly what I need without wasting money on what the shops want me to “need”.

 

Do it yourself

I try to do all I can myself. So childcare, cleaning, cooking and everything in between, I do myself. Managing my time and working from home helps me sort out my chores and daily activities. That way I save my money. Outsourcing jobs like these means you spend more money. So doing it myself helps my money go for longer. It also allows me spend more time with my growing kids. I am proud to say I have never paid for childcare, thanks to me being able to work from home.

 

Meal Plan

To avoid wasting food and eating out way more than you can afford to, you need to have a weekly meal plan. My health  and wallet has changed for the better since I started planning meals in advance. Meal planning gives me the opportunity to include all I need in the weekly online shop. It also allows me cook from scratch because I know what needs to be done and I plan my days towards getting them done. If you don’t meal plan, I suggest you try doing this now and see how much money you save. Also, food wastage would be a thing of the past as you would only buy want you need for your meals.

 

What do you think fo these money-saving tips?

Dealing with anxiety as a self employed person

February 27, 2019 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments

*Collaborative post.

Self employment has always been the dream, and I am grateful I am able to live this life especially with my kids being so young. But being self-employed comes with an unstable income. The uncertainty can be very worrying and the worry could lead to serious anxiety if you let it. I have been a mum for over 5 years now, while running my online business by the side and I have picked up many ways of dealing with anxiety as a self-employed person. Here are a few of the ways I combat anxiety.

 

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Save the money

Running your own business means sometimes it rains with money and sometimes it doesn’t. I have always been more of a saver than a spender, so that helped me in this self-employed journey. I always put money away just incase an unexpected bill comes up, or business becomes really slow the next month. Saving the left over money means I don’t worry about paying my bills the next month.

Ageing my money helps me deal with anxiety, and it is one tip I always recommend to business owners. Save that money. It may come in handy in a few months.

 

Have faith

I don’t really talk about my faith on here because it is not a faith blog, but I believe in God. That faith helps me when anxiety comes knocking. I am a very spiritual person, and my active spiritual life helps me deal with issues that seem impossible.

It may not be your cup of tea but it works great for me. I can’t imagine living a life without my faith in God.

 

Self care

When you are working for yourself, it may be very hard to take out time for self-care. I have started paying more attention to my mental health and the extra attention helps me stay on top of my self-care, which helps get rid of any anxiety. It could be a nice long walk on a beautiful sunny day, or going for a relaxing massage at the spa, or watching a movie at the cinema.

Self care is very important especially when you are a 1 man team. If you are having issues with your mental health and want to read up more on this, check out Better Help for more information on who is best to speak with. Also, you can look into trying different self care products like a foot spa, massage chair to unwind, and the likes, in order to figure out the products that fit you.

 

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Take your work seriously

I take my work very seriously and I think that helps me get a steady flow of income. I work every free time I get (more than 40 hours a week) and I believe I am the true definition of a hustler. Nowadays I try to take the as much time as I can afford to take off but I am always working. That helps me stay on top of my bills, keeps my mind busy and get rid of any anxiety.

 

Music helps

Music is good way for me to escape all my problems. It is like food to my soul and I feed on it everyday. I love listening to good music. My Spotify playlists come in very handy. You can easily catch me typing up a post and listening to some cool songs.

 

 

How do you deal with anxiety as a self employed person? Do you have any tips to share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self Employment on a Budget

January 7, 2019 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 21 Comments

I have been self-employed for a few years now and although I love it, it does come with its challenges. On some month, I am super busy and my bank account is smiling. And some other months, it can be super quiet. One minute I could be wondering how to pay some bills, and the next minute I could be laughing all the way to the bank. That is pretty much the life of a freelancer/self-employed person. Our income fluctuates and there is so much financial uncertainty but I won’t trade it for a job in an office with a regular pay check. The pros of being a self-employed person massively outweighs the cons for me, which is why I do what I do.

 

You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want image

 

 

You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

Having said that, the key to surviving the self employment world is to have a budget. I love reading finance self-help book on my Amazon Kindle. The book I am currently reading is You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want by Jesse Mecham. It is the first book I am reading this year and I am loving the budgeting tips and advice. I have picked a lot from this book and I recommend it to anyone struggling to make the most of their money. You need to read this book. It is full of wisdom and valuable tips. 

Everyone needs a budget regardless of what you do for money. Business owners and freelancers need a budget more than everyone else because of the income fluctuations. Having a budget helps you plan your money and make your money work for you. If you budget right, you can survive on periods where work is quiet because you would have saved money from the busy months. 

 

Self Employment on a Budget

I am going to be handling my money a little differently this 2019. Generally, I am good with money but there is always room for improvements, and I plan to be better this 2019. Here are some things I would be doing more of –

 

Ageing my money

Jesse Mecham advises us to age our money. What this means is for us not to spend all of our money as soon as it comes in. This makes a whole lot of sense. Ageing your money allows you think smartly and set your priorities straight. It takes off the stress of having no money in your bank account and it allows you plan your life.  Ageing your money allows your money wait on you instead of you waiting on your money. It sounds pointless but it works. Trust me, I have tried it. The longer you can age your money, the better. I aim to age my money for at least 30 days. It is a work in progress but I am slowly getting there.

 

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Spend less than what you earn

This should be common sense but it is amazing how we spend way more than what we earn. Which leads to us having to use our overdraft facility, store cards and credit cards to make up for the difference. Spending less than what we earn is the way to financial freedom.

 

Grow the savings

Having money saved away is the way to survive self employment. With the income uncertainty, you never know for sure when you would be short, so it makes sense to always have money stashed away for when the need arises. Growing the savings is one of my many goals this 2019.

 

Make more money

2019 is the year of making more money. That is another goal I plan to seriously work on this year. The way to financial freedom is to have many streams of income. I am planning on working hard on making money via affiliates and I am using an affiliate link in this post for the first time in a long time. Having many streams of income means you have various ways of making money. No one should ever rely on 1 pay check.

 

Do you have a budget?

 

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