Tag Archives: Self employed tips

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?

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?

 

*Affiliate link used.

Work From Home Would Not Work For You

June 6, 2018 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , 28 Comments

Many people love the idea of being able to work from home or from anywhere. The fact that you can work in bed with your pyjamas on if you like, and not have to commute sounds appealing to many. It is also amazing when you have kids as you don’t have to deal with the expensive childcare fees and all. It also allows me bring up my kids which is a blessing.

Working from home is the dream. I have been working from anywhere for a few years now and I won’t have it any other way. But this way of life would not work for many.

 

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So why won’t working from home work for you? Here are some of the main reasons why –

 

You get easily distracted

Now this is a major issue. If you are the type of person that gets easily distracted, working from home would not work for you. With no boss to micromanage you, you could easily find yourself spending hours doing nothing. With the many social media platforms and entertainment everywhere you turn, you have to be serious-minded enough to ignore distractions to work from home effectively.

 

Addicted to the TV

Being addicted to the TV is a major issue for many, which is why working from home will not work for them. I am not a huge TV fan. I watch few selected programmes on replay. So you will never catch me watching TV all day. Which is why I can get many things done. If you know you will be tempted to pop the TV on while working, then maybe getting a job outside your home would work better for you.

 

You get easily bored or down when by yourself

I like the company of others and I also like just being by myself. I don’t get bored or down easily because I truly enjoy the company of myself. Being an introvert makes working from home very easy. It does get lonely sometimes, and some days are harder than normal but it works great for me overall. If you prefer to be in the company of others or you get easily get bored, then working from home may not be right for you personality.

 

Poor money management skills

Working from home usually means you are self-employed. For you to run your own business from home or from anywhere successfully, you must have great money management skills. You must be on top of your finances to make it work. Every penny must be accounted for. If you struggle with managing your money, then a job with a steady salary may be the best bet for you.

 

No passion

In other for you to be successful, you have to be passionate. No passion means no determination. For you to carry on, especially in the early days when work is few and far between, your passion and determination will carry along.

 

Working from home is a blessing. It is a dream come true for me and I always count my blessings. But it is not the best for many, which is why I decided to write this post so people don’t struggle with what they are not good at.

 

Do you work from home? Please share your thoughts on this.

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