When you are a freelancer, there are months of feast, and months of famine. Unfortunately, there is not a stable or fixed salary that you know that you can count on for any given month. This is the price of the flexibility and freedom that many freelancers enjoy.
This being the case, it’s important to be able to save money where you can so those lean months don’t hurt as badly. Luckily, there are a lot of areas where money can be saved. Since many freelancers have many of the same problems, there are some tips that should help.
In this article, we will go over what some of the things are that can help you save money when you are a freelancer.
Go paperless
It may seem like a little thing, but you’re probably spending more money than you should on paper and printing. If you go paperless then you will be cutting down on the amount that you spend on paper and ink and it will add up over time.
As a freelancer you are likely already doing so many things digitally that it doesn’t make sense to use so much paper. Even documents that need to be signed can be done electronically now so there is hardly any reason to use paper.
If you do have to use paper for your work, then go with monochrome printers so you aren’t spending so much money on colored ink.
Go to the library
The local library is a wealth of resources that is very underutilized by the public at large. As a freelancer, you should not be one that is doing the same.
Take advantage of everything the library has to offer and you will find yourself saving a lot of money. There are not only books that you can use for free, but even a lot of software that you ordinarily would have to pay for.
Not only that, but if you are on eot work in a coffee shop, you can transfer yourself over to the air conditioned library instead and stay as long as you like. And you don’t have to keep buying coffee all day.
Know your tax deductions
You could be paying too much on your taxes and not even realize it. There are so many deductions that you likely qualify for but wouldn’t know if you do your taxes yourself.
Make sure to save all of your receipts and then bring them to a tax professional when it’s time to file. If you usually do your own taxes to save money, try going to your city hall and ask them if there are any local tax programs sponsored by the city that you can do for free.
Make a contract
As a freelancer there surely have been times when you have been underpaid or not paid at all due to a dispute with a client. Make sure to have a contract for every job that you do so you will be paid and paid correctly. Not getting paid is one of the worst things that can happen and affects your budget in so many ways.
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