So, you’re a freelancer! You’re living your dream (as much as we can dream of labor) as an artist! Or a tradesperson! Or you make your living in some other, “nontraditional” way!
And can we talk about that word, “nontraditional,” for a second? Freelancers have been around way before we ever had a word for them (the first written instance of the word “Free Lance” coming from Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel Ivanhoe), bartering their skills for food, shelter, and beer since the beginning of recorded history. So, you’re in proud company!
But being a freelancer, especially when you’re starting out (or, like me, just beginning a journey of fiscal responsibility), can make it hard to plan your life. Will you have enough money to visit your loved ones for the holidays? Or if they get sick? Will you be able to sleep easy at night, knowing that the roof over your head is secure? If a friend invites you out to dinner, will you have gas or public transit money to get you there and back?
And unlike with a 9-5 job, budgeting this kind of life is tricky. You never know where and when your next chunk of change is coming from. If you’re anything like me, you might have jobs that pay hourly, weekly, biweekly, or as a flat fee. You may have jobs that last a day, two weeks, or nine months. Don’t even get me started on taxes (if you, like me, also have a mix of W2s and 1099s, my heart goes out to you. Let’s share accountant info).
So where to begin? On this journey of fiscal awareness?
I’ll be honest with you; for a very long time, I’ve avoided this question like the plague. It feels like a really, really big ask. Daunting. It’s funny, in real life, I love asking questions and figuring out solutions to problems. It’s a huge reason I work in the business I do.
But money has always been really intimidating to me. English and social studies and art were always my strong suits. Not that I flunked math or anything. My senior year Calculus teacher once said, “Frugal Girlie, it’s not that you’re bad at math, you just don’t want to do it.” An incredibly astute observation, Jon.
If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know that I am now in need of housing for the first time in my life. My dream is to own my own house/condo, and that process has required me to share my entire financial life with a stranger working for a mortgage provider. (It has also granted me a new best friend: the “estimated payment” tool on Zillow, so not all bad!)
This got me thinking. How sad is it that some stranger at (fake mortgage company name incoming) Jet Mortgage knows more about my financial standing than I do? I’m an independent woman in my late 20’s, how have I let myself stay in the dark about my own money for so long?
Of course, shame doesn’t need to be the driving force behind getting your sh*t together, money-wise. I’m only just beginning my journey, but I already feel empowered by taking the baby steps I’ve toddled through so far. Speaking of…
First baby step: catalog the jobs I’m working and planning on working as far in advance as I can. For me, that’s about 6-7 months ahead of time, but your mileage may vary. Time to boot up Excel (or use a cute pen and your bullet journal, we are keeping it cutesy, after all) and just write. the. information. down. Knowing is better than ignorance, I promise.
Below is my own, very basic breakdown of each job and the approximate income I can expect for every month of 2025. I’ve left some blank because I haven’t secured work for those months yet (insert nail biting emoji).
No super-fancy Excel formulas here (also I’m using Google Sheets, just so I know I’ll always have access to it), beyond simple addition and subtraction. I’ve also added in a column with my “Desired” annual income (which, yeah, I’d love to make more than $40k this year, but that’s what I made last year and I’d be perfectly happy to just break even!) Keeping this in mind, and subtracting it from the income I’ve already secured, will definitely help me decide which jobs are worth taking in the second half of the year.
It also helps me decide which companies are worth maintaining relationships with in the future. For example, Company “H” is paying me a one-time flat fee of $1,000 for about three weeks of work. I don’t anticipate that the work will be especially difficult, and they’ve also promised to provide me with one meal a day, so I feel… okay about agreeing to this project.
Meanwhile, Company “P” is paying me $3,500 for about 2.5 weeks of work. But the commute is rough and I have to pay for my own parking. It’s very much give and take.
Within the same sheet, I also broke down my income for 2025 by job. This is mostly for tax reasons, so that I know how many W2s and 1099s to expect, but it’s also a handy reference for that odd job posting that asks for my previous job history and payment. (Which, side note, feels like an excuse to pay me less than what I’m worth? Like, how about you tell me what you’re offering and I’ll decide if it makes sense for me!)
Making these two sheets took me maybe 20 minutes, but I already feel like I’ve got a better handle on what 2025 is going to look like for me, money-wise. Now to figure out how to spend it…
Next time, I’ll go through my year and figure out the stuff I *need* to buy vs. the stuff I *want* to buy. In other words, I’m gonna start budgeting. Feel free to keep me in your prayers.