Being a freelancer has its advantages. You don’t typically need to work set hours, depending on what type of work you do and what clients you have. You essentially run yourself as a business, meaning the big boss is yourself.
That flexibility and freedom to earn as little or as much as you want is also something to consider. With that being said, here are a few tips to help look after your wealth as a freelancer now and in the future.
Put insurance in place
First and foremost, the best way to protect yourself for the future is to put insurance in place. Income protection is one example of how you can protect yourself and keep money coming in, should something happen that prevents or stops you from working for a certain amount of time.
Life insurance is also worth considering if you’ve got a family that you’re responsible for and you’re perhaps the breadwinner or one of the main income earners for the family. To lose that income for your family could put them in a precarious situation.
Always have an emergency fund available
Emergency funds are a life-saver in situations where you’ve received an unexpected bill or something in the home has broken and is going to cost you a lot of money. Perhaps your car has sadly taken its last mile and therefore needs replacing.
With an emergency fund, it helps you as a freelancer to have access to money, particularly when each month of your freelance work is unlikely to be consistent. It means your pay packet doesn’t need to suffer or take as much of a knock when you’ve got some backup funds available to use in the meantime.
Get financial advice from a professional
If you’re a freelancer, whether you’re new to the industry or you’ve been doing it for a while, it’s worth speaking to a financial adviser about your money. Not everyone has the knowledge when it comes to making their money work smarter, which is why having a list of financial advisers to refer to, is likely to be helpful in getting the best advice.
Plan ahead for the near and far future
To help with your wealth in the future, make sure you’ve planned ahead. That means planning for retirement even if you’re only in your mid-30s. It’s never too early to plan for the future, especially as you’re likely to earn the most money in your earlier years than you are as you get closer to that retirement age.
Never risk money that you can’t afford to lose
When it comes to managing your wealth as a freelancer, it’s important to have the same attitude as everyone else should have when it comes to risking money. Never risk money that you can’t afford to lose.
Sure, investing your money is important but if there’s a chance you’re going to lose that money and it’ll be hard to recover from such a loss, then it’s best to not take that chance.
Freelancing is a great direction to take as a career path but it’s also something to be mindful of when it comes to your finances.
