10 Tips for Saving Money as a Freelancer
Source: http://freelancefolder.com/10-tips-for-saving-money-as-a-freelancer/
Health insurance. If you’re pretty healthy, don’t go for the all-in-one plans. They are unnecessary and overpriced. Instead, aim for a high deductible HSA account, which means you can contribute thousands of dollars to an HAS account tax-free, and use it for all medical expenses and prescriptions. Don’t just check out the major companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, they will often charge you full priced rates. Instead, look for smaller companies that offer BCBS (or your company of choice). For example, in TN, I got BCBS coverage for only $50 a month (width a $2500 deductible HSA account) by going through Farm Bureau and using their Tennessee Rural Health Plans. Same insurance company. Same coverage. My savings: $300
Car insurance Don’t forget about reducing your car insurance. A lot of companies base part of their rates on the amount of miles you drive every day, so if you no longer drive 2,000 miles a month, tell your car insurance company that to get a reduced rate. My savings: $50/month
Track business expenses. Keep track of all expenses so you can deduct them from your taxes. Examples of these are Paypal fees (from accepting client payments), ink, new computers (yes the iPhone/iPad count if you use it for work!), paper, pens and even office renovations and utility payments. My savings in 2010: $13,000
TurboTax. I use TurboTax’s Business Edition (online) to do my taxes every year. It only cost me $75 and takes you step by step to find all of your expenses and write-offs. I was actually able to get some money back this year! Savings: $3500
Bookkeeping. Some people prefer to pay someone else to do this, but I’ve found it’s really, really easy to do it yourself once you find a good system. I use something called Billings app and it takes care of everything for my business. I’m able to write up invoices and estimates, keep track of client deposits and payments, as well as all business expenses. using their reports also help keep track of 1099s and allowed me to do my taxes easier this year.
Eating out. Go out to eat only once or twice a week.
Eating in. Buy lunch food you actually want to eat. There’s no worse budget buster than opening the refrigerator to find you want to eat….none of it.
Electricity. Your electric bill will go up substantially just because you’re home all day and using lights, computers and other devices. There’s not much you can do to combat this other than to be mindful of what lights you have turned on. Even when it gets dark outside, if I’m the only person home and am working in the office, I make sure there are no other lights turned on in the home.
Internet. If you’re lucky enough to live in town, you may be able to save on internet by walking to your local cafe to work. I did this myself when I first moved into my old apartment several years ago and I was able to survive without internet for three months! (shocking, I know!)
Phone. Is your landline really necessary? Probably not. I’ve saved over $20 a month by simply using my cell phone instead of a dedicated landline. Aim to make most of your communications by email or IM and you won’t even need to increase your minutes.
