If you are working as a freelancer, you would be hearing a lot of good things about freelancing, from people around you. Sometimes, people do envy freelancers because of the perks they get. However, being a freelancer is not at all an easy job. Yes, there are advantages but there are disadvantages as well. If you have just moved from a full-time job towards being a freelancer, it will require sometime for you to adjust.

Since, freelancers get their pay checks from different clients at different times of the month; it gets really hard for them to keep a check on how their money is being spent. Obviously, the incoming payments are never sure shot in freelancing however, outgoing payments such as bills are always ready to deduct amount from your account.  As a freelancer, you have to smartly manage your cash flow if you do not want to run out of money every now and then. We all know that freelancing is an unpredictable thing.

In this article, we will discuss a few points which will help you in managing your freelance money in a better way.

Have an accurate picture of your Monthly earning as a Freelancer

Freelancer from 123rf.com

As a freelancer, you might have an idea as to how much money you will be earning in a month’s time however, the real question here is if you really earn that much by the end of the month? Spending your money on a general assumption that you will earn good amount on the basis of projects you have is not a very good idea. As a freelancer, you should have an accurate picture of your monthly earnings. Do not overestimate your earning. It’s good to average the amount you earn each month to get the exact picture of your earning. It will be good if you work harder to be more organized with collecting invoices so that payments are made of time.

Keep a Track of every Penny Spent

Penny Spent from 123rf.com

Since freelancers are getting money transferred into their accounts every now and then, they have a tendency to spend money without keeping a track record of it. In comparison to traditional jobs, freelance checks are often bigger and often. This makes spending more often and freelancers tend to lose the track of money spent. For a month or two, make sure you write down each and everything that consumed your money so that you can analyze your extra expenditures and cut down on them.

Focus more on ‘Needs’ and less on ‘Wants’

As mentioned earlier, you really need to get realistic about your income and expenditures. A disadvantage of being a freelancer is that you don’t have any added benefits so you need to take care of them on your own. Make sure that you are taking out money for your needs first and later on for your wants. Hey real about your bills and never spend more than you can afford. Yes, pampering yourself by getting a thing of your own choice, once in awhile is fine but every now and then is a big no.

Plan ahead

Forecasting and planning ahead will save you from freelancing money failures. Obviously, things would be changing rapidly so make sure that you forecast your earning and expenditures every now and then. We all know that freelancing can be really unpredictable so planning ahead will definitely help you in difficult times. Always remember the ‘uncertainty’ factor of freelancing and plan accordingly.

Avoid Bad Clients

Sometimes freelancers spend so much time in getting done a project for some bad clients just because they pay well. If you are doing this, you need to realize that this one project is exhausting you so much that you cannot focus on new clients or better clients to make money from. If a client is keeping you in bad mood all the time, leave him despite the fact that he is paying good. Letting go off the negativity around you will bring in a lot more better opportunities.

Build New and Maintain Existing Corporate Relationships

Corporate Relationship from 123rf.com

Always maintain a good relationship with your existing and new clients. You might need them in tough times. Also, maintaining a good relationship can bring a lot of new projects and referrals your way which will help you in earning good. Whenever you work for a client, you have to build a healthy and trust worthy relationship with them so they can count on you for future projects. This way, even if you do not have any new projects to look forward to, you always have old clients to look back and ask for work.

Contingency Budget is a Must

Budget From 123rf.com

It has been perceived that freelancers do not save money. It comes in their accounts and goes just like that. Having a contingency budget is a must for tough times to come. Things are never certain in freelancing and you might get out of work any day. In such cases, you should have enough saving to pay bills till the time you don’t find a better project.

Know when to look for new Projects

Any project that you are working on, you should work on it wholeheartedly. If you really want to manage your freelance cash flow smartly, you need to know when to start finding for new projects. You must have good projects in the pipeline but this does not mean that you should overburden yourself. But, keeping your freelance work sheltered is very important so while you are at one project, start looking for another.

Conclusion

Well, freelancers are believed to live in the moment. Honestly speaking, living in the moment is obviously the best way to live but not when it comes to finances. Uncertainty in projects is a very important factor about freelancing so you need to manage your freelance cash flow smartly. This will help you a lot in keeping yourself going in tough times.