Just wanted to say thanks to everybody who has subscribed to my RSS feed. A few weeks back I posted about my goal of breaking 300 subscribers by the end of July. While this number still fluctuates over and under this mark from time to time, it is safe to say that I have reached my goal.
That being said, it is time to set another goal. After all, you need something to strive for, right? While 400 subscribers may seem like a long way off, I am confident that I can reach this mark by the end of August.
If you have yet to subscribe, I would love to have you as a regular reader. And of course, don’t forget about receiving updates via email. As an email junkie, this is my preferred method of receiving updates.
Anyway, thanks again for the support and here is to hoping that 400 subscribers come sooner rather than later!
As a freelance writer, you are self-employed. This means that you do not have access to company sponsored benefits such as health insurance and a retirement plan. For this reason, you need to be in charge of these areas on your own. One important detail to consider is how you can save for both short term goals as well as your retirement. After all, freelance writers have the right to retire just like everybody else!
Although I am not entirely sure if I am on the right path, I have several accounts that help me to save as much money as possible. At this time, I have one personal checking account, a business checking account, two savings accounts, and an IRA that I manage myself. As you can imagine, the business account is used to pay business expenses. The personal checking is for personal expenses, and the savings accounts are for, you got it, saving! As far as the IRA is concerned, this is something that I have been contributing to for a couple years, and as long as I keep up the pace I should be set in 40 years or so.
Freelance writers often times find it difficult to save money because they do not have a set income that they can rely on each month. For instance, I may earn $5k one month and $10k the next. How do I know where the money should go with so many things changing month in and month out? Simply put, this is something that you will have to get used to on your own. There is no denying that it can be difficult to deal with a fluctuating income. But once you have some money in the bank and get a good feel for your career, you should become more comfortable.
Just like anybody else, freelance writers need to save money. But on the same token, many of them struggle. The best advice I can give is to organize your finances, and do your best to become comfortable with an income that can and will fluctuate.
Before you accept any freelance writing project you will want to work out the payment terms with the client. In many cases, this can throw a wrench into your plan of moving forward right away. The main reason for this is not seeing eye to eye with the client on how you are going to get paid. While this can come up from time to time, it is not a problem that you should have to deal with. Instead, you should accept as many forms of payment as possible in order to ensure that this issue does not hold you back from obtaining a new client.
I know of several freelance writers who only accept payment via PayPal. They do not want to receive checks, and are afraid of bank wires because they think it will compromise their financial information. Personally, I think that this is a dumb move. If you do not accept checks you can forget about doing business with most magazines and bigger companies. Simply put, the majority of them pay by check because they have an accounting department that is big enough to handle each and every invoice that they receive. By only accepting PayPal, you may be missing out on a lot of work.
You have probably noticed on my freelance writing income report that I accept payment via PayPal, check, and bank wire. While PayPal is definitely the leader, I usually receive a couple of checks and wires each month as well. And guess what? If I only accepted PayPal, I would be leaving several thousand dollars on the table each month. Obviously, this is not something that I plan on doing.
Why don’t you want to receive certain forms of payment? Sure, it can be a hassle to drive to the bank to deposit checks but do you want to lose a client over this? Your answer should be no.
All in all, it should be your goal to make things as easy as possible on your freelance writing clients. When it comes to accepting payment, this means being open to receiving your money in many different forms.Â
