In the last Freelancer’s Brain on Money post, we covered the fun stuff on money: what we can do when we get a windfall of cash or have an amazing month of freelancing. Let’s talk about what to do when we have a shitty month and are low on funds. Ideally, we should be paying ourselves every month, meaning that we give ourselves double our Basic Number. Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world. The best we can do sometimes is to have enough to cover our basic expenses. Here’s what to do when you are going through a period of Freelancer Famine:
Tap into your Baby Savings.
Your Baby Savings is your buffer money. Hopefully you have some saved up, but if not, don’t worry. Just try your hardest not to resort to using your credit card or go into further debt.
Go Frugal Extreme.
Although frugality can have a bad rap, it’s really just a game on how resourceful you can be. A being resourceful is a creative venture. Whether it’s borrowing instead of buying, going on a hunt to find the best bargain, trying to do without, or swapping one thing for something else, go crazy to save some beans. You can try joining a Time Bank, swap stuff on NeighborGoods, or scour Freecycle postings.
Take a close look at your budget.
Try to bring down your Basic Number. The more you can cut back on basic expenses, the better off you’ll be in the long run. I know it can be a pain in the rear, but leave no stone unturned. Do you really need that extra cloud space? (OK, maybe you do). Maybe you can downgrade from Spotify Premium to Spotify Free. I know that work-related or digital expenses can add up. Another thing you can try is to call up some of your service providers to see if you can get a better deal on your Internet or cable bill. Explain your situation, throw out some competitor’s rates, let them know you’ve been a longstanding customer, blah blah blah. If you really need to, you can shut down your Internet service for two months and still have an account open. With all the WiFi out there, you might be okay hanging out at coffee shops and libraries. Josh from The Minimalists did it and says it’s been awesome for his productivity.
Find additional streams of revenue.
You hear the word “side hustle” all the time now. If you think about it, we’ve all side hustled at one point, i.e., peddling candy bars for school fundraisers, watering your neighbor’s lawn. Although I love to write and proofread, I also kind of hate sitting in front of a computer. These days I test proctor and catsit for side money. I’ve also helped out at my friend’s Etsy Store and at another friend’s art gallery. Test proctoring is great because I can read a book or catch up on some work while working, and catsitting is like staying at an AirBnB while getting paid for it.
Try coming up with side hustles that are related to things you enjoy doing but have nothing to do with your main expertise. If you are a designer and love to bike, maybe you can be a bike messenger (free exercise, dude)! Or if you love pets but they aren’t permitted at your apartment complex, you can take up petsitting. Think of it as a chance to get paid for something you enjoy doing. Sites like Fiverr, Localancers, 99Designs, and TaskRabbit are great places to start. Side hustling is like a digital Wild West. Anything goes, so take full advantage.
There are some apps out there (huzzah) that will help you even out our budget and track your finances. We’ll cover these at a later date. Stay strong, you’ll get through the rough patches.
