Here’s a list of ten financial tips that can apply to you as a freelancer, if you’re working for yourself or you’re considering going freelance. This are simple, but effective, tips when it comes to dealing with money and personal finance.

See the link at the end of the post for a sample cash-flow analysis spreadsheet you can use to predict your cash for for any given 12 month period.

1. Be realistic when you’re drawing up a budget. Try the spreadsheet I’ve included at the end of the post. If you’re realistic with your budget you’re more likely to stick to it.
2. Keep track of all your spending, even the smallest of purchases (lunch out with friends or a client), it’s important to be able to budget for the small in things in life as well as the big ones.
3. Try to keep your personal and business expenses separate. Know where the divide lies between personal phone calls and business ones, fuel expenses etc. You may be entitled to tax relief on these items.
4. If you have any high interest loans, it is recommended to clear these first. This includes high interest credit cards, particularly if you’re using credit cards to cover client expenses (travel, web hosting etc.) while waiting for an invoice to come in.
5. Save, save, save. Even if it is the smallest of savings, having a small nest of cash can help avoid debt problems.
6. Once you’ve decided it, stick to your budget. I look at budgeting the same way as I look at losing weight (which I’m doing, and sticking at my healthier lifestyle) - it isn’t something you can do for a week or two, feel good about yourself and then give it up. You have to see it through!
7. Review your budget. This is an important one. Plan your starting budget, get into it for three months, then review. Continue for three months, then review. You see the pattern. Thinks like mortgage repayments, insurance repayments and interest rates all fluctuate month-to-month, how does it impact your budget?
8. If you find yourself struggling with loan repayments then talk to your financial institute or manager. Don’t go loading payments onto credit cards and certainly don’t go hunting down loan sharks! You may be able to agree a re-structured deal for your repayments, allowing you to pay back a lower return on a monthly basis.
9. Allow some flexibility. The same thought here is born out of following a weight loss plan. You can’t cut EVERYTHING out, allow yourself some flexibility in the budget. Don’t say you’ll ONLY spend $50 a week on food when you know you’re going out for a meal at the weekend that will cost you an extra $30. Where is that extra $30 coming from? If it isn’t used, then it’s spare cash floating around the budget - sometimes a little breathing room helps.
10. Take Your Time. Not to keep comparing budgeting to weight loss but this point is true again - take your time. You’re going to find it tough going for the first while, getting to grips with living and working within a budget but once you find yourself in the swing of things you’ll be grand. So long as you’re patient and take your time!

Cash Flow Analysis

In any business, however big or small, it is vital to know where to money is coming from and where exactly it is going out to. A 12 Month Cash Flow Statement is available for download here (suitable for Microsoft Office Excel or Open Office). Fill in your financial incomings and outgoings and you’ll soon build an idea of what it takes to survive, break even, or make a profit for yourself.

Tip: Duplicate the spreadsheet within the same book and plan for year 2 and 3. If you’re developing a rising trend in your sales, it is certainly interesting to watch the impact of the trend when you pass the 12 month mark.

Cash flow analysis chart comes via Score.org, the Counselors To America’s Small Business

Popularity: 14% [?]