<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Finance for Freelancers]]></title><description><![CDATA[A newsletter that demystifies financial matters for freelancers and creatives. ]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UPYE!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa3ad4a3-7de6-4970-a029-a14985fd0d6e_533x533.png</url><title>Finance for Freelancers</title><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:09:04 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[financeforfreelancers@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[financeforfreelancers@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[financeforfreelancers@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[financeforfreelancers@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Year-Round Freelance Money Moves to Simplify Tax Season]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dreading April 15? Set yourself up for success throughout the year.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/year-round-freelance-money-moves-to-simplify-tax-season</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/year-round-freelance-money-moves-to-simplify-tax-season</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:15:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1374746,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186345661?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xf2i!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ae82e69-22db-44c4-b714-1722cde59fb2_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@fin21?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">FIN</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-calculator-sitting-on-top-of-a-wooden-table-0rHxkbcvQAE?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>Good Morning! </p><p>Before we get started, I just wanted to say I'm truly grateful you're here. </p><p>Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting my work. </p><p>This weekend, Finance for Freelancers crossed the 100-subscriber mark. </p><p>This is my first newsletter and my first time publicly sharing non-client writing in years. </p><p>I had no idea how it would be received, and seeing so many of you show up means the world to me. Thank you for being on this journey with me. &#10084;&#65039;</p><div><hr></div><p>Today is April 1st, also known as April Fools&#8217; Day. I recently learned this fun fact: In France, April 1 is known as <em>Poisson d&#8217;Avril</em>, or &#8216;April Fish.&#8217; You can read about a few <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/april-fools-france">theories of its origin</a>. </p><p>Here&#8217;s how French kids celebrate the holiday: They cut out and color paper fish, then secretly try to tape them to each other&#8217;s backs without being noticed. </p><p>Now on to a less fun topic: taxes. For those of us in the U.S., we&#8217;re two weeks away from the federal tax filing deadline. </p><p>If you don&#8217;t get excited at the thought of preparing and filing your taxes, you&#8217;re not alone. &#129763;</p><p>Since we&#8217;re nearing the final days of tax prep season, I figured now would be a good time to discuss some strategies that freelancers can use to set themselves up for success well before April of next year.</p><p>While it may feel too early to think about next year&#8217;s filing season, it&#8217;s not. By taking action throughout the year, you can set yourself up for success and ensure that next tax season is a breeze. </p><p>As a reminder, I&#8217;m not a tax professional, and this is not tax advice. If you have tax-related questions, please reach out to a tax professional for guidance.  </p><p>Let&#8217;s review some year-round money moves that can help simplify tax season.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2>Keep an accurate record of your earnings </h2><p>As a freelancer, it&#8217;s your responsibility to report all your income. You&#8217;re likely juggling multiple clients and projects throughout the year. That means you need to track all those income streams.</p><p>It&#8217;s in your best interest to document every dollar that you bring in. It&#8217;ll be easier to see how your business is doing financially, and it&#8217;ll make tax time easier.</p><p>As for how you track your freelance earnings, do what works best for you. One way you can do that is with bookkeeping software. QuickBooks and FreshBooks are two examples. </p><p>Another option is to use a spreadsheet. The best part about this method? It's completely free. I use a Google Sheets spreadsheet to document my earnings. </p><p>Every year, I create a new spreadsheet. Each month gets its own tab, where I track every project, its rate, and my running total for the month.</p><p>This approach makes it easy for me to review my finances throughout the year. It also helps to make tax time way less complicated because I&#8217;m ready to dive into the numbers.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg" width="1456" height="1092" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1092,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:274239,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186345661?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ba-a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340a3f7f-060e-4c31-b8f7-a01dda427907_1920x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@nickmorrison?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Nick Morrison</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/macbook-pro-near-white-open-book-FHnnjk1Yj7Y?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Track your business expenses </h2><p>Tax deductions reduce your taxable income, which can result in tax savings. The IRS allows self-employed business owners to deduct business operating costs.</p><p>For a business expense to be deductible according to the IRS, it must be both ordinary and necessary.</p><p>Some examples may include:</p><ul><li><p>Software subscriptions</p></li><li><p>Professional organization membership fees</p></li><li><p>Educational course fees</p></li><li><p>Domain registration and web hosting expenses</p></li><li><p>Advertising expenses  </p></li></ul><p>It&#8217;s important to keep a careful record of your business expenses. Remember that spreadsheet I was talking about earlier? </p><p>In each monthly tab, below my earnings, I record my business expenses for that same month. Many of my business expenses are recurring, so they&#8217;re relatively easy for me to track. </p><p>Having all of this document in my spreadsheet makes it easy to quickly input my yearly business expenses when preparing my tax return in the spring. </p><p>I also keep copies of my receipts. I stash electronic receipts in a folder in my email, and I stash paper receipts in a receipts folder, which I keep in my office.  </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h2>Make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties </h2><p>Self-employed workers, including freelancers, are responsible for making quarterly estimated tax payments. </p><p>If you underpay or skip your estimated tax payments, the IRS will hit you with an underpayment penalty. That means you&#8217;ll be responsible for paying the remaining amount you owe, plus fees. </p><p>But you can avoid this by making your payments by the quarterly due dates. </p><p>Do you struggle with <a href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/managing-estimated-tax-payments">managing estimated tax payments</a>? Trust me, you&#8217;re not alone. </p><p>Last week, I shared what I do to simplify things. I&#8217;ve been following this approach for many years, and it has reduced my stress. </p><p>If you already read my in-depth guide last week, the next tip will be familiar. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:379672,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186345661?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WTpG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb96f8f94-3b4d-4f48-812d-038cef25bfea_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@alexandermils?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Alexander Mils</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/fan-of-100-us-dollar-banknotes-lCPhGxs7pww?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Automate your savings </h2><p>Instead of stressing out about how you&#8217;ll be able to afford to make your next estimated tax payment a week before it&#8217;s due, you can save up year-round. Automating your savings can be helpful. </p><p>Through your bank, you can set up automatic transfers. Once you do this, money will automatically be moved from your checking account to your savings account on a set schedule. </p><p>This can be especially helpful for anyone who is forgetful and for those navigating extra busy seasons of life. You won&#8217;t have to rely on remembering to manually contribute to your tax savings fund. </p><p>When it&#8217;s time to make your next quarterly estimated tax payment, just use the funds you have stashed away in your tax savings account.</p><p>This strategy has been a total game-changer for me. Every two weeks, money is automatically stashed into a tax savings bucket in my savings account. </p><p>I feel more prepared. Plus, I&#8217;m earning interest while my money sits in the bank. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2>Stay up to date on tax changes </h2><p>Tax laws are ever-changing. It&#8217;s in your best interest to stay alert to recent tax changes so you know what to expect and can plan accordingly.</p><p>If the thought of this makes you break out in hives, don&#8217;t fret, my friend. Many freelancers choose to work with a tax professional. A CPA can file and prepare your taxes and also keep you in the loop about tax law changes. </p><h2>Set yourself up for success</h2><p>The takeaway: How you manage your money matters. You may want to consider whether it&#8217;s time to make some adjustments so you&#8217;re better organized throughout the year. Small habits, built now, can pay off big come tax time. </p><div class="poll-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:487099}" data-component-name="PollToDOM"></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Managing Estimated Tax Payments]]></title><description><![CDATA[Are you struggling to manage your quarterly estimated tax payments? It may be time to consider a different approach. Find out how to go from chaos to calm.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/managing-estimated-tax-payments</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/managing-estimated-tax-payments</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:05:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/71dfeb7c-f4b5-4b5d-b0c4-0c83d55d3d7b_4913x3275.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello, friends! Happy Wednesday! </p><p>We&#8217;re quickly approaching April 15, which is the individual federal income tax return filing deadline. 2026 Q1 estimated tax payments are also due then. </p><p>And while I already filed my 2025 tax return in February, I&#8217;m gearing up to make my Q1 2026 estimated tax payments. </p><p>In my state, I&#8217;m also responsible for paying local and state income taxes. So I&#8217;ll be scheduling three separate payments. Exciting stuff! &#128517;</p><p>Anyway, this got me thinking about how stressed I used to feel managing my estimated tax payments. I wasn&#8217;t managing them well at all. The issue was I wasn&#8217;t stashing away money regularly, which caused added chaos and stress. </p><p>This was my routine for a while: </p><p>A few weeks before a quarterly payment was due, I&#8217;d stare at my checking account balance, wondering how I was going to magically come up with the necessary funds. </p><p>Then came the scramble: I would chase last-minute writing projects, hoping that I could earn enough money to make up for my poor planning. </p><p>Luckily, those days are long behind me. I have a system in place that ensures I&#8217;m prepared. In this newsletter, I&#8217;ll explain what I do now.</p><p><strong>A quick reminder before we dive in further: </strong>I&#8217;m not a tax professional. If you have tax-related questions, please reach out to a qualified expert for guidance. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div><hr></div><h2>Here&#8217;s why estimated tax payments matter</h2><p>Let&#8217;s start with an overview. </p><p>Why do freelancers need to make estimated tax payments? The IRS requires workers to pay taxes as they earn income. </p><p>W-2 workers have taxes withheld from their paychecks. But freelancers manage their own taxes. That means they must set aside money to cover their tax bill and make estimated tax payments. </p><p>The IRS outlines four payment periods throughout the year. Freelancers are responsible for making estimated tax payments for each period. </p><p>Here are the due dates for federal estimated tax payments for each quarter: </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png" width="1240" height="562" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:562,&quot;width&quot;:1240,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:61555,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/191465494?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQ8f!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c86a7b7-a75f-408c-8ee5-ab7421f78f89_1240x562.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>If you skip quarterly estimated tax payments or underpay, the IRS will hit you with underpayment penalties. It&#8217;s best to make payments every quarter.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1092,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:267202,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/191465494?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0m4O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca6c95c4-30ff-4678-99c8-cec0004fd5eb_1920x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Annie Spratt</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-gold-ceramic-unicorn-figurine-near-coins-Jr8byYZmTTU?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Goodbye chaos, hello calm </h2><p>Luckily, remembering to schedule my tax payments has never been an issue for me. <em><strong>(THANKS, ANXIETY!) </strong></em>Every year, I mark the four due dates on my work calendar. These reminders keep me on track. </p><p>What I struggled with before was actually remembering to set aside a portion of my income regularly. So how do I save up throughout the year so I have enough money to make my payments? </p><p>Similar to my approach to <a href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/freelance-pto-how-to-plan-and-budget">saving up for paid time off as a freelancer</a>, I lean into automation. I have an automatic transfer set up through my bank. Every two weeks, a set amount of money is automatically transferred from my checking account to my savings account. </p><p>This strategy works really well for me. Since I&#8217;m regularly setting aside money, I&#8217;m not left scrambling to come up with enough funds to cover my tax payments every quarter. I&#8217;m more able to focus on running and managing my business well.  </p><p>As for making the payments, I like to manually schedule my quarterly estimated payments rather than scheduling them in advance for the whole year. About a week before the due date, I log in to my payment portal of choice and schedule my next payment. </p><p>This gives me a chance to review my recent earnings. And if necessary, I make adjustments to the payment amount before scheduling my next payment. </p><p>Want to schedule your payments ahead of time? The EFTPS and IRS Direct Pay allow you to schedule payments up to 365 days in advance. You can do this with third-party software solutions, too. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:379672,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/191465494?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J4_s!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc81790d4-1af4-4fa7-8cc8-fdd25a0ea0f2_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@alexandermils?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Alexander Mils</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/fan-of-100-us-dollar-banknotes-lCPhGxs7pww?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>What can freelancers experiencing income changes do?</h2><p>Has your income been all over the place lately? If you&#8217;re navigating <a href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income">inconsistent income</a> in your current chapter of life, automation may not be ideal.</p><p>Here&#8217;s another way to manage things so you have enough money saved up by the time the next due date rolls around. </p><p>At the end of each month, transfer a portion of your earnings to your savings account to cover your tax responsibility for that month.</p><p>But make sure you do this every month so you&#8217;re making consistent contributions to your savings account to have enough money to fund your next payment. </p><p>If you do this manual savings approach, I suggest scheduling a reminder on your phone or marking it on your calendar so you don&#8217;t forget. </p><h2>Simplify your finances and life</h2><p>Now that I&#8217;m no longer having to remember to manually stash away tax funds, I feel much less financial stress. </p><p>It can be beneficial to look for ways to simplify your finances. How you manage your estimated tax payments is just one example. </p><p>If how you&#8217;re managing your finances is no longer working for you, it may be time to make some changes. Freeing up your time and energy and reducing your stress can be a major win. </p><h4><em>Help me improve Finance for Freelancers: If you have a topic you&#8217;d like me to cover or feedback to share, </em><a href="https://forms.gle/AD8qvd3tE6YqXJie8">I&#8217;d love to hear more</a><em>.</em></h4><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Women's History Month: 3 Women Who Shaped Financial History ]]></title><description><![CDATA[These remarkable women helped shape financial history. Their efforts paved the way for future generations. This Women's History Month, let's celebrate them all.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/womens-history-month-3-women-who</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/womens-history-month-3-women-who</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:10:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d4bfc64b-05d1-4ce5-b775-20e706755c38_4913x3275.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Good morning! &#9728;&#65039; </p><p>Welcome to week four of Finance for Freelancers! In honor of Women&#8217;s History Month, this week&#8217;s newsletter content and format will be different.</p><p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about how just over 50 years ago, it was legal for banks to discriminate against women who applied for credit. &#128528;</p><p>Banks were legally allowed to require women to have male co-signers to open credit cards or take out loans, regardless of their income. </p><p>Until October 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was signed into law. The ECOA made it illegal for banks to discriminate based on sex or marital status.</p><p>I&#8217;m 38. I was a senior in high school when I opened my first credit card. I&#8217;m horrified that this law only became a reality 13 years before I was born. </p><p>But I appreciate the many women who championed women&#8217;s rights and fought for women&#8217;s financial independence. </p><p>With that in mind, I&#8217;m devoting this week&#8217;s newsletter to celebrating several women who shaped financial history. </p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg" width="500" height="697" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:697,&quot;width&quot;:500,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:133024,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/189944198?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3ibC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ca660c-c40d-469b-8782-140a395db366_500x697.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Maggie Lena Walker, circa 1900-1910. Photo courtesy of the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=3565365&amp;id=20aa348d-155d-451f-6741-0c3db77a1ea0&amp;gid=FCD94BC0-5C32-4072-9B74-78E4A7D7ED02">National Park Service</a> </figcaption></figure></div><h2>Maggie Lena Walker</h2><p>Maggie Lena Walker was a successful businesswoman and civic leader who became the first woman to charter a bank in the U.S. </p><p>At 14, she joined the Independent Order of St. Luke (IOSL). The organization promoted Black economic independence and provided mutual aid and community support to its members.  </p><p>She worked as a teacher for three years. After resigning from her teaching job <em><strong>(because school policy prohibited married women from teaching), </strong></em>she began working for the IOSL. She worked in various roles. </p><p>In 1899, she was elected as the Right Worthy Grand Secretary, the organization&#8217;s highest leadership role. She assumed the role when the IOSL was on the verge of bankruptcy. Walker wasn&#8217;t deterred, seeing it as an opportunity. </p><p>Through her hard work, she saved the IOSL from bankruptcy. She also rebuilt the organization, growing its membership and expanding its mission. </p><p>In 1903, she founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia. Walker wanted to provide a safe place for Black families to save and borrow. She hoped to empower her community by fostering financial independence. </p><p>She did that and more. By 1920, the bank issued over 600 mortgages, helping hundreds of Black families become homeowners. </p><p>Walker spent her entire life championing her community. She&#8217;s credited with creating the S<em>t. Luke Herald</em>, a community newspaper. </p><p>She founded the St. Luke Emporium department store, which gave Black customers a dignified and safe place to shop amid racial segregation. </p><p>She also led a citywide boycott against segregated streetcars and promoted women&#8217;s suffrage.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maggie-lena-walker">National Women&#8217;s History Museum</a> </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5lIu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc9c5741c-f9e0-4ac7-9256-2535af4a6ddd_478x603.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Emily Card, circa 1983. Photo courtesy of the <a href="https://www.si.edu/support/impact/preserving-living-memory/sawhm">Smithsonian American Women&#8217;s History Museum</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Emily Card, PhD</h2><p>We can&#8217;t discuss the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) without highlighting the advocacy work of Emily Card, PhD.</p><p>In the early 1970s, while serving as a legislative fellow for Senator Bill Brock, she helped draft the ECOA's legislative language. </p><p>Card herself had experienced discrimination when applying for credit. Despite earning more than her husband, she was denied credit when applying for a credit card in her own name. </p><p>She collected evidence to convince Senator Brock that a new national law was necessary. Card coordinated with women&#8217;s rights groups to gather personal stories from women who had been discriminated against by banks. </p><p>Card was present on the Senate floor when the legislation was passed in 1974. </p><p>President Ford signed the bill into law in October 1974. In 1976, he signed an amendment to the law to expand its protections beyond sex and marital status. The amendment broadened its reach to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, and receipt of public assistance.  </p><p>Card has continued to advocate for women&#8217;s financial independence as an educator and author. She authored and co-authored several personal finance books and hosted the television show <em>It's Your Money</em>. </p><p>While on faculty at USC, she founded the Women&#8217;s Credit Project. She also founded and directed the Women&#8217;s Credit and Finance Project at Harvard University. </p><p>Learn more: <a href="https://womenshistory.si.edu/we-do-declare/making-equal-credit-opportunity-act-1974">Smithsonian American Women&#8217;s History Museum</a></p><p>It&#8217;s worth mentioning that the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg helped pave the way for the ECOA. In the 1970s, she led the fight against gender discrimination. </p><p>While serving as a volunteer attorney for the ACLU, she argued six landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. She also founded the ACLU&#8217;s Women&#8217;s Rights Project.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PY5q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36c807be-978f-46d2-8edf-4107ccc16fca_360x531.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Madam C.J. Walker, circa 1912. Photo courtesy of the <a href="https://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:nmaahc_2013.153.8?q=guid%3A%22ark%3A%2F65665%2Ffd56c3eabb0d7ff4fa5ad7ab790794fe5e7%22&amp;record=1&amp;hlterm=guid%3A%26quot%3Bark%3A%2F65665%2Ffd56c3eabb0d7ff4fa5ad7ab790794fe5e7%26quot%3B&amp;inline=true">Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture</a>, Gift of A'Lelia Bundles / Madam Walker Family Archives</figcaption></figure></div><h2>Madam C. J. Walker</h2><p>Born Sarah Breedlove to formerly enslaved parents, Madam C. J. Walker became the first self-made female millionaire in the U.S. </p><p>Orphaned at age seven, she spent her early years working as a child laborer and then a washerwoman. </p><p>She escaped poverty by developing specialized haircare products for Black women. Her personal experience with several scalp ailments, including hair loss, led her to create the &#8220;Walker System.&#8221; The system paired hair products and scalp treatments with hot combs.  </p><p>After getting married in 1906, she began going by Madam C. J. Walker. She started selling her hair care products door-to-door, teaching other Black women how to care for their hair.</p><p>In 1908, she moved to Pittsburgh and founded a factory and training school, called Lelia College, named after her daughter. </p><p>At the school, she taught women how to be "hair culturists.&#8221; She trained and employed 40,000 Black women as sales agents. Her business model ensured that her agents earned enough to gain financial independence.</p><p>After her divorce in 1910, she relocated to Indianapolis and built a factory for the Walker Manufacturing Company. She also built a hair and nail salon and another training school. Walker was a very successful entrepreneur. She became the first self-made woman millionaire in the U.S. by the time of her death in 1919.</p><p>Walker was also a philanthropist who supported civil rights and education programs. She contributed to the Young Women&#8217;s Christian Association (YWCA), covered tuition for students at Tuskegee Institute, and funded anti-lynching efforts run by the NAACP. </p><p>Upon her death, Walker left two-thirds of future net profits to charity and donated nearly $100,000 to various orphanages, institutions, and schools. </p><p>Learn more about her life and legacy: <a href="https://madamwalkerlegacycenter.com/">Madam Walker Legacy Center</a></p><div><hr></div><p>Thanks for going on a historical deep dive with me today. I enjoyed researching these women and learning about their many achievements. I originally hoped to highlight 4-5 women in this piece, but my ADHD brain couldn&#8217;t stop talking about these 3 incredible women. </p><p>Are you interested in occasional deep dives like this?<strong> Let me know by replying to this email. </strong></p><p>Cheers to the many women who fought for women&#8217;s financial independence and advocated for their communities.  </p><p>I&#8217;ll see you next Wednesday! &#10084;&#65039;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h4><em>Help me improve Finance for Freelancers: Have a topic you&#8217;d like me to cover or feedback to share? </em><a href="https://forms.gle/AD8qvd3tE6YqXJie8">Let me know</a><em>.</em></h4>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to Deal with Inconsistent Freelance Income]]></title><description><![CDATA[Practical strategies to prepare for and better manage the ups and downs.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:28:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a311642d-4bfd-4807-9597-98e07adaef31_4913x3275.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Quick note:</strong> Before I jump into this week&#8217;s topic, I want to acknowledge that a lot is happening in the world right now. If things feel heavy, please know you are not alone. It&#8217;s hard to navigate life and work amid constant uncertainty.</p><p>Freelance business owners may feel extra pressure to push through our to-do lists despite everything going on. But I hope you take care and allow yourself to step away when needed.</p><p>I created this newsletter to provide a resource for my fellow freelancers. But I also want to build a welcoming and supportive community space. </p><p>If things feel like a lot right now, I see you. And I&#8217;m right there with you. &#10084;&#65039;</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1303452,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186229134?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F1Nk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd282fa1-6c30-4f06-a531-891480b05be2_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@emiliotakas?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Emilio Takas</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/1-us-dollar-bill-_GNVwZJv-Jo?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>Hello, Finance for Freelancers readers. Today, were talking income!</p><p>I haven&#8217;t worked a &#8220;regular&#8221; W-2 job in 12 years, so it has been a while since I&#8217;ve received a predictable, biweekly paycheck with taxes withheld. (&#128117;&#127995;&#129763;)</p><p>When you transition from a traditional job to freelancing, your income shifts. </p><p>Unless you operate your business as an S-corp, your income will likely look different from one month to another. </p><p>It&#8217;s not unusual for freelance income to fluctuate. Some seasons may be busier, while others are much quieter. Clients may also shift strategies or reduce budgets. No matter the reasoning, income inconsistencies can cause stress.</p><p>But I have good news: You can take steps to improve your financial stability and navigate income fluctuations with ease. Let&#8217;s review some tools and strategies.</p><h2>Build and maintain a financial safety net</h2><p>No matter your situation or experience level, it&#8217;s beneficial to have a financial safety net. That&#8217;s why I recommend that all freelancers have an emergency fund.</p><p>Setting money aside in a dedicated savings account can allow you to feel more financially secure. It can also make it easier to handle unexpected expenses, such as a costly car repair bill.&#8203;</p><p>Your emergency fund can also help you keep your living expenses paid during periods of reduced income. </p><p>If you&#8217;re thinking, &#8220;What if I don&#8217;t have an emergency fund?&#8221; Don&#8217;t fret. </p><p>It&#8217;s never too late to start building one. </p><p>Commit to a monthly savings goal and make consistent contributions to your savings account. With time and effort, your account balance will grow. </p><p>If you struggle to remember to transfer funds from your checking to your savings account, I suggest setting up monthly automatic transfers. This strategy has been a game-changer for me. </p><p><em>(<strong>Quick side quest:</strong> Want to maximize the interest you earn? Keep your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account. I&#8217;ll dive into this topic more in a future post.)</em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Like what you&#8217;re reading? Subscribe for free to get weekly posts in your inbox.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg" width="640" height="427" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:427,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:22639,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/186229134?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oAN8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dc35d30-f64c-405b-8c69-83febcfec771_640x427.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@shift14?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Teuku Fadhil</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-white-calculator-sitting-on-top-of-a-table-aqB6_P5Z_Lg?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Budget based on your lowest-earning month </h2><p>It&#8217;s good practice to keep an accurate record of your earnings. Knowing how much money you&#8217;re bringing in each month can help you plan for the future.</p><p>I track my monthly income and business expenses using a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Doing this helps me:</p><ul><li><p>Calculate my quarterly estimated tax payments</p></li><li><p>Make short-term and long-term business decisions</p></li><li><p>Manage my money with greater efficiency</p></li></ul><p>Want to feel more in control of your finances when your freelance income dips? <strong>Use your lowest-earning month as your budgeting baseline. </strong></p><p>To identify your baseline, review your earnings from the last 6 to 12 months. Take your lowest monthly total and build your monthly budget around that number.</p><p>Here&#8217;s why this approach is beneficial.</p><p>You&#8217;ll feel more confident knowing you can afford your everyday expenses, even when work is less plentiful. </p><p>And if this amount doesn&#8217;t cover all your bills, now is a good time to determine what changes you can make to feel more financially comfortable. </p><p>You may need to make lifestyle changes or business operational changes. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:384103,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/186229134?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6wRW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508b20a5-d75e-4125-9252-7b4b4afb31eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Annie Spratt</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-laptop-computer-sitting-on-top-of-a-wooden-desk-vOSIT3MYGV8?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Diversify your income</h2><p>Want to better protect yourself from big drops in income? Having multiple clients and income sources can help you weather slow work periods. </p><p>It is tempting to focus on one industry, one kind of project, or a few favorite clients. But that can be risky because your workload can quickly disappear.</p><p>You can protect yourself and your finances by diversifying your clients and income streams. </p><p>This strategy can make the loss of one or more clients feel less devastating. Even if things are going well, it helps to keep making time for outreach. </p><p>Interested in learning more about why income diversification is a must? I&#8217;ve written about a past freelancing experience that taught me a difficult but <a href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/most-important-financial-lesson-freelancer">important financial lesson</a>. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2>Prioritize clients with consistent work</h2><p>Some clients only need occasional freelance support. Some clients work with freelancers often and provide a steady flow of work. </p><p>As you chat with potential clients, ask whether they need occasional or ongoing support. You may want to focus more time and attention on those who are more likely and willing to provide a consistent workload.</p><p>That&#8217;s not to say you should ignore or get rid of clients who only provide occasional projects. But choosing to partner with clients who provide regular work can help to make your income more stable.</p><p>Chasing one-off projects can be exhausting and make it harder to build a steady freelance income.</p><p>If you&#8217;re currently going through a slow work period, don&#8217;t lose hope. These strategies can help you navigate slower seasons with greater ease in the future. </p><p>How do you deal with income fluctuations? Do you have any tips?<strong> Let me know by replying to this email. </strong></p><h4><em>Help me improve Finance for Freelancers: If you have a topic you&#8217;d like me to cover or feedback to share, </em><a href="https://forms.gle/AD8qvd3tE6YqXJie8">I&#8217;d love to hear more</a><em>.</em></h4><div class="captioned-button-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! This post is public, so feel free to share it.</p></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/how-to-deal-with-inconsistent-freelance-income?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Most Important Financial Lesson I’ve Learned As a Freelancer]]></title><description><![CDATA[What I did wrong and what you can do to avoid making the same mistake.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/most-important-financial-lesson-freelancer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/most-important-financial-lesson-freelancer</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:13:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/03604d72-f601-4894-ac69-cb24e508dafe_4913x3275.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1003668,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/184671822?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLaz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38bc9ce0-5e7e-4702-b320-85cbd37e4f8b_4913x3275.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@fempreneurstyledstock?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Leone Venter</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/magic-keyboard-beside-mug-and-click-pen-VieM9BdZKFo?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>Hello and Happy Wednesday! </p><p>Today I&#8217;m sharing a hard lesson that I learned in my early freelancing days. Hopefully, I can help at least one person avoid making a similar mistake. &#8203;</p><p>Let&#8217;s travel back in time. It&#8217;s late 2019, and I&#8217;m in my third year of business. Suddenly, I lost a client who accounted for around 60% of my income. &#128561;</p><p>It was a travel writing client who gave me a lot of creative freedom. They were a dream to work with: they encouraged me to write about topics that interested me, gave great feedback, and paid me weekly, within minutes of invoicing. (&#8230;I know!)</p><p>As you probably guessed, I was crushed. Since things had been going so well, I never saw it coming. But I was given two weeks&#8217; notice, and then poof, the work was gone. </p><p><em>(<strong>Quick side quest:</strong> If you&#8217;re thinking, &#8220;they gave you notice?!&#8221; I echo your thoughts. Since then, I&#8217;ve learned that in the freelancing world, it can be rare to be given notice before work disappears.)</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg" width="1456" height="965" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:965,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:426346,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/184671822?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aS_W!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b95ee81-f01a-4c54-acac-3b52c10afc64_1920x1272.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@minxi?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Minxi Mao</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-wooden-desk-with-writing-tools-dLf2TiV8qlI?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>My editor assured me it had nothing to do with my work. Instead, the decision resulted from a shift in business priorities. The agency had decided to stop publishing content on the two travel websites it had been managing.</p><p>For ten months, I had been getting paid to write multiple articles each week for both sites. The money I earned from these projects made up a significant part of my income that year. In fact, that freelance gig was the primary reason I could afford to save up for a down payment on a home.</p><p>While I had other work at the time, none of it paid as well or was as plentiful. And remember that down payment? Adding to my stress was the fact that we had just closed on our first home three months earlier.  </p><p>What followed was a challenging year for my business, as the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was just around the corner. Due to uncertainty and tightened budgets, work from other clients became less plentiful. </p><p>Luckily, with time, things improved. By early 2021, my business and my bank account balance were in a better place. </p><h2>This is what that experience taught me </h2><p><strong>That experience taught me an important lesson: </strong>Never rely on a single client for most (or all) of your income.</p><p>This is a good practice to follow&#8230;</p><ul><li><p>Even if you feel secure</p></li><li><p>Even if you&#8217;ve worked together for years</p></li><li><p>Even if they&#8217;re praising you for your efforts</p></li><li><p>Even if you&#8217;re receiving a steady flow of work</p></li><li><p>Even if you have extra cash in savings </p></li></ul><p>You could lose that client tomorrow and with it, the income you&#8217;ve relied on.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177419,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/184671822?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HP4S!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12fb2798-5f0d-4239-bf3b-7587fe3829eb_1920x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@kharp?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Katie Harp</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/text-letter-PyTHtWgoJik?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Here&#8217;s how to protect yourself </h2><p>Clients come and go. And over time, their needs and goals may change. As a freelancer, you have little control over that. </p><p>But you can lessen your risk of losing a significant portion of your income by diversifying your client base and having multiple income streams. </p><p>I had gotten too comfortable relying on those weekly assignments. But had I spent more time seeking additional opportunities, I likely would have felt less financial strain in the months that followed that loss. </p><p>Here&#8217;s my advice: If you have a client who accounts for a large portion of your income, I encourage you to diversify more. </p><p>If you need to make some changes, I suggest you start setting aside time to seek additional work. Make it a priority and build it into your routine. </p><p>It takes time and effort to find more clients. But by diversifying your client base, you can improve your financial security. If one client reduces your workload or no longer has work, you&#8217;ll feel less financial strain.  </p><p>While this lesson was difficult for me to learn, it&#8217;s forever etched in my memory. It serves as a constant reminder of why it&#8217;s necessary to prioritize diversification and make time for continued outreach, even when things are going really well. <strong>Especially when things are going well.</strong></p><p>And with that &#8212; I&#8217;m off to spend some time on outreach!  </p><p>What difficult financial lessons have you learned as a freelancer? <strong>Let me know by replying to this email. </strong></p><p><em><strong>If you have a topic you&#8217;d like me to cover or feedback to share, <a href="https://forms.gle/AD8qvd3tE6YqXJie8">I&#8217;d love to hear more</a>. </strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/most-important-financial-lesson-freelancer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/most-important-financial-lesson-freelancer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freelance PTO: How to Plan and Budget for Time Off]]></title><description><![CDATA[Do you struggle to take time off as a freelancer because you're worried about lost income? Learn how to plan and budget for time off.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/freelance-pto-how-to-plan-and-budget</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/freelance-pto-how-to-plan-and-budget</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:50:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0cbee27f-255c-458a-9ee5-df34cacb1151_4913x3275.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1380455,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186251426?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I6Pq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61988155-3f82-4166-993e-4000d6b4cbe8_4913x3275.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by Author</figcaption></figure></div><p>Happy Wednesday!</p><p>Welcome to the first official weekly Finance for Freelancers newsletter! &#129395;</p><p>In this week&#8217;s newsletter, I&#8217;d love to discuss something that&#8217;s been on my mind: <strong>planning for time off</strong>.</p><p>Before we dive in, let me start with two quick polls.</p><p>If you feel comfortable, I&#8217;d love to gather your answers to these questions. I&#8217;m curious about how other freelancers approach taking time off. </p><p><strong>Note: </strong>Other readers can only see the poll results, not who voted for what!</p><div class="poll-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:456942}" data-component-name="PollToDOM"></div><div class="poll-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:456943}" data-component-name="PollToDOM"></div><p>Now, let&#8217;s dive deeper into this topic.</p><h2>Don&#8217;t overlook planning for time away </h2><p>I often see freelancers complain about the lack of paid time off. In theory, they&#8217;re right that the gig doesn&#8217;t come with PTO.</p><p>Unlike many full-time W-2 jobs, freelancing doesn&#8217;t come with a benefits package that includes paid time off for illness, mental health days, or vacation.&#8203;</p><p>But you can plan ahead financially for time away. <strong>And you should. </strong></p><p>Prioritizing taking time off can benefit your business and your well-being. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png" width="625" height="155" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:155,&quot;width&quot;:625,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:8643,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/186251426?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!41W1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1b620b3-59fc-4d60-9a23-4e560f7a1306_625x155.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>I didn&#8217;t always save up for PTO</h2><p>For many years, I operated my business with the understanding that the freelance lifestyle doesn&#8217;t include PTO. In my mind, that&#8217;s just how it was. </p><p>When I stepped away due to illness or took a vacation, I knew I would not be getting paid. And sometimes, my bank account took a hit because of it. </p><p>The issue with this approach is that freelancers can feel financial pressure to keep working even when they need a break or time to rest. </p><p>But that&#8217;s not all. If you&#8217;re going through a difficult time with your mental health or are fighting an illness, you&#8217;re not able to work to the best of your abilities. </p><p>That means the quality of your work will  likely suffer, and you&#8217;ll be unable to focus on your wellness. </p><p>Eventually, I realized I needed to change my approach to taking time off.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg" width="1456" height="1092" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1092,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2339037,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186251426?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LaUP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e21982-9307-4169-921b-473bba287842_4032x3024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Here I am in Peru, visiting Machu Picchu!</figcaption></figure></div><h2>Here&#8217;s what I do now</h2><p>These days, I operate my business differently.</p><p>Here&#8217;s what I do to prepare financially for time away from work.</p><p>At the end of each year, I tally up my income and calculate my monthly average. Then I determine how much I&#8217;d need to set aside regularly to contribute that amount to my high-yield savings account.</p><p>Let&#8217;s imagine my income was $78,000. I would plan to set aside $6,500 over the next year to cover up to one month away from work.</p><p>That $6,500 becomes my PTO package. </p><p>Why one month? That&#8217;s what works best for me. </p><p>Travel is a big passion of mine, and I aim to travel for at least 3 weeks each year. I also know that there will be times when I need to step away from my work due to illness or personal reasons.</p><p>Having money set aside allows me to pay myself back for time spent away from my desk &#8212; regardless of the reason.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png" width="625" height="155" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:155,&quot;width&quot;:625,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:8643,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://financeforfreelancers.substack.com/i/186251426?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgD4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3194b815-7188-4c7a-82f9-2b70450bb71e_625x155.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>Make a plan for PTO </h2><p>You may want to consider taking a similar approach.</p><p>Here&#8217;s how to get started. Determine how much PTO you need. Perhaps setting aside two weeks&#8217; worth of income is plenty. Do what works for your lifestyle.</p><p>Once you know how much money you need to save, start making regular contributions to your savings account. </p><p><em>(<strong>Quick side quest:</strong> I love Ally Bank. Their savings bucket feature makes it easy to organize multiple savings goals. One of my buckets is a PTO bucket.) </em></p><p>How often you set aside money is up to you. For some, it may be easier to set aside money every month. I like to set aside money on a bi-weekly basis.</p><p>I suggest setting up automatic bank withdrawals so you don&#8217;t have to transfer money from your checking account to your savings account manually.</p><p>This ensures you stay consistent. When it&#8217;s time to pay yourself back for time off, transfer a portion of your PTO savings back to your checking account.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg" width="1456" height="1460" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1460,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:816328,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/i/186251426?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VMJV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F933c3cb3-b495-4fc0-8ffa-fcbbddfcf2c8_2010x2015.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Here I am in Peru, thinking about the breathtaking views &#8212;not client projects or money.</figcaption></figure></div><h2>Remember: you&#8217;re the boss</h2><p>Setting aside money for PTO can be a great money move for you and your business.</p><p>If you&#8217;re like me, one reason you chose to freelance was the flexibility it offers. But if you never take time off, are you really taking advantage of that?</p><p>Ready to shift how you approach and think about time away from work?</p><p>I dare you to try this strategy.</p><p>Take the sick day.</p><p>Take the vacation.</p><p>Plan now so you feel less stress later.</p><p>That&#8217;s all for today! I look forward to chatting more next week.</p><p>Do you plan for time away from work? How do you prepare financially?<strong> Let me know by replying to this email. </strong></p><p><em>If you have a topic you&#8217;d like me to cover or feedback to share, </em><a href="https://forms.gle/AD8qvd3tE6YqXJie8">I&#8217;d love to hear more</a><em>.</em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Finance for Freelancers! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Finance for Freelancers&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Finance for Freelancers</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Introducing Finance for Freelancers]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Finance for Freelancers newsletter is for freelancers who want to learn more about personal finances.]]></description><link>https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/introducing-finance-for-freelancers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.financeforfreelancers.com/p/introducing-finance-for-freelancers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Etzel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2026 02:14:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S1G3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F49f02e57-f2bb-4568-a23d-a21a642c0c70_3275x2183.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S1G3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F49f02e57-f2bb-4568-a23d-a21a642c0c70_3275x2183.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S1G3!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F49f02e57-f2bb-4568-a23d-a21a642c0c70_3275x2183.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S1G3!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F49f02e57-f2bb-4568-a23d-a21a642c0c70_3275x2183.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S1G3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F49f02e57-f2bb-4568-a23d-a21a642c0c70_3275x2183.png 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class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@karola-g/">Karola G</a> on <a href="http://ttps://www.pexels.com/photo/laptop-and-money-5942603/">Pexels</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>Hi! Welcome to Finance for Freelancers.</p><p>My name is Natasha &#8212; and I&#8217;m ready to share my latest side quest with the world.</p><p>I&#8217;ve spent the last nine years of my writing career as a full-time freelancer, covering personal finance and travel. </p><p>While I spend most of my working hours creating content for my clients, one of my goals for this year is to carve out more time for my own writing projects. So here goes!</p><p>Personal finance has long been an interest of mine. My obsession with maintaining detailed budget and income spreadsheets and using credit card points and miles to travel more affordably eventually led me to getting paid to create content for brands like NerdWallet.</p><p>I don&#8217;t have a finance degree &#8212; and I&#8217;m not a financial advisor. But my professional experience has taught me a lot about important financial topics, and I&#8217;d love to share some of what I&#8217;ve learned.</p><p>I&#8217;ve been wanting to start a newsletter for a while. But first, I wanted to make sure I had a unique angle and that there was a need for what I would share with the world. </p><p>After much thought, I&#8217;ve decided to create a financial newsletter for freelancers. </p><p><strong>Here&#8217;s why. </strong></p><p>Many writers discuss:</p><ul><li><p>How to start a freelance business</p></li><li><p>Strategies to become a more successful freelancer </p></li><li><p>Tips for finding more freelance opportunities</p></li><li><p>How to find and land higher-paying clients</p></li></ul><p>These are all important topics.</p><p>But I&#8217;ve noticed there&#8217;s less discussion around financial matters for freelancers.</p><p>Money management can look very different for those who don&#8217;t work a traditional W-2 role. And your everyday business and money choices can impact your wallet.</p><p>I created Finance for Freelancers to demystify financial matters for freelancers and creatives. I aim to make it easier to navigate the financial side of freelancing.</p><p>No matter what chapter of life you&#8217;re in, or where you are in your freelance journey, you can benefit from increasing your financial knowledge. And I&#8217;m here to help.</p><p>Thank you for joining me on this journey.</p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>