Making money & business more approachable for
self-employed creatives
Who reads this? Freelancers, artists, YouTubers, solopreneurs, musicians, and more
Read time: 2 minutes or less
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It's easy to let money become a hidden centerpiece in your day-to-day, influencing nearly every decision.
To help with this, I created a set of guidelines for myself.
These rules keep me on track with decision-making and they reduce the amount of time I spend thinking about money overall.
They aren't perfect, but they work well for me:
Rule 1) If it saves time, spend the money
Rule 2) If it creates a memory, spend the money
Rule 3) Maintain a one year cash reserve
Rule 4) Budget & aim for monthly travel
Rule 5) Insure for security, and nothing more
Rule 6) Invest (or save) at least 10% of income
Rule 7) Always tip at least 25% (aim for double)
Rule 8) Reduce friction, stay organized, & simplify where possible
Rule 9) Avoid non-cash flowing debt
Rule 10) No more than two actively used credit cards
Rule 11) One to rock, one to stock
Friendly money & business reminders for self-employed creatives
• With old retirement accounts, you may be able to roll them over into an IRA so that you only have to manage one account - which can save on fees and paperwork
• Further reading: How to consolidate retirement accounts
• With bank accounts, I like to have one primary checking and then a couple of savings accounts designated for specific goals
• For credit cards, I like to keep it simple, stick with one or two primary cards, and that's it
• Take a few minutes to upload new work to your portfolio
• Update your "copyright" text in the footer to reflect 2023
• Review your contact info and social links to make sure they're still accurate. I've seen this a lot recently with personal brand websites, but you want to make sure that your site has a security certificate or visitors may not be able to access it.
• Also read: How to Create a Contact Page that Attracts Better Clients
🎯 Six systems to build a 7-figure creative business
🎥 Watch: College kids launch TV shows on TikTok for less than $5,000
✍🏼 Freelance Finds: Why you should hire a virtual assistant for your freelance business
One of my favorite newsletters to read each week. Creatorbread will help you finally get control of your finances as a creator.
If you're a freelancer interested in learning about personal finance, it's worth subscribing. It's made especially for people like us and it's easy to read. I promise—no long, boring newsletter
Love the blog and read every single newsletter all the way through - can't say that about many!
One of the few newsletters I check out when it arrives in my inbox! I love the format and there is always something interesting to read
I consider your newsletter among the few ones that provides me with tremendous value.
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