LaToya Irby A lot of people are focusing on holiday shopping this time of year. Personally, my workload has increased and I haven’t given shopping much thought. (I really need to get on that!) But I have thought about my finances and some things I need to do as the year comes to a close. There are tons of year-end money lists out there and they all
Too bad we’re not born knowing how to deal with money. If you had a financial literacy class in high school, you were pretty lucky. For many of us, much of what we know about personal finance we learned from our parents or our own mistakes. It’s not too late to learn those critical lessons you may have missed. Here are some tips on being
For most people transitioning into full-time freelance writing or freelance writing on the side for awhile, there will undoubtedly be a period of time that you’re managing two kinds of income: income from freelance writing and income from a regular job. Or if you’re a writer who’s married to or cohabitating with someone who earns a regular income, the two of you may also face
One of the hardest parts about adjusting to freelance writing life, and self-employment in general, is living with a fluctuating income. There may be periods of time that the projects and payments are coming in like a flood. Others, they’re as dry as a ditch on a hot summer day. What you do during those low-income months is so important because it will have a
The deadline for filing a tax return this year is Monday, April 15th. That’s just seven days away! I know there are some of us who filed our tax returns as soon as the IRS began accepting tax returns. Others of us may be too busy writing (trying to make enough money to pay the tax bill?) to get those tax returns done before the
Writing is actually one of the easier parts of freelancing writing. Maybe it’s like that with all craft-turned-businesses. The tougher parts of being a professional freelance writer can be things like finding clients, having a steady stream of ideas, and managing the finances. Because I’m no fan of mulling over finances for hours, there are some things I do to make this area of freelancing
When you’re looking for ways to make money from writing, you’re bound to run across a few scams. Some may actually sound promising – after all, the marketing materials are written by people who are good at writing. But, a well-written sales page, filled with promises, guarantees, and testimonials doesn’t necessarily indicate a legitimate product or service. You haven’t worked hard to earn a living
Ah, taxes. It’s almost all you hear and read about this time of year, but we freelance writers have been thinking about taxes all year long. That’s because we, along with other self-employed workers, are required to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS four times a year: in January, April, June, and September. If you’ve ever paid too little or *gasp* not paid at
Is your freelance writing business netting you more money than what’s needed to pay the bills? It’s not a bad problem to have. Here are some ways you can spend that extra money. Make sure you set aside enough for taxes. If you’re earning more than you expected, you may also owe more taxes than you expected. Update your estimated tax calculation and set aside
You may have heard of Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization for freelancers, contractors, and independent workers. Sara Horowitz, who founded Freelancers Union, has released a comprehensive guide to freelancing – The Freelance Bible – that’s everything the title suggests. Sara’s accolades includes being named a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” fellow and one of Forbes’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs. Packed With Information As you’d expect of any book