Managing Cash Flow as a Freelancer
What is Monthly Money Day?
MMD is the day I spend reviewing the state of my business, my goals and, usually, also chasing up invoices.
I’ve had quite a few invoices go out last month. Most of them were paid! Yay!
But this time, I had a bit of a scare – “Oh no, what’s happened to my cash flow?”
Keeping cash flowing with Hnry
Thankfully, my best girlie Jordan at Hnry let me know to check my payslips and realize that, based on my recent income:
- My tax rate increased.
- My student loan has entered the mandatory payment threshold.
- I was still paying off student loans and contributing to my superannuation voluntarily. If I don’t, who will?
Basically, business is going really well, and I’m being punished for it in the short term by the ATO!
It’s a good problem to have.
To avoid future issues, I quickly made changes to my Hnry allocations. Now, the voluntary student loan payments route into my savings instead!
Considerations for Future Me
I’ll have to cut down on a bunch of subscriptions for a bit – like the numerous pay-to-play websites we have to sign up to in hopes to be heard, which rarely pay themselves off.
I’ve booked more (and better) gigs on those sites since having a free profile with my best samples available on them, and a kick-ass website, than I ever did paying to submit anyway.
If I was lucky enough to have you (yes, you, reading this right now) contribute to my upgraded “model citizen” status, I thank you!
Every day, I’m grateful I get to call screaming in a small insulated box my career.
…and I’ll need that savings to replace a few cables.
So, “Why does VO cost that much?”
You should see my deductions! Equipment, training, subscriptions to run my operations, my website, host all your deliverables…
And, oh boy, imagine when I’ll have to start charging GST!
It’s tough as a global freelancer, trying to do the right thing, at least for myself, within an archaic tax framework. I wonder if the ATO realises how many of our clients are, in fact, based in Australia, despite hiring us on websites that are based internationally, and paid in USD? What a way to skimp on paying your contractors’ super, GST and what not. Sounds almost illegal!
If you’re an international freelancer like me, may this info serve you in starting your own Monthly Money Day ritual. Keep that cash flowing, for when it’s not.
On contra offerings…
Note: Wondering why I’ve been turning down your freebies or game codes as a content creator and streamer? It’s not just that I have less time to create due to running my business! It’s because these “freebies” contribute to my taxable income. If I continued accepting all those lovely things these days, my cash flow wouldn’t just be low, I would owe tax with no means to pay it… Good thing I have this free t-shirt while I play this free game on my computer I can’t afford to run though, right?
LET’S PLAY!
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