Blogging is one of those careers where you really can love your job. Unlike careers where you’re chained to your desk, doing things you don’t care about or don’t want to do, blogging gives you a chance to indulge your passions and pursue the things that you’re interested in. When you blog as a career, however, it can be difficult to manage your finances – especially without a regular salary coming in. Read the following tips on how to manage your finances as a blogger.
Save for a rainy day fund
A blogger’s income can be unpredictable. Some months you could make a lot of money, and others you’ll struggle. It’s important to try and strike a balance to manage your cash flow from month to month. Being particularly frugal during your first few months of blogging will help you save up a little stash of cash that you can dip into during the months where your earnings are lower. It never hurts to prepare for financial emergencies, so always keep the ‘worst case scenario’ in the back of your mind to help you become more sensible with your savings. Try to save up to 20% from your different jobs to put aside as a safety net to prepare for those quieter months.
Get organized with your payments
When you work as a blogger, you’re self-employed – meaning it’s up to you to take care of your finances. You’ll need to be organized with what’s coming in and what’s going out to stop you falling behind on bills or missing out on payments that are due. You should have a system in place for sending out invoices and reminders for payments and make sure that you communicate your terms to any clients before you accept any work. There are some excellent tips on invoicing clients that will be useful for you to follow.
Don’t accept less than what you’re worth
When you start blogging, you’ll most likely have done so because you were interested in the things that you were blogging about – meaning money wasn’t an issue. Now that you’re turning blogging into a career, you’ll need to give more thought to how much you charge for your services. There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to payment, and while how much you should charge as a blogger can depend on various factors – doing some research could help you work it out.
Remember to pay your taxes
If you’ve never worked for yourself before, you may not have given much thought to paying taxes. Just because you’re making money through doing something you enjoy, doesn’t mean you’re not liable to pay taxes. Enlisting an accountant can help you to manage your taxes and file your returns at the end of the year, which will save you a lot of trouble. If you’ve left it too late and it becomes a question of legal advice, then seeking the services of tax specialist lawyers like MCC4Tax could help you get out of some sticky situations. Putting some of your earnings to the side each month can help you to cover your tax bill – even if you can’t forecast exactly how much you’ll earn over the next year.
Find easy ways to monetize your blog
While you can make some good money as a blogger, you can boost your income even further by finding simple ways to monetize your blog. Pay-per-click adverts and affiliate links can help you to earn some additional income without having to do any extra work, so if your blog is generating good traffic, you’d be silly not to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there.
Reduce your expenses
As a blogger, you’ll be fortunate to work in a job that doesn’t come with too many expenses. Aside from the technology, a good working space, and an internet connection – your costs can be relatively low. That doesn’t mean you should spend in other areas. Without the security of regular work, your finances are always at risk as a blogger, and so you should aim to make better decisions when it comes to how you spend money. Until you start bringing in high paychecks, set yourself a realistic budget that you can stick to so that you can stay on top of your money. Anything extra you bring in can be considered a welcome bonus.
By staying on top of your finances, you’ll have one less thing to stop you from doing a job you love. Be sensible and realistic to make the most of the amazing opportunity you’ve been given and look forward to a successful and profitable career as a blogger.
I’m not a blogger, but there is so much to know. It is good for people to read articles like this, before they decide to do something like quit a job to be a blogger, to know better how to succeed and do it right!