I have a lot of friends who are freelancers and technically I’m self-employed at Sitening. I ran across an article on Salon about What every freelancer should know as it relates to finances, taxes, health, etc… If your interested, you should read the entire article, but here’s the quick gist of it:
- Get a tax advisor.
- Set up a different bank account for your business earnings.
- Pay your taxes quarterly.
- Set aside a regular percentage of your income — enough for state and federal — into a tax fund that you do not touch.
- Do not wear your pajamas after noon.
- Build in rewards.
- Exercise.
- Take a shower.
- Get health insurance.
- Open an Individual Retirement Account, better known as an IRA.
- Do not own a coffeemaker.
- Consider sharing office space with other self-employed people.
- Socialize with other people in your field.