Becoming a Freelance Writer Helped Me Take Ownership of My Finances – Business Insider
- After leaving a full-time job, pursuing my dream job of becoming a writer changed my relationship with money.
- I prioritized my own needs first, investing in my career, instead of rushing to pay debt at all costs.
- I tracked my time diligently. With clarity on my hourly rate, I ended up working less and saving more.
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In the past, I worked in a toxic workplace in the fashion industry that drained all of my energy and ambition. I looked forward to each pay day, using money as a band-aid for my current situation instead of a resource that could help me out of it.
After quitting that job, I decided to finally go for my dream job of being a writer. It was hard at first. I was sliding into multiple editors’ DMs, pitching ideas left and right, getting rejected 90% of the time. After a few months of building relationships with the 10% of editors who did want to work with me, I was finally able to support myself through my freelance writing income.
Now that I’m doing work that I love, my relationship with money is radically different. Here’s what I learned about money since I started my freelance writing business.
1. Investing in myself is top priority
In my brokest days as a freelance writer, I called five friends and asked them what they thought was the best way for me to spend my last $100 for the rest of the month. I still had a $60 credit card payment due, and I wondered if I should use $60 of the remaining $100, leaving me with $40 for food and other living expenses.
A friend of mine told me a piece of advice I’ll never forget. She said, “Leo, if you use that $60 to buy yourself a cup of coffee to sit and work at the coffee shop, or for a website domain, or anything else you need as a freelance writer, you’ll be able to earn more money. That $60 means more to you than it does to a credit card company.”
Since then, I’ve learned to de-prioritize my debt repayment efforts and put my needs first. I focus on creating more earning opportunities instead of trying to make my living expenses as small as possible. I don’t recommend not paying your debts at all, but for me personally, only making the minimum payments instead of rushing to pay the debt back quickly is a strategy that helped me grow personally and creatively.
2. Keeping money in multiple bank accounts gives my money distinct purpose
Once …….