10 ways to save money — for freelancers
How can you become more frugal and still run a viable small business from home in this uncertain economic climate? Times are tough, but there are things you can do for your business bank balance (and your household bills) – no matter whether you’re a complete beginner or already an experienced frugal freelancer.
I’ll share my best 10 tips to save money below. From admin to marketing, you’ll be surprised about how much you can save. Do also send me your tips and your saving goals!
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1. Check and reduce subscriptions to memberships, services and tools
Saving money starts with your accounts. That’s not the most exciting task, but it’s necessary. First, go through all of your outgoings in the last year.
I personally use Xero to help me with my business accounting, but a detailed spreadsheet will work, too. (Xero is one of the subscriptions I will keep as it saves me a lot of time!)
Make a longlist: what do you actually spend?
Now make a list of all of your regular monthly or annual expenses, for example:
- Memberships (e.g. networking platforms or professional associations).
- Subscriptions (e.g. magazines, premium services).
- Tools (e.g. social media scheduling tools, plug-ins).
Make a shortlist : what can you ditch to save money?
Which services or tools can you easily do without? Think about the following:
- Do you regularly get leads or very useful information through a certain paid network or association? If not, are they really worth keeping?
- Do you find the content of your memberships still helpful? Do you engage with these regularly?
- Have you been reading your paid magazines?
- How often do you really use those premium tools? Do they work well? Are there free alternatives? Could you get a better deal elsewhere?
- Make a note of the auto-renewal date in case you still need some time to ponder whether the service is worth keeping.
Now, cancel those products and services you really don’t find that useful anymore. This can really decrease your monthly bills.
Tip: don’t skimp on insurance. This could save you a LOT of money in the long run.
2. Use wisely what you already own
Avoid online shopping sprees at all costs. Often, we buy things on impulse when there is no real need. After all, we usually decide to purchase emotionally rather than rationally. Luckily, we can avoid this to make big savings.
Courses
Before you buy another new online course, think about the following:
- Have you finished all the ones you already have bought? No? Complete these first.
- If you really need to get a course, are there free or cheap alternatives? (Search e.g. YouTube, Google Online Courses, HubSpot Academy, LinkedIn)
- Will there be a sale at some point? For example, Udemy offer regular sales with huge discounts. Subscribe to their newsletter to be alerted to these.
Stationery and office equipment
Printer cartridges
There is no need to buy expensive cartridges. The own-brand cartridges from Cartridge People, for example, are excellent and last a very long time. Alternatively, you can re-fill your cartridges locally.
However, think twice before you print. Most of the time, you can proofread your work very well using a different font and font size and/or a different device. It also helps if you look at your drafts again after a day or so.
Not using your printer as often means that you save money and the environment.
Paper
Go for cheaper recycled paper and buy in bulk to reduce costs. To check drafts, why not print on both sides and display at least 2 pages on one sheet?
Don’t print in colour if you don’t have to (choose grayscale / black and white), and familiarise yourself with your printer’s economy setting.
Computers and laptops
Is your computer or laptop too slow? Rather than buying a new one, check what you can do to speed things up yourself.
This includes, for example, limiting start-up processes, cleaning up your disk or installing an SSD Startup Drive. If you’re not techy, get a professional to do this for you. This might still save you cash in the long run!
Switch off your electronic devices
Save on energy costs. With electricity prices rising, switch off everything you can as soon as possible. Putting your PC on standby still uses a lot of energy, for example.
Don’t charge your mobile overnight. Not only is it expensive, it’s also a fire risk.
Working from home? Do an energy audit with the tools provided by the Energy Saving Trust.
All these tips effectively give you back free money, so start saving now!
3. Buy second-hand when shopping online
Any technical equipment you may need (from printers to laptops) doesn’t necessarily have to be new. Check whether you can get fairly new second-hand / refurbished versions on eBay or elsewhere online.
Same for office furniture or, indeed, your work clothes (if you really have to dress smartly).
Avoid fast fashion and cheaply / unethically-produced things if you can, however. Investing in higher-quality second-hand items will save you money in the long run.
4. Borrow and swap: save hundreds
Get in touch with a local freelancing network. Could you borrow or swap books or equipment?
Your town might also have an independent Library of Things.
And, of course, use your real library, where you can borrow magazines and business books for free.
5. Go digital to meet your saving goals
Business cards
Instead of buying expensive business cards, why not invest in digital ones? You can even get those for free, e.g. with HiHello.
Notebooks
Don’t buy notebooks, just use free note-taking apps on your phone or your computer.
Meet virtually
Many of us work from home anyway, but if you don’t: try to schedule more Zoom meetings and fewer in-person meetings.
That way you save petrol, time, and money! (Think of all the extra coffees you’ll save. Buying lunch in town is also not very economical.)
6. Claim back your business expenses
Don’t forget to claim for all the tax reliefs you can. In the UK, you can claim and save money on your tax bill for e.g.
- office costs (including stationery),
- travel costs,
- certain clothing expenses,
- financial costs (e.g. business car insurance),
- advertising and marketing (e.g. website costs),
- and much more.
See a full list at the gov.uk site.
7. Look for the best deals and for funding
Whether privately or for my business, I’m always on the lookout for the best deal.
Subscribe to money-saving experts
In the UK, Money Saving Expert is a great site for this. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter, too.
Update: Check out Money Saving Expert’s “Cost of living survival kit” here.
Check out local and national funding schemes
In terms of business funding, there may be local and national pots of money just waiting for you.
Check the gov.uk website, your local Growth Hubs (LEPs), and these great grant tips by SimplyBusiness.
8. Chase invoices, add late payment fees and claim back unpaid money
If you don’t get paid in advance, make sure to keep on top of your business bank account and your invoices. Chase any late payments as soon (and as politely) as possible.
Late payment fees
In the UK, you’re legally allowed to charge interest on late payments. Gov.UK states:
“The interest you can charge if another business is late paying for goods or a service is ‘statutory interest’ – this is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions. You cannot claim statutory interest if there’s a different rate of interest in a contract.”
Get your money back
If the worst should happen and your client still doesn’t pay, send a final late payment demand letter. If that doesn’t work, you may be able to claim your money back online (UK) or go through court. Find out more here.
9. Make sure you are charging enough
You may be undercharging for the services or products you are providing. If you tend to work all hours to make ends meet, you may not have priced yourself correctly.
Compare your services to others in your field. Are you charging less than average?
Can you increase your prices?
Keep track of how much time you spend on tasks and give yourself a fair hourly rate.
10. Market yourself for free
Paid advertising definitely has its place, but if you need to watch your pennies, there are plenty of things you can do to market yourself for free.
- Use social media to network and advertise your services (on business accounts, not private ones!).
- Write useful blog posts and share them to inform your clients and colleagues. They’re also great to raise brand awareness.
- Take a free SEO course to learn how to optimise your online text.
- Join free or reasonably-priced networking groups online or in your local area.
- Share your clients’ positive testimonials on Google your Business, your website and your social media channels.
- Start email marketing using a free service such as Mailchimp.
- Get free publicity by checking #JournoRequest & #PRRequest and replying to any requests via Twitter.
Summary (and one EXTRA money-saving tip*)
That’s (almost*) it – my 10 ways to save money for frugal freelancers and small business owners. I hope the resources listed above will be useful to you. Let me know which financial decisions you’ll make first!
If you have questions, please let me know on social media (links below) or contact me here.
Enjoy my blog? Why not share it with your friends or buy me a virtual coffee? ☕ Thanks! 🙂
(* This is money-saving tip number 11. Create a virtual tip jar on Ko-Fi and add it to your email signatures, newsletters and your website. Every little helps, right?)
