Budgeting Tips for the Commission Only or Self-Employed
Working for yourself can be one of the most rewarding things you could ever do, but it can also be the scariest. It is exciting to wake up and know that you are writing your own W-2 for the year. No boss to answer to (unless you are married). Life is great. If things go as planned, you start to see money coming in the door. Then you quickly discover something very important: Managing your money is even more critical.
In the good times money management is important because you can easily let down your guard and spend more then you realize. The optimist in you can mistakenly believe that it will always be like this from now on. Only to find out a few years later that things can change suddenly without notice. The wise see trouble coming from afar off and make plans. On the other hand, when times are tough you need to manage your money well. Sometimes, things can get so tight financially that we really do not want to face how bad things really are. So, we just continue down the road making things worse financially. As you can tell, money management is always important. For the last seven years, I have worked as a self-employed individual. My wonderful wife stays home with our two small children and I wouldn’t have it any different because that is what she most enjoys in life. If you are self-employed, I want to share with you some budgeting tips that I have learned along the way.
1. Don’t spend it all when you get it.
I know that this should go without saying, but something happens mentally when you have a few thousand extra dollars in the bank. I know some of you are wishing for that problem to come into your life. I believe that time and chance happens to us all so you still need to be prepared now. Once money stats to come in, you can develop a false sense of security and can easily let your guard down. The book of Proverbs tells us that, “the prudent foresee trouble coming from afar off and hide themselves”. Do not foolishly let your guard down when times are good. Decide now that you are going to be smart with surplus.
2. Determine your monthly expenses
Try your best to erase the income portion of your balance sheet for a moment. Many of us measure our standard of living by the income we are receiving. One of the most helpful exercises that I have ever done was to write up a “necessities budget.” This was my actually “living expenses” budget that my family needs to survive. This will help you to get crystal clear on what your real budgeting needs are. You can even expand it out 12 months to get an idea of what you need to make yearly.
3. Use cash for anything that is not a bill.
After you have your necessities budget set-up, determine a reasonable monthly amount for anything that is not directly related to a bill. Get that amount out from the bank either weekly or monthly. This will help you in many ways. It creates discipline because once the money runs out you have to wait until your next cash withdrawal . It also keeps you better organized as you will not be pulling your hair out with all of the small charges on your bank statement.
4. Rank your expenses in order of importance
If money becomes extremely tight, then take out a piece of paper and rank all of you expenses in order of importance. This is a great exercise to do for many reasons. It helps you to know who to pay first when some money does come in the door. Try your best not to have automatic withdrawals in your account. While it might appear simpler, you have less control. Also, take a look at the very bottom of the list. Maybe the last five items on your list you could be cut out altogether as they are not as important to you to begin with.
Apply some of these principles today and you will have a better piece of mind even with an irregular income.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
My husgand and I have been self-employed for the last four years. We’ve implemented most of these strategies. We learned Number 1. pretty quickly but even then it took us a year or two to really get used to the up and down swings of our income.
I think one of the most worrisome aspects of self-employment is there is no unemployment insurance for us! I’ve checked into Disability insurance but it doesn’t seem to be worth what it would cost. Any ideas?
Good post!
So who’s the guest author?
Oops, not exactly the best introduction
It is Jonathan Milligan, he is a new author, who you will start seeing around a little more… Welcome Jonathan!!
I was in the business of selling products for a long time, and the lessons I learned have helped me to know that hard work, failures , and sucess, are the stepping stones to a good life for ourselves and others.
What also works well is setting aside a fixed percentage for certain things. For example, we immediately put 5% towards our Roth IRA’s, 3% to travel, 2% to prepay mortgage. It works pretty well for us.
That is so very true. I’ve owned my own business for a couple of years now and while I love the freedom, if you aren’t careful, it can be a serious cash bleed. Being responsible for your own health insurance and other related business expenses adds a level of stress that wasn’t there when I worked for a regular 9-5.
Jerry
I appreciate this article. Sometimes I feel “lost” in the business owner world. Some people think business owners are rich, and fully self sufficient. (Not always the case) My income is up and down, and sometimes – NONE! Learning how to budget is a NECESSITY, not a luxury. Your article helps me figure this out. Thanks!
@Julie – You are most certainly welcome. I have become very frustrated in the past at times because I could not find good books that addressed finances from a self-employed point of you. Many financial gurus address it as a side note in their best selling books. In my opinion, more and more people are moving into self-employment as we move further into the “Knowledge Workers Age.” With the coming of the internet, it has given a voice to people who are experts in particular fields. Gone are the days, where you have to “get better at your weaknesses.” People have found that you can work in your strengths and passions and get paid for it. This opens the door for self-employment and keeping more of your own money then handing it off to a boss. That being said, you have to do right by your money and be responsible if you are going to make it.
I learned #4 from Dave Ramsey. That was a revolutionary (okay, yes, that word’s overused) insight for me. Until then, I didn’t really know how to go about budgeting for an extremely flexible income. Thanks for bringing it up here. The more know these strategies the better.
Thank you for guest posting. Looking forward to reading more from you.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
This is a fantastic site and great principles. Budgeting is sometimes difficult for many newbie entrepreneurs; but it’s one of the most important aspects in the success or failure of business. You’ve done a great job summing up the three basic budgets: Cash, Expense, and Operating. Operating budgets are likely the most important component outside of Cash Flow — it will determine your profitablity and how long you actually stay in business. As a startup it wasn’t one of my favorite past-times but a solid blueprint will take you very far. I recommend excel templates and software (depending on your comfortability level).