Having been self-employed in property and journalism for the majority of my working career, I\u2019ve always had to have my wits about me. Without an employer, you have to sort a lot of stuff yourself. From pensions and sickness to calculating your tax, it\u2019s all on you.<\/p>\n
The absence of a regular paycheck isn\u2019t for everybody, but the upside is you get to be your own boss and structure your own schedule. As the boss \u2013 all the rewards and risks fall on you.<\/p>\n
Over the years, my finances have been a bit of a roller coaster. But regardless of what\u2019s happening, I\u2019ve always known the need to have a steady income flow to pay the bills.<\/p>\n
Reading an article recently on financial dysmorphia<\/a> \u2013 an anxiety-driven, unhealthy obsession with saving money, sometimes to the state of severe deprivation, despite having a stable income \u2013 it got me thinking about what I\u2019ve learnt about money.<\/p>\n My realisation surprised me.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to say I\u2019ve cracked it, but having gone through some big highs and lows and managing to keep afloat (financially and mentally), I feel I\u2019ve become a pretty good driver of my own financial train, so I thought I\u2019d share my learnings.<\/p>\n Money always flows (no matter how hard you try and stop it)<\/p>\n Like the sea, money ebbs in and out, and like trying to hold a handful of water, the more you try and hang on, the more will drip through your fingers.<\/p>\n It sounds simple, but changing my mindset on money from something that you have (and store like a possession) as opposed to an ever-flowing force really helped me. Money, by its very being, is always on the move. I may have some one day, then the council tax department may have it the next, then it goes from their account to… well, who knows where!<\/p>\n Understanding your own personal cash flow is the key to understanding your financial position. Knowing what you have coming in versus what you have going out is the simplest tool in the world.<\/p>\n Just jot it down with pen and paper if you don\u2019t want to get fancy. Yet despite it being so simple, there are still many people who don\u2019t balance their books.<\/p>\n Use it, don\u2019t hoard it<\/p>\n Being self-employed can be precarious, and so I err on the side of caution. But lately I\u2019ve realised what was once a decent sum stashed into a cash Isa some years ago has been eaten away by inflation.<\/p>\n