One of the drawbacks of freelancing is the financial insecurity. Your income can vary wildly from month to month. You may have to wait a long time between paychecks while the bills continue to arrive with military efficiency. I’ve been bucking this wild financial roller coaster for eleven years now, and it never gets any easier. But it has one big advantage: freelancing has forced me to be more responsible and organized with my finances than I otherwise would be.
I’ve never studied finance and, like most Americans, I graduated from college knowing absolutely nothing about money. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a hedge fund and hedge clippers. Like most artists, when I heard the word “finances” I turned pale and developed a nervous twitch.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Learning about money doesn’t have to be intimidating or confusing. In fact, if the material is presented properly it can even be fun.
I’ve recently started reading a few blogs about money that have taken a lot of the fear out of finances for me. For the most part they are written for laymen, and because they are blogs the information comes in short, manageable chunks. Best of all, these blogs are full practical tips and insights into how to stretch my dollar farther so I can be smarter with my money.
If you’d like help in learning about how to better handle your money, give these blogs a try:
No Credit Needed – a blog about reducing your debts.
Get Rich Slowly – Build wealth the old-fashioned way, by being smart and being patient.
Money $mart Life – Interesting tidbits and practical tips.
A Penny Saved – This blog has a regular feature I like called “Carnival of Personal Finance”. Each “Carnival” post lists dozens of interesting links about various financial topics.