Money Talks Podcast: Managing your finances as a freelancer

Jump to these key moments: 

• 00:40 Bukit Timah; HDB’s open-concept White Flats  
• 04:52 Freelancing in Singapore  
• 07:25 Common financial mistakes
• 16:04 Tapping on your emergency fund  
• 20:22 Planning your insurance coverage  

Being a freelancer may offer flexibility and freedom, but what about financial security? In this week’s Money Talks, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of MoneyOwl Chuin Ting Weber, shares tips on how freelancers can manage their money better for a financially secure future. 

Here's an excerpt from the podcast: 

Andrea Heng: 
So I wanted to talk about what you mentioned earlier a couple of times - the salary. And I know it's important to pay myself, but how do I define this, especially when ... some days we're earning $1000, some months we're earning $30,000. And yes, while we should be planning with a year’s salary in mind, how do we actually pay ourselves monthly then as a salary when that income generated is inconsistent. How do we tackle this?
 
Chuin Ting Weber: 
I think that the main reality you need to face is, how good are you as a freelancer? And how much income can you actually generate? And it's actually a mindset that is not to do with the income side but to do with the expense side. If you spend, say, $25,000 a year on your basic expenses, you should be able to generate income of $50,000. I'm not even talking about CPF. If you can't achieve that, you're going to be very stressed … So that means that if you really think that in one year, you're going to have $50,000, and you should have a good sense of that, then you should not be spending more than, let's say $2,000 a month. And if you can't do that, then perhaps you should delay your entry into this space.