More and more Americans are turning to freelance work — sometimes by choice, sometimes because a layoff pushes them into it — and while the flexibility can be empowering, the uncertainty can also feel overwhelming.
On this week’s episode of the HerMoney Podcast, Jean Chatzky sat down with personal finance author and longtime freelancer Emily Guy Birken, who has spent 15 years navigating irregular income, quarterly taxes, inconsistent clients, and the emotional highs and lows of being your own boss.
Drawing on her real-life experience, including the year she accidentally built a nest egg simply by over-saving for taxes, Emily shares the systems, protections, and mindset shifts every freelancer needs to build stability in an unpredictable career.
Build Your Baseline Budget
Jean Chatzky: You talked about isolating money for taxes, and you talked about a base budget. What does your base budget look like?
Emily Guy Birken:
- 50% goes into a savings account, from which I pay myself a bi-weekly salary.
- 20% is reserved for quarterly estimated taxes.
- 20% goes toward retirement savings, split between a solo 401(k) and a Roth IRA.
- 10% is set aside for business expenses. This approach brings structure to income that can otherwise feel unpredictable.
Contracts Are Non-Negotiable
Jean Chatzky: We have all heard horror stories about freelancers chasing down unpaid invoices, being ghosted by clients, and not knowing where to turn. What kind of legal protections do they have if this happens, and even before they go the legal route? How do you feel is the best way to ensure that you get paid?
Emily Guy Birken: Never work without a contract is the first thing. And then make sure that the contract is reasonable. I now in my contract say that the fee includes up to two rounds of revisions because there have been times where my client thinks that I’m a writer on retainer. And so there’s this sense of like, oh, you’ll rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, and rewrite and rewrite.
For clients who just don’t pay, being the squeaky wheel is part of it. If you’re a member of a union, or if you’re a member of an organization that can also be very helpful, because they will sometimes give you access to legal counsel. And even just the threat of going after them with the legal can be enough for them to cough up the money.
Emotional Resilience in Freelance Life
Jean Chatzky: Freelancing can be a little lonely, just like working from home can be a little lonely. You have mentioned that joining professional associations has made a big difference for you. For me, joining a gym actually made a big difference. Can you talk about how you have dealt with that?
Emily Guy Birken: Being a part of a writing mastermind group has been very, very helpful for me in a lot of ways. Some of it is just solidarity when we’re dealing with something that is really complicated. Then there are also things like, ‘Oh, I’m working for this client, and they have more work, and I can’t take it on. Is there anyone in this group who can?’ So that’s fantastic.
It’s also really helpful to work somewhere other than your home on occasion, in part because you tend to get into a rut if you see the same four walls every day. And that’s true if you’re working in an office or if you’re working from home. Go to the library, go to a coffee shop, work elsewhere, and change up your routine.
MORE ON HERMONEY:
- A Freelancer’s Guide to Saving for Retirement
- A No-Frills Guide to Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer
- The Ultimate Guide to Building a Financial Safety Net as a Woman
More money news when you need it! Get the latest and greatest updates on all things investing, budgeting, and making money. Subscribe to the HerMoney newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe!
