Looking out for your(future)self | Freelancer Friday

It’s Freelancer Friday!

This week we are covering our awesome feature: Reserves. We like to think of Reserves as the way to save for your future self.

You’ll notice that we have three preset goals suggested when you set up your Reserves. We created these based on extensive research with freelancers and financial experts to serve as starting points — it’s your call to then customize them based on your needs. Just remember, take care of yourself. Future YOU might thank you later.

Reserves Profile 1: Starting Out

Mina has been freelancing for less than a year. She’s still figuring out her footings with what jobs to take on and how to secure income more consistently.

Why she needs this breakdown: To know if she can support herself in a pinch! Whatever extra cash Mina makes, she needs to start building up for an emergency first if she doesn’t already have 3–6 months’ worth of expenses set aside. She may have a no-work month ahead — and the first pool to tap is Emergency Reserves.

Reserves Profile 2: Getting Into The Flow

Louis has been freelancing for 2.5 years now. He’s found some consistent client sources and has been debating establishing a single-member LLC for his consulting business.

Why he needs this breakdown: because he has some stability, he needs to think about what comes next. The focus for Louis should shift to building up for his future if he can afford to, with more predictability of his income and Emergency funds hopefully already set (if so, he can even do less $$. in his Emergency, more $$ in Retirement). He now can consider moving the Reserves into a tax-advantaged retirement plan like a Solo 401(k), which would be particularly beneficial if he has an LLC.

Reserves Profile 3: Seasoned and (hopefully not) Burnt

Johnny has been freelancing for 6 years now. He’s looking for ways to scale his one-person offering beyond his 1:1 client touch points so he could carve out more time his personal life. Boy have things have changed since he started 6 years ago!

Why he needs this breakdown: because he deserves it. Since Johnny has a decent handle on the must-do’s (Emergency, Retirement, having more income than expenses), he can (and really should) put more towards taking care of his personal balance. Consider this a long-overdue self reward.

Try reserves out for yourself in the SumIt app!