[RebeccaParticipant]

So true – would be good to know earlier in life that being debt-free and having financial headroom changes as you go through life – there are some times – definitely like when you have kids – when your finances are under huge strain and it’s hard not to use credit cards etc as you literally have no spare cash after childcare. I hadn’t realised how much disposable income I really had in my twenties compared to now. I don’t have childcare costs anymore but two school age children enrolled in various clubs, requiring various kits… expenses are certainly not as high as when we were paying for nurseries/ nannies/ childminders etc. But they are certainly higher than BC – Before Children!

[RebeccaParticipant]

Hello Michelle! Have you thought about maybe hiring an accountant or using an app that helps self-employed people with their tax returns, etc? You’ll need a bigger cash buffer as a self-employed person, maybe closer to six months’ worth of income in reserve, and will need to work out how much you need to earn in order to cover holidays and sick days, as once you are self-employed, you don’t get paid for these! You also need to consider an income protection policy in case you end up unable to work due to illness or injury. Good luck to you. With careful planning and saving both for dry spells and of course for tax, you’ll hopefully find this is a rewarding and flexible way to work.

[RebeccaParticipant]

That’s a very good idea – pretend they don’t exist at all! The tricky part is if you are in one, how do you get to that stage – is it worth taking a loan, for example, to pay off the overdraft? Then you could pay off the loan in managed instalments. Less expensive debt to pay off the expensive debt….

[RebeccaParticipant]

Every single month there is an unexpected something! I just posted about that in a different forum… no such thing as a “normal” month… ever.. but hard to allow for the unexpected as you would probably end up spending absolutely nothing.

[Author]

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