Smart Money-Saving Ideas For The Self-Employed

Working self-employed can be an incredibly liberating experience but at the same time, it’s one that has its challenges. Working solo means that you are entirely responsible for your own business and any work that you do, however, this can be beneficial as you don’t have to worry about employees, who you’d have to pay and rectify their mistakes.

One of the biggest challenges for self-employed persons is money. As you’ll be limited to how many jobs you can do, compared to if you were a small business with employees that you can send out on other jobs, you’ll also be limited to how much money is coming in. But on the plus side, not having to pay anyone but yourself saves much of your expenses. We’ve put together some great money-saving ideas for self-employed people to further maximise your savings.

Expenses Claims
When you’re working for yourself, there are lots of expenses for your work that will be taxed. However, if those expenses genuinely are for work, then you can claim some of those taxes back. The sorts of things you can claim on include your phone, stationery and office supplies, printer ink, and computer software among other things.

It’s worthwhile listing every single thing you spend on your business so that you can reduce these costs as much as possible. This is why it’s a good idea to at least hang on to your receipts, but also to sort them and make a note of each expense as soon as possible too.

Search For Better Deals
We should really be doing this in every aspect of our lives, but as a professional that is self-employed, finding the best deals possible on everything from your electricity supplier to your smartphone contract is essential in helping you save as much money as possible. You can find some great phone contracts with Accept Phones for example, who provide a quick and easy application and also consider all credit-types, which can be really beneficial if your credit score has taken a hit recently.

Increase Your Travel Efficiency
Whether you need to get around the country for your business, or just have to make occasional local trips, it’s worth planning your journeys as much as possible to maximise those savings. Taking wrong turns on your route or having to go too far out of your way for fuel can really add to your expenses. If you don’t drive and instead use public transport, look into getting annual passes if you use public transport a lot. The savings you can make on these tickets over standard fares can be huge.

Keep An Eye On Those Outgoings
Unnecessary monthly payments can cripple your finances if you’re not careful. Identify any subscriptions or direct debits that aren’t needed and stop ignoring those payments when they come out of your account, dismissing them for being only a few pounds. Cancel any of these subscriptions you don’t use—this money all adds up and cancelling those payments isn’t as complicated as you’d think. You could save a significant amount of money every month which can be directed into useful resources for your business or just general profits.