Everyone knows that freelancing means an end to that predictable paycheck, but it’s easy to forget how many parts of your life really hinge on having a steady flow of income.
My closest cousin is getting married soon and I’m not going to be attending her wedding. It was a decision I had to make because it would have been an incredibly bad move to put out the almost $3K it would have cost me to attend (it’s a destination wedding.) That amount of cash could toss pretty much any freelancer’s finances off the rails, so I had to go through the uncomfortable conversation of telling her I wouldn’t be able to make it.
I do wish I could be there, but at the same time, I know what my choice to be a freelancer means, especially socially.
When I was employed, I would have had the option of plunking down that amount of money and while I wouldn’t have been happy about it, it wouldn’t make or break my career. As soon as I started freelancing, I had to make adjustments to how often I ate out, my travel schedule, entertainment…everything. Where that trip would have looked expensive before, now it looks like a tax bill. Where I would have brushed it off as a yearly “big” vacation before, now it looks ridiculously extravagant for something I don’t genuinely want and a social decision someone else made.
Looking back, I think there would have been some value in telling quite a few people in my life, flat out, that my life was changing drastically and that many of the things I did before simply wouldn’t be the same for a while, if ever again. Thankfully though, most of my friends are, at least at some level, disconnected from the standard employment life and understand that my being a freelancer means more than just a flexible work schedule.
Megan.
I wouldn’t say you’re missing your cousin’s wedding because of freelancing. I would say it is more of a financial issue. Many times I had found myself wanting to leave town but couldn’t because I had a regular job; nothing to do with money. Being a freelancer (provided money is not an issue) should give you the freedom to travel as you see fit.
Funny thing is, being a freelancer also has impacted my schedule and in some ways made it less flexible.
With a more consistent job, I could just take time off ahead of time (at least in the job I had), now I risk emergencies from clients (one actually did pop up that conflicted with her wedding events.)
Even money though, the shift from predictable to unpredictable has changed the definition of “financial issue” for me.