SAVE Plan updates, SPENDing your summer, and online TOOLS for freelancers

When it’s slow (I am thinking the slow is coming), it’s even more important to consider how best to spend your time. If you’re in a good place financially, the slow times are excellent times to catch up on home projects, work on hobbies, travel, and enjoy summer in the way that fits you.

If you’re concerned about finances, there are two things you want to make sure you’re trying to do every day:

1) Marketing yourself to remind producers and clients that you’re available- and letting them know when your vacation is scheduled, and

2) Finding a way to earn money- daily.

If the freelance gigs aren’t coming in as heavy as you’d like, how else might you make money? Selling stuff online? Picking up a side hustle of providing rides to kids for their working parents? Babysitting or tutoring? Driving for Instacart or Uber? Get creative. Earn some money. The freelancing will pick up again, and you don’t want to turn it down, so find ways to make money that give you some level of flexibility.

I know that I’m going to be away 3 days next week, and also 7 days at the start of August. So I’m already trying to make up for the income I KNOW I can’t get. I’m also keeping up my marketing efforts. And I signed up for an Inbox Zero challenge that I’m in the midst of (I’m down to 50 right now). Even if I don’t know what the next two months will bring, what I do know is that I can’t neglect the marketing work that needs to be done, and I also need to be sure to have a way to make money EVERY day. There’s some personal stuff that I’ll need to handle this summer as well, but I want to be sure that the non-financial activities don’t take me more time than the ones that either make me money directly, or are sales/marketing activities.

So how are you spending your time this summer, if it gets slow for you? Reply to this email, and I might just create a blog around the replies I get.

If you’ve still got student loans, have you heard of the SAVE plan? It’s an income-driven replayment plan, to help manage your student loan payments. Big changes are coming to it in July (yup, in a few days). Here’s what you should know.

Your total principal balance, income level, and loan type determines whether the SAVE Plan is right for you. Learn more here.

Starting in July, undergraduate loan payments will drop to 5% of your discretionary income. You also won’t be able to enroll in the PAYE or ICR plan after July 1. After 59+ payments on the SAVE plan after July 1, you can’t enroll in the IBR plan.

On the SAVE plan, if you pay what you owe each month, any remaining accrued interest is covered by the government, so your principal balance doesn’t increase. (this isn’t true if your monthly payment amount is only enough to cover part or all of your accrued interest for the month)

In July, your SAVE PLan Benefits may lower your monthly payment amount substantially- see the chart below.

You can apply for the SAVE plan through your studentaid.gov account, and complete the IDR application, whether you’re employed or unemployed. “Employed” includes self-employment, and you can show proof of income through tax returns, bank statements, or statements from any online accounting system, such as Xero or Quickbooks.

IDR applications take a few weeks to process, and if your next payment is due within 10 days of your application, you can get a processing forbearance.

For more help with your student loans, contact your loan servicer for free help, or learn more at https://studentaid.gov/articles

And another thing happening July 1? The price of stamps is going up again. So buy some forever stamps this weekend to save a little money there.

If your summertime plans include working ON your business, when you can’t work IN it, here’s 5 online tools worth exploring….and maybe bookmarking.

1. Pexels.com– I use this site all the time- including for this newsletter! Search for photos or videos by search term. You’ll get media that’s high quality and free to use, and you don’t need to provide attribution (though that’s certainly appreciated, when it’s appropriate). And you can share your own stuff there as well, if you join as a content creator. I particularly like that they do not accept imagery created by generative AI technology.

2. RedKetchup– ever try to match a color from a website or a brand, because the client hasn’t provided the hex numbers to you? This tool does the work, if you upload the image where you want to use the eyedropper tool. You’re provided the hex numbers, RGB codes, and now you can use them in post-production, since you can just fill in the the color codes.

3. TinyWow– if you need to convert PDFs to JPGs, compress videos, convert videos to GIFs, remove backgrounds, edit PDFs, and more, this is the first place to start. It’s free, and very easy to use. Worth bookmarking!

4. Cal.com – if you don’t have a scheduling link to use as a freelancer, you’re making it more difficult to get booked. This one is free with lots of bells and whistles for individuals, and integrates with your calendar, to allow producers to book you directly (if you’re keeping your calendar up to date!)

5. Stridehealth– learn about health insurance options, track miles that you drive, track your income, find discounts & savings….this business helps YOUR business, as an independent contractor. Explore for yourself.