Happy New Year! And welcome to Freelance Financial Planning Month at Creative Cash Coach.
This January, we’re creating a financial foundation for your freelance business that’s creative, compassionate, and actually compatible with irregular income. These are the five core creative systems for your 2026 finances: an Income Map, a Rate Plan, a Savings Rhythm, a Project Pipeline and a Financial Dashboard.
Let’s get started!
Before we get tactical, your first step is to choose a direction or an intention that guides your money decisions.
Don’t rush through this. It’s your creative direction for 2026, and it will guide you in every financial decision. Say you pick:
“More ease, fewer emergencies.”
Well, that means you’re going to pause before you dive into a new client call and ask yourself: “If this client insists on a meh flat fee and unrestricted revisions, I’m saying no, because the project’s going to be a constant emergency.”
Or say you pick:
“2026 is the year I build a buffer account with three months’ of expenses.”
That means you’re committing to transferring a double-digit percentage of your income in each high-earning month into a high-yield savings account so you can build that buffer.
Pick your money theme carefully. Whisper it to yourself. Write it down. Stick it on your refrigerator and save it as the lock screen on your phone. Let it frame your whole year.
Most freelancers try to “budget,” which is why most freelancers feel like they’re always behind.
We don’t budget like traditional employees here, because irregular income needs its own system.
We map.
Sit down and map your income for 2026. To do this, ask yourself:
What’s my annual income target?
What is the mix of these three types of work that I’ll use to reach it?
Anchor work (reliable, predictable work with clients I know)
Creative or growth work (work that stretches me)
Filler work (quick, easy, low-impact work that fills in the gaps)
Hint: On a normal year, you should aim for about 60% of your work to be from anchor clients, 15-20% to be from growth projects, and 20-25% of your work to be filler. On a year when you’re aiming to stretch yourself, more should be from growth projects - and you should expect that you may earn less that year (but growth projects should allow you to earn more later).
What’s the minimum monthly number I need to earn?
What’s my best-case earning pattern (not just expenses)?
Spend some time jotting down your responses to these questions. Check your finances from last year to make sure you’re being realistic and optimistic.
Determine this year’s rate based on:
What I charged last year
What drained me
What I underpriced
What I want to earn per hour of my life
What’s my “walk-away” number
Now open a note on your journal or on your phone and write:
“My minimum project rate in 2025 was ______. My new minimum for 2026 is ______.”
Here’s a quick script for telling clients that you’re going to raise your rates:
“I'm reaching out with an update about my 2026 rates. I’ve loved delivering [specific result you gave them] for you, and I want to continue providing the same high level of service. My new rate, effective [date], is [X amount]. I wanted to give you advance notice, and I’m looking forward to working with you this year. Let me know if you have any questions.”
A Savings Rhythm is a practice, not a percentage.
Your rhythm might be:
25% on high-income months, 10% on normal months, 5% on low-earning months
OR
$200 automatically transferred every Friday because your anchor client pays weekly rather than monthly
What matters most with a savings rhythm is that you save for your future FIRST, and that you commit to keeping it moving no matter what’s going on with your finances.
If the Income Map is your big picture, your Pipeline is how you’ll get there day by day.
Your Pipeline is the status of your:
Anchor clients (steady-ish)
Creative or growth projects (fulfilling, variable)
Filler (quick wins)
Leads you’re warming
Opportunities you’re seeding
Ideas that need pursuing
Create a spreadsheet or Notion file for Q1. Note each of these pipeline elements in an individual column. Fill out the anchor clients, growth projects and leads you currently have. Use color coding to track the status of each client, possibility, and project.
Who’s consistently assigned you work? Which lead do you need to abandon? Which creative project came through? Lay it all out and track it weekly.
Yes, another spreadsheet. But it’s not a painful one.
Your Dashboard is:
Your monthly income
Your expenses
Your invoices sent + paid
The savings you’ve set aside for taxes (it should be 25-30% of your annual income)
Your savings rhythm
Your pipeline status
One metric that matters to you
(profit? hours? joy? creative time?)
And it’s something you can update in 10 minutes a week.
Let me know if you’d like a template.
That’s it: Five systems, one direction. Build them all, and you’ve just reset your entire financial foundation for 2026.
I’m so glad you’re here.
Let’s make this your most best year yet.
Warmly,
Creative Cash Coach