Hey Girlies,
Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by your freelance business this year. 👋
Yeah, us too.
2024 felt like a heyday for my (Cassidy’s) business. I was working less, but I had clients paying higher rates, so my income was increasing even though I was scaling back.
Twas the dream.
2025? Not so much. I feel like the inverse has happened, and I’m working way more for less pay. And as of right now, my 2025 income is expected to be about half of what it was in 2024.
Ooof.
But magically, I feel like I’m doing okay. (Thanks, sky daddy!). I think this is in large part because I have emergency funds for my business and personal life. And when I got divorced this year, I purposely planned my new life (like rent and my car payment) to match what I was earning right now.
Emily has felt this pinch, too. (And when we attended a freelancer roundtable at FinCon in September, a whole host of other people were in the same boat.)
So for today’s Insider-only episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on what our freelance businesses actually look like in 2025. We’re breaking down some numbers, the shifts we’ve seen, and how much the industry has changed.
Also in today’s newsletter: some of our favorite resources for freelancers and business owners, from a must-read book to the newsletters we read every week. Become a Finance Girlies Insider for full access!
On the pod 🎧
A couple months ago, we attended a huge conference for personal finance creators.
Though you know us through this podcast, we’re also freelance writers — so we were excited to attend a freelancer “meetup” on the second day of the conference.
When we arrived at the meetup, the vibe was… bleak.
When we started talking with people, we heard the same things again and again:
“I’m struggling to make it work these days.”
“I’ve had to look for another job.”
“Freelancing is so much harder than it used to be.”
To be honest, we left the meetup feeling sad.
But fortunately, not defeated.
Are we delulu? Maybe.
But we’ve also been freelancing long enough to know that life throws curveballs and slow seasons happen. In this episode, we unpack what we do to plan for these seasons, so we come out on the other side okay.
Free subscribers can listen to the first ~9 minutes of today’s episode. Want full access? Become a Finance Girlies Insider.
🎤 Mic drop moment:
“Because I intentionally kept my expenses so low, my salary is actually okay. Like it’s enough. Of course I wanna be earning more money, because I wanna be able to give back more and do more in my community and save more and invest more and all the things.
But it feels fine. It’s enough.”
Resource roundup 📚
If you’re a freelance writer too, check out the All Things Freelance Writing job board. Every Friday, Jessica sends out a list of freelance writing gigs (including content writing, copywriting, and editing jobs, plus calls for pitches). Even if it doesn’t help you find work directly, it can be comforting to know that yes — there ARE companies out there hiring freelancers in the era of AI.
We’re not sure we’d have such a positive outlook on freelancing without the help of our friend and mentor, Sarah Turner. We both took her writing course — but you don’t need to become a student to learn from her. Her book, Bet on Yourself is absolutely worth a read for anyone who wants to make positive change in their life.
Interested in giving freelancing a go? Freelancing Females publishes a newsletter every week, along with a job board of companies hiring. Their latest newsletter was about the time sunk fallacy and why it’s okay to move on from clients, niches, or work you’ve outgrown. The Freelance Friday Podcast is a helpful resource, too.
Catchup corner 💬
What we’ve been up to:
C: I was the guest speaker for a college personal finance management class. (Hiiiii to anyone who’s here from that class!)
E: We started moving things to our new rental last weekend! (Moving is the only circumstance that makes me question our book collection — but it’s always worth it after you get everything back on the shelves.)
What we’ve been reading/watching/listening to:
E: Nothing! I’m in a bit of a reading slump. Please reply with your recs and make them cozy, thrilling, fascinating, or all of the above. I’m really craving a page-turner.
C: I have three books on rotation at the moment: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden, and then an unreleased book that I’m reading for a friend :)
How we’ll spend the holidays:
E: Watching (VERY important) football, making this mac n’ cheese, and spending time with family!
C: Spending Thanksgiving day with friends, jogging (walking?) a Turkey Day 5K, maybe going to the movies Thanksgiving night (is this anyone else’s tradition?)
Money (mindset) tip of the week 💸
It is sooooo tempting to go buck-wild during the holidays and buy ALL THE THINGS. Christmas trees, garland, throw pillows, outdoor gear... The sales can have a chokehold on you.
But let this be your reminder to spend consciously this holiday season.
Support a local business.
Buy something handmade.
Make a list of things you’ve been wanting and see if you can use Black Friday sales as a way to get them for cheaper.
Thanks again to The Frugal Girl for this reminder.
Love ya, bye!
Emily + Cassidy
