Taxes for Freelancers - Part III

Welcome back to the third post in my "Taxes for Freelancers" mini series (be sure to read Part I and Part II, if you missed them!).

Today, I want to share a bit about my process for staying organized and keeping good records throughout the year. This is essential for making sure tax season goes smoothly!

One thing that helps me stay organized is setting aside a few hours each month to work through a list of business to-dos (inspired by this post).

On the first Friday of each month, I spend a few hours organizing my records from the previous month, checking in on my financial goals, and preparing for the month ahead (make invoices, schedule blog posts, etc.).

Here is my monthly checklist:

FINANCIAL

Schedule credit card payment(s)
Buy Roth IRA mutual funds (set monthly amount)
Make loan payment (set monthly amount)
Review bank statements from this month*

*Other monthly investments and savings are automatic

SD and I set financial goals at the beginning of the year with monthly investment amounts. It's rewarding to see our progress month by month! In addition, I feel more productive and organized when I do all of these more administrative tasks at one time (instead of remembering to pay bills at different times each month).

BUSINESS

Create studio invoices for next month
Write and schedule invoice emails (thank you, Boomerang!)
Record income and mileage for this month in studio budget
Deposit checks
File receipts (I sort mine into categories: Business Travel, Meals, Professional Development, and Business Expenses)
Print assignment sheets for lessons next month
Pay estimated taxes (federal, state) [quarterly]

As a teacher, music director, and full-time student, it helps me to step back every few weeks and evaluate my business as a whole, reflect on my teaching, and plan ahead. Setting aside part of a day each month keeps me accountable in those tasks that can easily be overlooked (e.g. filing receipts, tracking mileage, and setting aside estimated tax).

PERSONAL

Plan blog calendar for next month (I love this one from Em for Marvelous!)
Run computer backup
Back up iPhone photos [quarterly]

Some of the things on this list help me stay on track with my monthly goals, as well (bonus!).

The real secret? Organize and keep records as you go.

1. Report your income and expenses in a spreadsheet each month.
2. File your receipts every few weeks.
3. Tally your business travel receipts when you get home from your trip.
4. Keep a separate bank account for estimated tax money.
5. Keep a little notebook in your glove compartment to document mileage.

Have other creative ideas for staying organized and keeping good records throughout the year? Leave a comment below - I'd love to hear!

Previously:
Taxes for Freelancers - Part I
Taxes for Freelancers - Part II

Goals for 2013: July Update

The beautiful gardens at Lake Junaluska

Happy summer!  Hope y'all are having a summer full of lazy weekend picnics, freshly-picked flowers, outdoor experiences, and al fresco dining!  It's hard for me to believe the year is half over already - 2013 has been a great year so far.  Here's a little update on my goals.

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

// Personal Goals

1. Run 2-3 times per week and increase circuit to 2 miles once per week

Progress: By May/June, we had sort of settled at 1-2 runs a week with lots of walking on our off days. Confession: Y'all, running is hard for me, especially in the heat. I have trouble motivating myself to run on a regular basis but I've found it's easier for me when it's colder out (go figure). Now that it's a little warmer out (in the 90s every day this past week!), we've been looking for a few exercise alternatives. We rented a tandem bike one Sunday afternoon for a 2.5-hour ride along the canal and we started a new workout regime this month called the Insanity Workout (aptly named!).

2. Find ways to give to others each month

Progress: Since April, we made a few donations of household and clothing items; volunteered with RAIHN, a hospitality organization for homeless families in May and earlier this month; and handed out Subway gift cards to those asking for spare change on the streets.

3. Read 6 books in 12 months

Progress: I read "7" this spring and am currently reading "EntreLeadership" by Dave Ramsey and "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss, though these are on hold until my summer class is over. For class, I'm reading "Tell Them Who I Am" by Elliot Liebow, an ethnography on homeless women that has special significance because of our work with RAIHN this year.

4. Study the Word actively

Progress: SD and I finished reading the Story — the Bible written in chronological, chapter book format. I've also been reading through a few plans on YouVersion (most recently, the one about Hosea).

5. Get up at 7:30 a.m. six out of seven days a week

Progress: For the most part, yes!

6. Be intentional with rest

Progress: I'm trying to be intentional with how I spend my time this summer by setting goals, staying organized, being productive in my working hours, and planning fun things for SD and me to do on the weekends (festivals, time on the roof, trying new recipes, etc.). So far, it's been a wonderful balance of work and rejuvenation.

7. Make a list of things we are grateful for to display in our home

Progress: I just hung up a new sheet in our kitchen — find the free printable version here.

8. Focus on inspiring influences; purge negativity

Progress: This really comes down to social media, for me. Focusing on inspiring influences means spending less time on Facebook and Twitter, especially on the weekends. It's amazing what a difference this makes!

9. Eat more whole foods

Progress: We started reading labels in the grocery store and being more intentional with the things we buy. We also started planning a few meals for the week before we go to the store, to ensure that we have everything on hand each night. This month, I've had class twice a week until after 8 p.m. so we've made good use of our crockpot with things like Pulled Pork Sliders and Jambalaya. Delicious!

10. Find ways to add value to others

Progress: I'm finding out that there are so many ways to do this — sending notes to those who are grieving or celebrating an accomplishment, going out of your way to help someone, smiling at people, baking things to give away, pausing to have a conversation with someone. Recently, I've been thinking about this goal for my studio: How can I add value to my students?

// Business Goals

1. Get published

Progress: I submitted two papers for journal publication consideration and I had a paper accepted to a research poster session at this year's National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy outside of Chicago!

2. Write a hymn arrangement

Progress: I composed a hymn tune for an existing text back in April for a class assignment. Next up, a hymn arrangement using some of these (and these) skills.

3. Spend more time in the practice room

Progress: I practiced 8-10 hours a week during the semester and I managed to keep 2-3 hours in my schedule for the first two months of summer, despite not being at school every day. I'm working my way through the Well-Tempered Clavier (mostly as a sightreading exercise), reviewing some keyboard skills, and improvising.

4. Create a blog schedule

Progress: Summer = less school + more time to write! This blog schedule helps keep me organized.

5. Update website

Progress: I had a short list of things to fix/update on my site at the beginning of the summer and I'm pleased to say I've done just about everything on the list! I've also been helping Steve update his site — go visit!

I'd love to hear how your 2013 goals are coming along. Feel free to share in the comments below or if you post them on a blog, please post the link. I'd love to read them!

Read more:
Goals for 2013: April Update
Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part I
Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part II
Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part III

Goals for 2013: April Update

It's been a few months since I wrote about my goals for 2013 so I thought I'd give y'all a quick update.

// PERSONAL GOALS

1. Run 2-3 times per week and increase circuit to 2 miles once per week Progress: We're at two runs most weeks and we're up to a total of 2.75 miles/week - ahead of schedule!

2. Find ways to give to others each month Progress: We found a few local charities to support and places where we can donate clothes, food, and household items.  We're looking forward to volunteering with a hospitality organization later this spring and serving families in need of food and shelter.

3. Read 6 books in 12 months Progress: I read "The Go-Giver" in two sittings (a first for me!) and I started reading "7" last month.

4. Study the Word actively Progress: Steve and I are reading through The Story this year (2012-2013) and we just started the New Testament.  We've also been reading through a few plans on YouVersion (a free app).  So far, we've read Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

5. Get up at 7:30 a.m. six out of seven days a week Progress: I hit the ground running with this goal and have really made it habit (out of necessity!).  I've even had a few days of beating my goal by half an hour!

6. Be intentional with rest Progress: I can always be better with this but things like putting work away at a certain point in the evening, taking time on the weekends to spend with SD, and having a book to read for pleasure help me be more intentional with rest.

7. Make a list of things we are grateful for to display in our home Progress: I created a page to hang in our kitchen as soon as we got back from our holiday traveling.  I love having such a tangible way to count our blessings all throughout the year.  Print your own Gratitude list here.

8. Focus on inspiring influences; purge negativity Progress: I purged my social media and blog feeds early in the year.  What a difference it makes to see positive influences in the time I spend on those sites!

9. Eat more whole foods Progress: We started reading labels in the grocery store and being more intentional with the things we buy.  We've tried a few new healthy recipes with whole grains (especially quinoa) and started buying organic butter and whole wheat bread.  I also started using substitutes for sugar and oil in recipes.

10. Find ways to add value to others Progress: I have been much more intentional about this these past few months.  I am trying to become a better encourager, write more love notes to SD, and make sure I write thank you notes in a timely manner.

// BUSINESS GOALS

1. Get published Progress: I emailed a journal editor about a manuscript I have in progress and am preparing another to submit to a poster session for an upcoming conference.

2. Write a hymn arrangement Progress: No progress on this goal yet but I plan to start this project soon!

3. Spend more time in the practice room Progress: At the beginning of the semester, I blocked off time in my schedule to practice two hours every day.  I've been working on keyboard skills such as harmonization, sightreading, sightsinging, improvisation, and transposition and I've successfully learned two songs by ear in all 12 keys ("Happy Birthday" and the "Doxology").  I have to say, I look forward to this time each day to spend away from books and email and paper-writing and get back to actively building musicianship (read more here and here).

4. Create a blog schedule Progress: I began keeping a schedule of posts and a list of blog ideas in my planner.  Hopefully that means more regular blogging for all of you readers!

5. Update website Progress: I made a few little updates around my website back in February - what do you think?

How are your goals for 2013 coming along?

Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part III

We had a wonderful holiday adventure in Utah with SD's family - we skied five days out of seven! Now, we're on our way back across the country to our home, sweet home. After thinking on Lara's Goal-Setting Steps 1-9 and writing out my answers (read Part I and Part II), I began writing out my goals for 2013. In addition to writing the WHY with each goal (why I want to spend time on this in the coming year), I used the following guidelines from Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership (recommended here):

1. Be specific. 2. Have a timeline. 3. Own them. 4. Measure them. 5. Write them down.

I spent a few days mulling everything over, sketching out some initial thoughts, and then finding ways to make them measurable and meaningful. Boy is it tempting to turn this into another to-do list! A word of advice if you're working through the process yourself: Your goals should mean something to you. Good goals should inspire you to take action. Think about those things you wrote down in your vision. Is there a discrepancy between the life you're living now and the life you want to live? Start there.

Here are my goals for 2013:

PERSONAL

1. I want to stay healthy and get more physically fit this year. I want to run 2-3 times per week with SD and increase our route from 1 mile to 2 miles once per week.

2. I want to find ways to give to others each month because it's a way of serving those in need and making love into an action word.

3. I want to make more time for pleasure reading (this ties in with goal #6) because it's a way of being intentional with rest, it encourages me to focus on what matters, and it inspires me to make better business decisions. This year, I want to read six new books in twelve months.

4. I want to study the Word actively because it is wisdom, Truth, and inspiration for my life and it strengthens my faith.

5. I want to be more intentional with starting my workday on time and being productive during working hours. Starting this week, I want to get up at 7:30 a.m. six out of seven days a week.

6. I want to be intentional with rest because it will allow me to take a step back and refocus, it will inspire my work, and it will make me more productive during working hours.

7. I want to live a life of gratitude all year long - not just during the month of November. I want to start this year by making a list of things that we are grateful for to display in our home. I think this will be a powerful reminder to focus on the things that matter most and to count our blessings every day.

8. Going along with goal #7, I want to focus on inspiring influences and purge negativity from things like my Facebook newsfeed and my blog reader. I want to focus on the positive and things that will inspire my work, not detract from it. I want to learn from others rather than comparing myself to others. I want to feel more content.

9. In 2012, we started buying almond milk instead of regular milk, organic eggs instead of regular eggs, and we started eating more vegetables in place of meat. This year, I want to eat more whole foods because it will keep us healthy, it will give us more energy during the day, and it goes hand-in-hand with goal #1.

10. I want to find ways to add value to others - to make an impact. I want to give and invest and encourage this year.

BUSINESS

1. I want 2013 to be the year I get published (or at least get something in the queue). This not only will move me forward in my degree but it's a way to share my research with others in the field of Music Education.

2. Goals #2 and #3 are somewhat related - I want to become a better musician in 2013 than I was in 2012. I want to write a hymn arrangement this year and make good use of my keyboard skills class because I know it will inspire my creativity and make me a better listener.

3. I want to get back to my instrument and spend more time in the practice room. I want to become a better improviser. I want to sightread and sightsing on a more regular basis. I want to learn five songs in twelve different keys.

4. I want to create a blog schedule so I can be more consistent with my writing. I want to be authentic, share creativity, and build relationships this year.

5. I want to make a few mini updates to my website because I want it to grow and change with me throughout the year and reflect the things that I am currently doing.

This list inspires me to GO and DO (unlike a to-do list, which I admit is often met with dread). In these final days of holiday vacation, I'm working on the step-by-step process for making each of these goals happen this year - with a timeline. 2013, let's do this!

Love, Ashley

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Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part I Making Things Happen in 2013 - Part II