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As a freelancer, you don’t have holiday pay, continued payment during illness, or a thirteenth month. You know this. But do you maintain a buffer? In practice, many self-employed professionals put this off. Until they absolutely have to face it, and by then it can be too late.
A healthy financial buffer for a freelancer is at least three to six months of fixed expenses. This gives you the room to handle a quiet period, decline an assignment that doesn’t suit you, and make choices based on abundance rather than scarcity.
A buffer is more than just a savings goal. It’s also about liquidity: you need to be able to access your money the moment you need it. A buffer that is locked in a product with a notice period or a penalty clause is not a real buffer. Put this money in an instantly accessible savings account, separate from your daily business account. For example: set up a separate sub-account for your buffer within your business account. That way, you can see what’s in there at a glance, you won’t accidentally spend it, and it’s immediately available when you need it.
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As a freelancer, you don’t build up a pension through an employer. This means a pension gap is quietly growing, even if you’re doing well right now. The longer you wait, the bigger that gap becomes.
But before you choose a product, there is an even more important question: what do you actually want for the future? When do you want to be able to stop working? How much income will you need then? Building a pension as a freelancer ultimately comes down to one thing: building enough wealth so that you no longer have to work for an income. Whether that happens through pension investments, a regular investment account, or savings: it’s about the goal, not the label.
Make pension savings a fixed pattern of behaviour, just like setting aside tax. Decide on a fixed amount or percentage to set aside monthly and automate it. Only once that becomes a routine should you start looking at tax optimisation.
Annual margin (jaarruimte): as a freelancer, you can use your annual margin to make tax-free contributions into a pension product, such as a retirement annuity (lijfrente) or bank savings (banksparen). This provides an immediate tax benefit. But there is a downside: tax-advantageous pension savings come at the expense of flexibility. Your money is only accessible on your retirement date, and withdrawing it early attracts penalties. Think about this carefully, especially if your income is still fluctuating.
What does starting early get you? The math
The power of compound interest is immense, but chronically underestimated. Suppose you contribute €500 monthly at a 5% average annual return:
The exact same monthly amount, but a difference of more than 200,000 euros. Entirely due to one factor: time. Start now, even if it’s a small amount. You can always scale up later.
Want to know how big your pension gap is and how to calculate your annual margin (jaarruimte)? A financial advisor for freelancers can help you map this out properly.
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The disability insurance for freelancers, better known as the AOV (arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering), is one of the most postponed decisions among self-employed professionals. You might think: “I’m healthy, that won’t happen to me.” But an AOV is specifically there for the moments you don’t see coming: burnout, an accident, or a long-term illness.
Legislation in this area is changing: an AOV will soon become mandatory for the majority of freelancers. Therefore it’s important to look into this. Find out the following:
Read all about the AOV in the blog: Disability insurance (AOV) for freelancers: what you need to know about costs, deductions, and the mandatory AOV
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Buying a home as a freelancer is certainly possible, but banks do assess self-employed professionals differently than employees. Knowing what the bank wants to see makes the difference between a ‘no’ and a key in your hand.
What does the bank look at?
Most banks use the average net profit over the past three years as the basis for your maximum mortgage. Not your turnover, but what you actually keep after costs. Sometimes two years is enough, depending on the lender. Furthermore, the bank looks at the following:
The stability of your income: fluctuations between years are looked at critically.
Your financial reserves: equity and a buffer increase confidence.
Your business structure: a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) is assessed differently than a private limited company (bv).
What should you already be thinking about right now?
Do you want a mortgage as a freelancer in a few years? Then make sure your bookkeeping is organised now, build reserves, and ensure your financial situation looks strong. A good bookkeeper — like the bookkeepers at Kees de Boekhouder — will help you with this. Banks want to see a story that adds up.
Track your net profit structurally through your bookkeeping. With the Kees de Boekhouder dashboard, this becomes a piece of cake!
Many starters overlook this: a mortgage that is too high as a freelancer can restrict your entrepreneurial freedom. High fixed expenses mean you have less room for a slower month, a client you want to turn down, or an investment you want to make. Therefore, it’s important to think about what fits your entrepreneurial situation when it comes to mortgage costs, both now and in the future.
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Do you have money left over at the end of the month after deducting your buffer and fixed expenses? Then investing as a freelancer could be an interesting next step. In the long term, it historically yields more than saving. It also helps to close your pension gap without your money being locked up tax-wise. Want to know how much room you have to invest? Your buffer, pension contributions, and Box 3 situation are key here. A financial advisor for freelancers can map this out for you. To start, you could think about the following pros and cons:
Benefits
In the long term, investing historically yields a higher return than saving.
You let your money work for you, even when you aren’t working.
With diversified investments, such as index funds, you don’t need to be an investment expert.
Unlike tax-advantageous pension savings, your money remains flexibly accessible.
Risks and key points
Investments can go down in value, sometimes significantly and sometimes for a long time.
Investing is only suitable if your buffer and insurances are already in order.
Returns are never guaranteed. Keep a time horizon of at least 5 to 10 years in mind.
Important ground rule: always invest privately
A common mistake is investing through your business account. This is not possible without tax implications. Investments fall into Box 3 of the income tax and must be held privately. In practical terms: you should transfer money from your business account to your personal account and invest it via a broker or investment account in your own name.
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Buffer, pensioen, AOV, hypotheek, beleggen: het zijn vijf losse onderwerpen die in de praktijk nauw met elkaar samenhangen. Een keuze op het ene vlak beïnvloedt het andere. Daarom kiezen veel zzp’ers op een gegeven moment voor financieel advies.
Maar wanneer heb je dat nou écht nodig? Niet alles hoeft direct via een adviseur. Voor simpele vragen kun je een heel eind komen met een goede boekhouder en wat eigen onderzoek. Maar er zijn momenten waarop professioneel financieel advies voor zzp’ers echt het verschil maakt:
A good financial advisor for freelancers not only helps you choose the right products, but also helps you set priorities: what is important now and what can wait? This is how you maintain control over your financial situation without having to make a full-time job out of it yourself.
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Ties is the founder of North Financials and also a certified financial planner. He helps freelancers with their financial planning on a daily basis.
After reading this blog, are you curious about how Kees de Boekhouder helps entrepreneurs with their bookkeeping every day? Schedule a no-obligation, digital introductory meeting with us!
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Financial advice is especially valuable when you don’t know where to start, want to take out a specific product (such as a mortgage or retirement annuity), your situation changes, or you have no overview of what you have already arranged. A financial advisor for freelancers helps you at those turning points.
A financial advisor for freelancers gives you a complete overview of your situation: buffer, insurance, pension, mortgage, and investments combined. He or she helps you set priorities, choose the right products, and make a plan that grows with your business. That way, you don’t have to make a full-time job out of it yourself.
Start by setting aside a fixed monthly amount and automating it. You can choose a pension investment product with tax benefits through the annual margin (jaarruimte), or a regular investment or savings account with more flexibility. Want to know how much annual margin you have? A financial advisor for freelancers can calculate that for you.
No, that’s not possible without tax implications. Investments fall into Box 3 of the income tax and must be held privately. You transfer money from your business account to your personal account and invest from there via a broker or investment account in your own name.
Schedule a no-obligation, digital introductory meeting with us.
