Before I started my career as a freelance editor, I found a book that gave me the knowledge I needed to properly budget, estimate taxes, and save for emergencies. It's called The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed, and it's a fantastic resource for anyone striking out on their own.

If you're an author earning royalties or self-employed income from you writing, then it's important to know how to handle your finances efficiently. This book can teach you how to do just that.

The Money Book is great to read before you start making money off of self-employed writing income, but you can also benefit from it greatly even if you've already been freelancing for some time.

The information contained within will have you feeling in complete control of your finances. It's already been a great help to several friends of mine who have also read it before venturing into their own freelancing and entrepreneurship adventures.

Why This Book Works Better Than Others

For starters, it's written for you and me -- normal people who just want to know what we need to do in order to keep our finances in order, without necessarily needing a background in finance. And of course, it's written with freelancers in mind, so you'll get in-depth, important information that might only be glossed over in other books.

The authors are freelancers themselves, so they know exactly what you and I need to know. In the book they discuss a system you can follow that will have you feeling much better about your finances in no time.

All the really important stuff you need to know about finance when you're an independent worker is there: how to save so that you can stay afloat when your business is slow, how to pay off debt, how to budget responsibly, how to handle your healthcare, and how to plan for your future.

All in all, the advice and the system provided by the authors will teach you how to be fiscally responsible.

So tell me, what system or rules do you use that work to help you save and ensure you stick to your financial obligations? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Also:

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Jessica Hatch is not a Registered Investment Advisor, Broker/Dealer, Financial Analyst, Financial Bank, Securities Broker or Financial Planner. The information in this blog post is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, is general in nature and not specific to you. Ms. Hatch is not responsible for any investment decisions made by you. You are responsible for your own investment research and investment decisions.