Hi Reader,

Happy Friday!

One of my "new year's resolutions" (put in speech marks because I generally hate them) is to switch up my environment more often.

If I'm in the same place for too long, I tend to get bored which impacts my productivity. So, one small tweak I'm making is to try and go somewhere different each day. That might be a different coworking space, a cafe with pals, or working from a friend's house (read: my sister's house).

What small tweaks are you making?

P.S. This week on Instagram, I shared how much revenue I made in December. Check it out here. And don't forget to give me a follow for regular tips and tricks!

Here's what I've been up to this week work-wise:

👉 I wrote 3 pieces for clients (an influencer marketing tool and Salsify)

👉 I refreshed 2 pieces for Shopify

👉 I had a call with a new client about LinkedIn marketing

👉 I paid my self-assessment Jan tax installment 😭

👉 I published a new freelance debrief on the podcast

⏱ Approx hours spent on client work this week: ~18

⏱ Approx hours spent on non-client work: ~4

💰 Total revenue this week: £3,250

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Friday Freelance Tip​​ ✨ ​

As you know, I share my monthly profit and loss statement with you all in an attempt to bring transparency around rates and pay in the freelance world.

If you spent a bit of time poring over each newsletter, you could probably figure out how much revenue I make on each type of project (i.e. refreshes, blog posts, case studies, etc).

But I thought I'd lay it out plain and simple here for you.

I know January isn't quite over yet, but as I've got all my pieces mapped out and briefed until the end of the month, I can share with you how much I've made (*or will have made) on each type of project this month.

Top of the funnel posts

These are top-level blog posts, usually about 1,500-2,500 words, to attract new customers. These are the kinds of posts I do for Stan Store and Salsify, and are one of my fave kinds of projects.

Most of the time, I'm adding in my own experiences, pulling quotes from experts, and adding real examples/case studies to each piece to make sure they're really meaty and useful.

In January, I wrote 8 TOFU blog posts with a total revenue of £5,600.

Bottom of the funnel posts

These are posts designed to convert, and include things like case studies and product-specific tutorials. I do a lot of these for Klaviyo, as they've just launched a new product, so we're doing a lot of product-focused, BOFU content.

In January, I wrote just 1 piece of BOFU content (for Klaviyo) with a total revenue of £750.

Blog post refreshes

These are refreshes of existing posts to bring them up to date and in line with new AEO/GEO best practices.

These are the bread and butter of what I do for Shopify. They have a ton of content on their website, so it makes sense it needs updating regularly.

In January, I worked on 6 blog post refreshes (for Shopify) with a total revenue of £4,000.

I expect January to be fairly low revenue-wise, simply because I billed for a lot of work in mid-December, and because I've taken almost 3 weeks off this month 😅 but hopefully this gives you an idea of the breakdown of projects and revenue.

This week, we have a B2B writer from Wales.

Where are you based? South Wales.

How long have you been freelancing? 1 year.

What do you do? B2B medical writing through a ltd company.

What was your 2025 revenue? £60,116.25

This person freelances full time and this was their highest earning year.

How much did you take as a salary? £4,202.17 per month pre tax (personal allowance/12 + max dividends at lower threshold/12).

How much did you pay in taxes?

Business corporation tax plus NI: ~£8,124.20

Personal tax plus student loan repayments: ~£4,539.25

Please note that this is an estimation based on my own calculations, I won't receive my accountant summary until Feb 2026.

What are your business expenses?

£36.43 (business insurance direct debit)

£125.00 (accountancy fees)

£9.48 (Microsoft 365)

This person also bought a new laptop to comply with the Windows security update :( (£849.99).

Do you contribute to a pension?

I have a private pension, which I pay £600 per month into through my Ltd company.

This person also plans to invest in a high interest savings account by the end of the year.

Do you have any hot money-management tips?

My favourite thing I've created is a 'Calculating monthly income' spreadsheet.

It shows me what I should estimate paying in business tax, NI etc on a monthly basis from my monthly business income (which varies), so I can put this money in a separate pot (I use Monzo) to ensure this is set aside for my end of year.

It helps provide peace of mind. I also have a section for personal tax as well, so I can see my anticipated annual outgoings on a monthly basis. Before I made it, I was relying on my accountant's rough "keep ~20%" guidance, but I was so on edge that I was paying myself too much that this spreadsheet really brought me peace of mind!

We need more Freelance Money Diaries entries! I'm forever grateful to anyone who shares their finances with us (you can do it totally anonymously!).

Click the button below to do yours!

As always, happy freelancing :)

Lizzie ✨

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