7 Freelancers Get Real About Their Money Issues Over The Past 6 Months

It's not an easy time to be a freelancer.

In the second quarter of 2020, freelancers’ average income dropped by 25%, according to the latest Freelancer Confidence Index by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and PeoplePerHour.

While Rishi Sunak eventually extended his financial support package to include freelancers, there are many who fell through the cracks. And whether or not workers are eligible for government help doesn't change the fact that for many, work has simply dried up.

Inna Yordanova, senior researcher at IPSE, said: "It’s been clear for some time that the economic impact of coronavirus has fallen particularly hard on freelancers.

"Almost two thirds of the highly skilled freelancers covered by our Confidence Index work through limited companies and therefore could not get support through the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. With such a financial cliff-edge and limited government support, it is not surprising freelancers’ confidence in their businesses over the next 12 months is drastically low – or that so many are leaving self-employment. Recent ONS data shows a drop of 178,000 freelancers since last quarter."

To get a better picture of how people have actually coped, we asked the freelancers of our UK Money Diaries Facebook group about the year so far. While jobs range from dog walking to social work to classical musician, each has been affected by the turmoil of 2020. Here's how they've managed their money so far, and what they plan for the future.