Going full-time freelance: what to have in place first

The advice you hear most is "save six months of expenses before you quit." That is right, but it is not the most important number.

The number that matters more than savings

Monthly side income against monthly essential expenses.

If your essentials are ฿25,000 and side work has brought in ฿15,000 a month for three months running, you already have 60% of your base covered while still employed. That is a more reliable signal than savings.

Savings tell you how long you can survive with no clients. Side income tells you whether you have clients at all.

What disappears with the salary

• Social security — your Section 33 coverage ends. You can move to Section 39 within six months at ฿432 a month and keep medical cover
• Group insurance — gone immediately. Private health cover for someone in their early thirties runs roughly ฿15,000–30,000 a year
• Bonus and provident fund — build these into your rate from day one

The first three months are not what you expect

Month one usually looks good, because work carried over from your employed period is still landing. Month two goes quiet. Month three is the real test.

Plan months two and three as serious client-finding time, not a break.

Do this before you resign

• Tell your existing side clients exactly when you will have more capacity
• Get the portfolio finished while you still have a salary, not while you are anxious
• Open a separate bank account for work — bookkeeping and filing get dramatically easier
• If you expect to pass ฿1.8m a year, read up on VAT registration in advance

Signs it is not time yet

If the main reason is "I'm tired of my job" rather than "I have clients waiting", freelancing will not fix that. It swaps one boss for several.

The first month with no salary

The 25th passes and nothing arrives. However well prepared you are, that lands.

What actually helps is three accounts: one that receives client payments, one for personal spending, and one for tax.

Every time you get paid, move 15–20% into the tax account immediately. That money was never yours, and seeing a pre-tax balance is what makes people overspend every single year.

Pay yourself a salary

Do not spend as money arrives. Set a fixed amount that moves from the work account to your personal account on the 1st, the same every month.

In a strong month the surplus stays in the work account. In a quiet month your salary is unchanged. It turns income that swings into income you can plan around.

Don't turn down small jobs in the first six months

Small work at a decent rate is worth more early than it looks — not for the money, but because small clients refer each other, and because steady work lets you make decisions from reasoning rather than fear.