Here's how you can manage your finances as a temporary or contract worker in the financial technology field.

Managing your finances as a temporary or contract worker in the financial technology field requires careful planning. Firstly, build an emergency fund that exceeds the standard three months of expenses to cover gaps between jobs. Aim for six months of living expenses. Secondly, plan ahead for taxes since they may not be withheld from your pay. Set aside money regularly and consider working with a tax professional. Thirdly, understand that your employment status might limit borrowing power. Maintain a strong credit score and ensure that you're still investing wisely, contributing to retirement accounts and putting your money to work for you in growth assets.

Month 1: Spend Freely: Spend as you wish without restrictions to understand your natural spending habits. Month 2: Analyze Your Expenses: Review and categorize expenses into: # Non-essentials: Can survive without. # Essentials: Can’t survive without. # Luxury Items: Dream shopping. Understand and Implement: Use this insight to create a budget, prioritize essentials, cut non-essentials, and allocate some funds for occasional luxuries. Monthly Review Regularly review and adjust your spending to stay in control of your finances.

Financial planning for any individual or family that has variable income is more complex. We see this with contract workers, sales professionals, and business owners. 3 strategies that these professionals should consider: 1. Create a cash flow plan based off average monthly income reduced by 20%. This conservative estimate should allow you to control spending and invest more in savings in higher months. 2. Actively monitor and look for tax savings opportunities. Any time there is abnormal income (up or down) it creates tax planning opportunities. For example, if Income is lower one year you may convert some investments to Roth accounts when the tax bill is lower. 3. Keep higher levels of liquidity than employees with consistent income.

One should put away a certain percentage of their take-home pay into an interest-bearing account to accumulate for emergencies. After accumulating an emergency funds account, one should fund an IRA for retirement.

If you are a 1099 contractor in FinTech, you should hire a tax professional to help you with your estimated tax payments. The tax professional will provide you with estimated taxes that you should pay so that you don't find yourself behind on you Federal and State taxes that you may owe when your tax return is filed.

Health insurance is vital consideration for any workers who are on a contractual agreement and may not receive full benefits or coverage otherwise. You need to explore insurance plans that work for you, they have to be tailored to your role, living situation and future goals. These things all have to be taken into consideration before choosing a plan and its best to speak with a variety of people to find the best plan that works for you. It can also be beneficial to set up other financial tools and asset that will protect you in the case of a loss of income or injury.

In the ever changing FinTech sector, professional development is an essential investment. Set aside money for conferences, certifications, and courses that will improve your employability and skill set. This investment may result in prospects for permanent roles or contracts with better remuneration. It's important to keep in mind that tax deductions are available for a large number of professional development costs, which can strengthen your financial plan.

In the area of contract-based finance, networking is crucial. Engage in professional social networks to connect with colleagues, participate in online forums, and attend industry meetups. Developing a strong network may open up new doors and reveal how much the market is willing to pay for your expertise. This can assist you in contract negotiations and guarantee that you are getting paid appropriately for your knowledge of the ever evolving financial technology industry.

This is not formal advice, but just things to consider. Regardless of which industry you're in, as long as you're a gig worker (i.e. not perm employee), you need to make sure that you have a plan in place to manage taxes as there are rules that you need to consider wrt quarterly filings in the U.S. Also, securing healthcare is important in the U.S. since health benefits are often tied to employment. Once you have these two essentials squared away, it's time to plan for short-term + long-term savings. Be sure to plan for uneven income. Luckily, there are more good options available nowadays.