Career
How to Financially Prepare for a Career Change
A career change can mean months without income. Here's how to build a financial runway, plan for insurance gaps, budget for retraining, and make the leap without going broke.
Freelance Rate Calculator
To earn $100K as a freelancer, you need to charge $X/hr. Accounts for self-employment tax, insurance, no-work days, equipment, and retirement savings.
Freelance Rate Calculator
How much do you actually need to charge as a freelancer? Let's figure it out.
$
$0$500,000
Your target after taxes, insurance, and business costs
30
1050
Be realistic — most freelancers bill 25-35 hours/week
3
08
No work means no income — budget for time off
To take home $100,000 as a freelancer, you need to charge at least $148/hour — that's $174,005 in total revenue per year.
Here's what I'd tell a friend
$148/hour is standard for experienced professionals in fields like consulting, development, or design. To justify this rate, focus on the value you deliver, not your time. Package your services as fixed-price projects when possible. And don't forget: you're paying $24,162 in self-employment tax that W-2 employees don't see.
Required hourly rate
$148/hr
Daily rate
$710/day
Based on 4.8 billable hours/day
Monthly revenue needed
$14,500/mo
Useful for retainer pricing
Gross annual revenue needed
$174,005
Billable hours per year
1176 hrs
49 working weeks, 20% non-billable time excluded
Self-employment tax (15.3%)
$24,162/yr
12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare on 92.35% of net income
Income tax (~22%)
$33,643/yr
Health Insurance
$7,200/yr
$600/mo
Retirement Savings
$6,000/yr
$500/mo
Business Expenses
$3,000/yr
$250/mo
Equivalent W-2 salary
$138,462
What a salaried employee would need to earn for similar take-home
The Money Friend
To take home $100,000 as a freelancer, you need to charge at least $148/hour — that's $174,005 in total revenue per year.
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