Practical Financial Management: Simplified Cash Flow Systems
Consultant Brooke Benson discusses how freelancers and other individuals with inconsistent income can get a better grip on their finances.
Before I became a money coach, I was a broke theater grad living in a trailer, cycling through weekly panic attacks about money. Like many freelancers and creatives, I had no steady paycheck, no financial plan, and no clue how to build stability without sacrificing my lifestyle.
I used to believe that meant I couldn’t plan ahead, that cash flow anxiety was just part of the deal, that financial peace was reserved for people with 9-to-5 jobs and predictable income.
So I started making decisions based on how I felt at any given moment. If my account looked full, I’d invest in myself, if it looked low, I’d panic and stop everything. I’d go from overspending to over-saving, trying to compensate for the months when I felt out of control.
Fast forward: Today, I live in NYC, run my own business, and am on track to become a multi-millionaire in retirement. What changed? I stopped trying to force traditional budgeting methods to work for a non-traditional income.
Instead, I created a simplified cash flow system designed for people like us, those with inconsistent income, creative callings, and zero patience for spreadsheets.
A Simple Way to Think About Cash Flow
Cash flow isn’t just about how much money you make, it’s a measure of how money moves through your business. Once I stopped trying to micromanage every dollar and started thinking in broad categories, everything got easier.
There are only three things you really need to track:
- What comes in
- What goes out
- What stays behind
That’s it. Breaking things down this way helped me focus less on perfection and more on direction.
Know Your Baselines
The first step was figuring out what it takes to keep my life and business running each month.
My personal baseline includes rent, groceries, insurance, transportation, and savings.
My business baseline covers tools, software, taxes, subscriptions, contractors, and continuing education.
These numbers aren’t set in stone. They shift slightly over time, but I keep an average in mind, so I know exactly what I need to bring in to stay afloat. That clarity helped me stop operating from fear, and start making decisions with confidence.
Separate Your Accounts
Trying to track everything from one checking account made it impossible to tell what I could actually spend. So I opened a separate account just for business income and expenses.
This simple step gave me visibility and helped me separate what belonged to the business from what I could pay myself.
Novo was a lot of help here, it was inexpensive, and the Reserves feature made it easy for me to create separate “buckets” to ensure I understood where my funds were going.
Build a System That Mirrors Your Business
The way money flows into your business might not look like mine—and that’s okay. The point is to build a structure that fits your reality, not someone else’s budget template.
Maybe your clients pay you in large project-based chunks. Or maybe you earn income weekly from a mix of services. The important thing is that your system helps you:
- Hold onto money when it’s abundant
- Smooth the ride when it’s not
- Cover your obligations without chaos
- Make decisions with clarity, not guesswork
Your cash flow system should reflect the way you actually work, not the way you think you “should” be operating.
You don’t need to be “good with money” to build a stable business. You just need a cash flow system that works with your brain, your income, and your goals.
For me, that system is simple. It’s built around categories I understand, tools that work for me, and a mindset that gives me flexibility without losing control. Because when your money is organized, you can stop managing from a place of stress and start building from a place of strength.
Stay Connected with Brooke
Brooke Benson is a thriving artist, money coach, and business owner in New York City, on track to retire as a multi-millionaire. Her company, Not Starving Artists, empowers creatives, neurodivergents, service providers, & small business owners to become financial CEO’s of their life, business, and career.
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