If you have been in full-time employment before, you have possibly been a beneficiary of perks that make employment worthwhile. There are leave days which are paid for and you don’t worry about getting sick because of good health insurance. More so, if you are a civil servant, a leading corporate company or an international NGO, you even have the option of pension/retirement plans.

However, these same benefits may not exist when you become a consultant. Let’s have a look at what you may not get when you become a full-time consultant. This will help you plan your finances to cater for these benefits and the situations you have no control over such as accidents.

Paid vacation

Being a consultant does not guarantee you a paid vacation. Even if you now have the flexibility of time. In most cases, you have to decide for yourself when you are going on a month-long break and even how you are going to be able to pay your bills. There is also no one to remind you about your leave days and have to decide on your own. If you are lucky, you can be able to choose to take your leave days when there is no consultancy job. As you set your financial goals, remember to add vacation days too.

Sick leave

We definitely can’t stop ourselves from getting sick or injured. For example, during pandemics such as COVID-19, you can be infected developing mild or life-threatening symptoms that need medication and adequate rest periods. We can try to prevent it but not stop it. In employment, you can request a day off when you are sick. But as a consultant, especially when you are a solo consultant and you do everything by yourself, how can you make it work for you? Decide from the onset that you deserve to rest as much as possible. It’s also important to set boundaries with your clients when you are not sick. You can also inform them. You don’t need to hide it from your clients.

Healthcare

Having an excellent health care plan or health insurance is not guaranteed when you are a consultant. The good thing is there are numerous and affordable healthcare packages both outpatient and inpatient, you can choose from. You never know what will happen. You can be healthy but cannot avoid an accident. You can spend a lot of money on your health when you don’t have health insurance.

Life insurance

The fact is you are the only person who will take care of yourself and your dependents - if any. As you take on consultancy gigs it’s advisable to factor in life insurance as an expense in your financial plan. Doing this will help you determine how much you charge for every gig and even help you in choosing your clients depending on what your financial goals are. Life insurance is very crucial in protecting your dependents if you are a parent.

Retirement plan

You won’t work forever. You will need to plan for your retirement. Whether you want to retire at 30, 40 or 60 years of age. It’s crucial to plan financially in line with when you choose to retire. There are individual retirement/pension plans in the market with which you can start saving to plan for your future.