Elizabeth Ayoola

So I don't pay estimated taxes.

I am pretty straightforward.

I just use an Excel sheet because I generally do not have many expenses.

I am a one-man band and I just do some contract work.

So I just don't really have that much to keep track of.

People do use Quicken.

There are so many.

We actually have on the NerdWallet website a list of different kind of softwares that you can use to keep track of your expenses.

Yes, we love a plug.

All right.

Speaking of which, you want to keep track of your deductible expenses.

When you're doing bookkeeping, you want to keep your receipts safe.

on whatever that you're spending.

The IRS also does have a list of deductible expenses in categories such as your home, your vehicle, energy, travel, and more.

One of the most surprising things that I saw that I could deduct was the actual space that I use.

So my office space, and there's some calculation that's done and you can get some deductions for that.

So you want to check that list and make sure you have receipts for everything.

And my second to last tip is you want to keep track of all the tax forms that you need when it's time to file.

At one point, I think I had like four or five clients all at once.

And those were freelance writing clients.