Work anywhere: A group of young people engage in a discussion at a coworking space in Central Jakarta. (JP/Muthi Achadiat Kautsar)

Want to freelance as a creative worker, working remotely while living temporarily in different places to collect exciting memories of life? Well, if this sounds like an ideal work-life balance to you, perhaps being a digital nomad is your thing.

But, hang on a minute, being a creative digital nomad is no holiday, warns Rain Chudori, an Indonesian writer who gets most of her income as a digital nomad from copywriting, art consultancy and occasional filmmaking projects for various individual artists but also agencies and institutions.

You also have to make sure you have a solid client base from your town of origin before embarking on a digital nomad life, mixing it with sound financial smarts to ensure financial viability, according to Rain.

A solid amount of savings prior to embarking on a digital nomad path is also essential, says Canti Widyadhari, who is a freelance writer-cum-tarot-card reader who has spent time living and working in Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

“I had my savings, and my business was already stable for several years before I decided to embrace the lifestyle,” says Canti, who is also an astrology contributor for VICE Asia.

Upon becoming a digital nomad, you will have one more task: You also have to plan your financial activities carefully, because, if you choose to become a freelancing digital nomad, you definitely will not have any steady employers which will structure your payments and allowances for you, according to QM Financial lead financial trainer Ligwina Hananto.

“You have to calculate your minimum spending to cover accommodation, meals, transportation, coworking space, data package, etc.,” Ligwina says.

“At least have backup money equal to your total monthly expenditure in your savings. So if you spend a total of Rp 5 million (US$363.63) a month, save at least Rp 5 million a month in your account as a one-month expenditure backup,” Ligwina advises.

Ligwina gives us a simple expenditure management formula to follow.

“For instance, if you decide to spend Rp 5 million per month, then stick to that amount of spending no matter how much pay you happen to receive in that particular season. So, at a time when you receive Rp 10 million for a project, you can use that to cover your expenses for two months,” she explains.

“But during low seasons, when you receive only Rp 3 million, you can also deduct the additional
Rp 2 million you need from that saving,” she continues.

“Also, you have to list carefully on which dates you will receive your pay. Spending a period without any project payments makes you suffer,” she adds. This is why, according to her, it is vital to save money in addition to your one-month expenditure backup for emergency purposes.

Apparently, being a creative digital nomad requires you not only to be creative in providing services for your clients but also to be creative in finding ways to save money.

“I like traveling around Asia, especially to countries that do not require you to have any visas. Some Asian countries also offer free visa issuance,” Rain says.

“You also need to keep an eye on various flight and accommodation promos, finding routes that are less popular [and therefore cheaper]; you can save hundreds of thousands of rupiah that way, which is a lot of money,” she continues.

Again, being a digital nomad is different from being a tourist, so when you are working from a foreign city abroad, spend as much money per day as you would spend in your town of origin, according to Rain.

“Be careful not to spend too much money on sightseeing and shopping while working as a digital nomad,” Rain says.

According to Rain, by living the life of a digital nomad, she also stays true to her family’s Minangkabau cultural value of merantau, which encourages individuals to travel to as many places as possible and immerse themselves there as a way of learning and accumulating life experiences to be passed forward.

Meanwhile, according to Canti, the ever-changing landscape of working as a digital nomad has fed her creativity as a freelance writer.

“I enjoy the change of workplace, because I tend to get bored of the routine. I could work by the beach today or from the mountainside tomorrow, depending on where I feel like working,” Canti says.

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