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The goal of any business is to make money. However, within that goal should be another - to spend money as wisely as possible. This does not mean skimp on the things you need to run your business successfully; it means planning how you spend your money so you can build your business to the level you want it at without going broke.
It's easy to err on either the side of caution or by overspending when you are starting your freelance business. Neither is healthy. Being too cautious can keep you from advertising enough to get the number of clients you need to make a living. Spending too much means you may never come out ahead financially.
The first thing to do is decide what time frame works best for you when planning your budget. Daily is obviously too short a time - you'll spend far too much time dealing with budget issues if you do a full review daily. Weekly, twice a month or monthly works best for most people.
Break down all your expenses to match your time frame. Annual subscriptions should be broken down into whatever they cost by the time frame you have selected, for example.
Next you need to review all your recurring expenses. These are likely to include website hosting, lead generation costs, subscriptions to any pay freelance sites, autoresponders and so forth.
Now you can review all your one-time expenses, such as software purchases (note that some software may need to be updated annually). Computers and other equipment can be depreciated over their expected life span, which may cover a few years.
Now take a look at your expected earnings. Obviously some of this will be extrapolation or goal setting rather than reality, depending on how long you have been in business and what kind of success you are having.
You can estimate by considering the responses you would like to have from your advertising. If you expect 1% of your leads to convert to customers who spend at least a certain amount on your services, you have a guess as to what you might earn. You'll want to keep this updated to see how you're doing in reality versus your goals.
Now you need to take a look at your expected income versus your expenses. Decide what kind of profit you need to have and see if you're where you want to be. If not, you need to decide where you need to go. Need more profit? Find a way to earn more money or spend less. Expect the first couple years that you will spend more than you earn. It is very normal for a business to take a few years to take off.
Make sure you review your budget regularly, especially if you know something that you hadn't planned for occurs. If your computer dies and you suddenly need a new one, that's going to be a big hit to your budget. Likewise, if you find a great new resource for job leads but it costs you money, your budget will be impacted and you may need to decide where to cut something else.
A well-planned budget can make running your business much easier. It lets you see where you want to be financially as well as where you are right now.