Negative equity is not something any homeowner wants to hear. However, it is becoming a lot of reality for homeowners around the world, especially those in the EU whereby the political climate is changing all the time. In this article we look at the 10 reasons why freelancing.
Negative equity is a term that is used to describe a situation whereby property prices drop to such a level that they have become worth less than the mortgage that has been taken out on them. For the buyer, this essentially means you’re overpaying for your property based on the current worth.
There are several different moves you can make if you find yourself in negative equity. Ultimately, though, it comes down to simply overpaying on your existing mortgage in most cases and wait for house prices to rise.
However, this does not mean you need to sit back and accept the situation. You can look for ways to make some extra cash in order to balance out the effect of negative equity. One thing that more and more people are turning to today is freelancing.
Below, we will look at ten reasons why freelancing can help you to recover from negative equity – even in the EU.
1. Enhance Productivity Without Having A Massive Impact On Work-Life Balance
One of the benefits of freelancing is that you can enhance productivity without having a huge impact on your work-life balance.
If you were to take on a second job, you would have to work during the evenings or through the night. This would leave you with barely any time left to spend with your family, as it is likely that you’d only really be sleeping once you get home.
Freelancing is more flexible than this, which means you can still maintain a healthy work-life balance while easing the strain that negative equity is causing.
If you decide to start freelancing, this is something that you can do while on your way to work or during your lunch breaks. You can maximise those moments whereby time is simply wasted during your standard working day.
This is especially beneficial for anyone who has a considerable commute. Rather than sitting and waiting for the train to arrive at your destination, you can take out your laptop and do some freelancing work. This means you will have earned some money before you even arrive at your 9-to-5 job.
2. Anyone Can Freelance
A lot of people tend to assume that freelancing is only suitable for writers and designers. However, this could not be further from the truth.
The freelancing market has expanded rapidly over the past few years, and this has opened the door for many different opportunities.
Admin work has become very popular, and this is something that people of all ages and abilities will be able to make the most of. There are many other areas that have become very popular in the freelance world, including programming, technology, branding, sales, digital marketing, social media, business, audio, photo, video, and translation.
There are also many different websites that post job opportunities for freelancers, so it is certainly worth taking the time to see what is out there.
3. Opportunities For A New Or Improved Career
Not only is freelancing a good way to recover from negative equity in the sense that it will enable you to earn extra money on the side, but it could also lead to monetary gains within your current job.
Freelancing is a great way to learn new skills and to enhance what you currently have to offer employers. This could open new doors in your career, whether this is in your existing job capacity or with another company.
This could, ultimately, result in you securing a job with a higher pay grade, which is a great way to recover from negative equity.
4. You Will Have An Additional Layer Of Job Security
Losing your job while attempting to deal with negative equity does not bare thinking about. However, there have been some people that have been this unlucky.
The economy today is not as reliable as it used to be. The recession may seem like a long time ago, but a lot of people remember the devastating impact it had on them and their families.
Plus, the days of working for the same employer for over 20 years seem to have gone. Of course, there are still plenty of people that do this. However, that sort of sense of security simply does not exist anymore.
Many people think that the best approach is to look for a big company and work there for the rest of their lives. However, according to research that has been conducted, around 70 per cent of the businesses list on the S&P 500 will probably not even exist in eight years’ time.
This is because businesses are more unstable today. This is not a trend that seems to be going anywhere either.
Therefore, it makes more sense than ever before to start a freelancing career on the side.
If you have ever been let go from work out of the blue or laid off, you will know that the worst part of it all is having to build over from scratch again.
However, you are not going to be stuck without a plan if you build a freelance business on the side while you are employed.
You will already have clients, so you are still going to have money coming in.
Plus, you will have two options available to you. You can either freelance until you find another job, or you can decide to ramp up your freelance business and make it a full-time thing.
5. A Great Way To Increase Your Income
Of course, we cannot go any further without discussing the main driver for choosing freelancing to recover from negative equity, and this is the fact that you are going to be increasing your income.
It is important to keep track of the money you are making through freelancing so that you can have a true reflection of just how beneficial this is. There are lots of good bookkeeping software solutions out there, so you should have no trouble keeping tabs on this.
Plus, once you have been freelancing for a while, you will be able to get a grip on what sort of clients and projects are profitable, and which jobs are taking too much time regarding the amount of money you are making.
6. Develop Personal Connections
Another great benefit associated with freelancing is the fact that you are going to develop valuable connections along the way.
Your new freelancing career will be a great opportunity for you to build stronger and deeper relationships with clients by delivering real value to their companies. These are the sort of relationships that can last a lifetime.
You never know what sort of doors can open from connections like this and what sort of projects and money-making opportunities may fall onto your lap.
7. Recognise What Skills Are In Demand And Target Your Approach Based On This
Another great thing about doing freelance work on the side is the fact that you are going to be able to determine what sort of skills are in demand and what trends are going on in the job market at present.
This is going to give you the best opportunities to increase your income. You will know exactly what sort of jobs to target.
It is important to recognise from the outset that your main strategy in terms of freelancing is to have a service or skill that is in high demand and that people are going to pay a lot for.
A good example of this is penetration testing or ethical hacking. After all, cyber security services are in exceptionally high demand now, as it seems that a day does not go by without news of a data breach.
Of course, this may not be the sort of skill set you have now, but it is certainly something you could learn about. Take the time to look for professional advice about training in order to determine whether this is feasible.
This is just one example and you do not need to get involved in cyber security in order to make a good bit of money on the side if this is not for you. However, it highlights the importance of sniffing out those jobs that are going to bring you the most value.
8. You Are Opening Yourself Up To A Worldwide Marketplace
Another reason to consider freelancing as a way of recovering from negative equity is because you are going to be opening yourself up to a huge, global marketplace.
A lot of people are guilty of staying in their own little bubble when it comes to work and employment. They are happy in their job and working for their employer, and so they don’t really consider what is going on elsewhere, especially in other countries.
However, by beginning freelancing, you will be able to fully open yourself to the worldwide marketplace. This means you will see all the opportunities that are out there today.
Some countries may be willing to pay more for your services than others. You may find a unique gap in the market in a specific location or industry whereby you can offer your skills and reap maximum rewards for doing so.
This is something you’re only going to be able to capitalise on in the freelance world whereby those looking for candidates with certain skills are willing to consider anyone, from any location.
9. You Can Use This To Talk To Your Banker About
Aside from the benefits that have already been discussed, you can use re-training and freelancing as something positive to discuss with your financial advisor or banker.
If you find you need to relocate for some reason, which cannot be avoided, yet you are still in negative equity, you can use your second stream of income to try and arrange an agreement that is more in your favour.
10. You Can Speak With Others In The Same Situation
The final reason to consider freelancing as a way of recovering from negative equity is because you are going to get involved in a friendly and helpful community. You may find a lot of people that are in the same position as you.
There are a lot of online discussion groups out there for freelancers today. Freelancers will share their experiences and they will look for different ways to overcome different problems in terms of enhancing their income and increasing their skill set.
This is something that you will be able to take advantage of, communicating with like-minded individuals who can help you to progress and advance your career. This will enrich your knowledge and present you with different ways to improve your income so you can pay off your debts.
As you can see, there are several different reasons why freelancing is a good option if you are looking to recover from negative equity in the EU. This is a flexible approach to making extra money and it is something that you can do while in situations whereby time is simply passing you by, for example, during your daily commute. This can help to ease the worry and strain that is caused by negative equity.
