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abbas_tauseef
Community Member

When I get old

It's been one year since I have been working as a freelancer and I'm doing great. In fact I earn almost four to five times a month of what I could've  earned had I worked on a conventional job in my country. 

However, I often get stumbled while thinking about my future. I'm 32 already and what will happen if I couldn't work when I get a little older? 

Coming from a conservative and poor place where opportunities are scarce, I am scared I wouldn't be able to find work if I ever lose my ability to work online or get banned! 

 

Did a similar thought ever cross your mind? 

What would be your source of income when you get old or suspended? No pension, no job security, or saving... You're doomed, no? 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
bruce_dodds
Community Member

Tauseef, congratulations on your success thus far! 

 

Online freelancing is not going to disappear.  Odds are it will increase.  If you keep your skills up to date you should be able to support yourself into the indefinite future.    Being banned on Upwork is unlikely if you follow the rules, but I have heard that in rare instances it can happen unfairly.  Since you are relying exclusively on online freelancing, you may want to diversify a bit onto other freelancing sites (sorry, I can't give advice on those). 

 

I can't improve on the excellent advice you have already gotten on saving & investing.

 

Life is uncertain, but I don't think you need to be too concerned about your current direction.  Some of your own countrymen may be able to offer more Pakistan-specific insight.

 

 

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11 REPLIES 11
allpurposewriter
Community Member

Tauseef,


Freelancers run their own businesses. As such, you need to pay taxes, pay for insurance and set aside money for retirement years, the same as any other business owner would do.

The problem is that many freelancers price their services so they can pay their bills, go to a movie or a restaurant once or twice a month ... and that's about it. They forget to price their services to the point where they can afford to retire someday.

There are courses online for how to run your own business -- and that certainly includes a freelance business. Those courses tell you how to manage the business end of things, including how to save money.

I would think an accountant or a tax consultant could also advise you on how how to manage your money so you can retire comfortably someday.



Besides, Preston is right.  Not only will there be no money in the future, but 30 years hence DNA therapies will make retirement a thing of the past. And some day, at age 325, you'll qualify for social security. 

Well, if the world continues on the self-destruction course and the pop music will continue to become more and more ridiculous, I'll probably opt out the Hemingway's way 😉

Nah, don't do that.

feed_my_eyes
Community Member

Wow, you're a cheery one. I'm a "little" older than 32, and still have no problem managing to move my decrepit, withered old hand around, enough to click a mouse and do my job - it's not like we're elite athletes, is it. I've been freelancing for over 20 years, so I'd say that my job IS secure, whereas just about all of my conventionally-employed friends have at one time or another been fired or downsized or needed to retrain for different careers. And what's stopping you from saving for your retirement? You're only 32, so if you start putting away a percentage of your income now, you can save a substantial amount in the next 30-odd years (that should be no problem, if you're earning 4-5 times more than you would at a conventional job). So why are you doomed?

prestonhunter
Community Member

Money won't exist in the future.

If you live long enough, you won't need to worry about any of this.

money.png

2e395a62
Community Member

Hi,

 

Nobody can predict the future so the only option we all have is to try to plan for different scenarios. There's a number of events that can happen and destroy almost every plan you have put in place to secure your retirement. Typical worst-case scenarios could be: 

- you have invested in real estate but either the market collapses or they build a highway in front of your house or there is a war and all gets devastated. 

- you have put your money away and the economy collapsed with 10000% inflation Y2Y

- you have invested in diamonds and got robbed

- you have put money in the social security fund and the system collapsed and offers peanuts as retirement pension

...and so the story goes...

 

There are millions of tutorials on how to secure your future. There is one rule though that I find universal - its name is "diversification", which means "don't put all eggs in one basket". Diversify income sources - do not rely on UpWork exclusively. My activity here pays only for a part of the cigarettes I smoke daily - the rest of my income comes from other various sources. UpWork can go down anytime, due to a number of causes - just like an employer can bankrupt suddenly and you lose this source of income in a minute. 

The same applies to savings - try different options, save money in different currencies, maybe invest in gold or diamonds, maybe buy a property in a country that seems stable and far from any political turmoils. Diversification is the name of the game. 

Good luck!

colettelewis
Community Member

My future, force majeure, has time constraints - but all you up and coming designers stand by for a pre-emptive  order for a really cool, ecologically sound, but made-to-measure box:  a small box - as there will be a "trial by fire first" ...  in the meantime, I have to earn the money to pay for it. 😋   

Could you elaborate a bit on this please Nichola?

 

A pre-emptive order for a small, made-to-measure ecologoically sound box? A trial by fire?

 

Sounds like the script of a movie, or of a very big-scale turn of global events.

bruce_dodds
Community Member

Tauseef, congratulations on your success thus far! 

 

Online freelancing is not going to disappear.  Odds are it will increase.  If you keep your skills up to date you should be able to support yourself into the indefinite future.    Being banned on Upwork is unlikely if you follow the rules, but I have heard that in rare instances it can happen unfairly.  Since you are relying exclusively on online freelancing, you may want to diversify a bit onto other freelancing sites (sorry, I can't give advice on those). 

 

I can't improve on the excellent advice you have already gotten on saving & investing.

 

Life is uncertain, but I don't think you need to be too concerned about your current direction.  Some of your own countrymen may be able to offer more Pakistan-specific insight.

 

 

bilal1983
Community Member

Hi Tauseef,

I have actually had similar thoughts. I recently started freelancing, and as of now Upwork is my only source of income. I have had some success by the grace of Allah, and have decided to put all my eggs into Upworks basket, and plan to move into an apartment (was living at someone's house temporarily), and then get married.

 

I understand the sense of uncertainty that creeps up sometimes. Will I be able to continue earning enough to support myself, pay the rent, afford a family, etc. etc. What if my account gets suspended, if I don't get work in the future.

 

Well, I decided that there is an element of risk in most things in life. What we can do as humans is just try our best, and trust that things will work out. Plus, for me personally, having belief in a higher power makes things easier. I just need to try my best, and HE will keep opening doors, one after the other. If worst-case scenario, I am not able to earn through Upwork, I would fall back on the opportunities locally. Yes, they are not as high paying like you said, because one can earn considerably higher than what an average person makes in local currency. But, I will find a way to make ends meet. Especially when I will have the added responsibility of earning for a wife and hopefully kid(s), I will do what I need to do. Until then, I will continue to earn comfortably from home, and hoping and praying for the best.

 

Other than that, I see some good financial advice here like saving, investing, creating a presence on other platforms. It will all work out buddy! 

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