Adding Investment to Your 'Work from Home' Lifestyle

Working from home, for yourself, is something that has really caught on over the last few years. Whether you are a freelancer providing services like writing or programming, a virtual assistant, or an at home marketing consultant, you are likely to be in good company, with many more people all over the world choosing to make a living in what can be a very comfortable way (if you have the skills). Many people adopted the work from home lifestyle after the economic downturn made it harder for them to find or keep work in the corporate world.

What Market Recovery Means for Home Workers

Now, the markets are all showing strong signs of recovery, and the job market is far better than it was a few years ago, but most of us who have become used to managing our own time and clients have no interest into going back into employment with corporate jobs. However, in more prosperous times, many freelancers and home workers find they have a bit more money to play with, and without the assurance of company retirement plans and similar, tend to feel they should consider things like savings and insurance. Freelance working or working from home affords a lot of personal freedom in the present time, but doesn’t in its general sense help you know you will be OK for money in the future if work dries up, you are unable to work, or you reach retirement age and want to stop.

The Appeal of Investment for Freelancers

One thing that you can do, is of course save. Savings, though, can be much less flexible, and, let’s be honest, less interesting, than other things you can do with your money. This is why investing can be very appealing. Investing in stocks or property gives you a real asset that you can have as much or as little involvement with as you like – you can buy shares in a company and just let them manage themselves, or you can buy property and fix it up and rent it out. Whether you want to turn a big profit or simply have a more fun way of keeping your spare money working for you, investing is a very appealing choice.

Keeping Your Chances Good

Investing is not as much of a risk as gambling in its truest sense, because you do actually own something, whether it is a house or stocks – though the value may go up or down. You should, however, make sure you don’t go into any investment blindly. Investment management tools like software can be a big help for the casual investor (check out Broadridge for good advice and solutions), or, if you want to make big investments, it can be worth using a proper investment consultant. Investing in things like stocks or foreign exchanges can be fun and interesting, but make sure you either have time to do your research or have the people and software on your side to make up for it if you don’t!
Investing can be a great addition to your financial plans as a work from home, self employed person, but make sure you go into it with all the best help and information available!