No matter where they live around the world, millennials are in crisis when it comes to housing. It’s not just about accumulating the deposit enough to qualify for a mortgage for a new home but managing the right interest rates over time to continue to afford repayments.
It’s challenging to get onto the housing ladder for any age group, but millennials are suffering the most at present. There are several reasons for this, including:
- Most millennials are bogged down by significant student debts compared to previous generations
- There is an imbalance between the bills being paid vs. money earned – there’s just not enough income to cover them all
- A significant lack of jobs on the market to increase their income enough to save up a deposit
- Those who are working find it tough to manage a work-life balance with more work than life!
Turning To Freelancing
Millennials are increasingly turning to freelancing over any other type of income strategy right now, and there’s a good reason for it. Freelancing allows a freedom to work hours that suit them, which is where they find that work/life balance compared to the 9-5. Also, depending on the industry, freelancing tends to pay more, so it becomes more desirable as a career path.
Freelancing has previously been an unstable way to work because of the lack of continuity in contracts. However, given that we are now able to work remotely wherever we are, it’s easier to earn that income and set the right hours.
Millennials who are freelancing have hope to be able to one day have a home of their own compared to other millennials who have yet to give up renting.
Freelancing can give millennials the key they need to save that deposit for a new home, as it creates more opportunities to earn more money. With all of this in mind, let’s look at ten solid reasons why freelancing and housing matter most to millennials:
1. Millennials Deserve To Move Out
Most millennials are increasingly staying at home with their parents. They do this because the cost of renting a place outside of their family home is often dead money but saving for a mortgage has been too tricky when their income isn’t balanced to the cost of their bills.
Millennials deserve to have a home of their own with their name on the deeds as much as anyone else, and freelancing can assist with that.
It opens new opportunities for income around a current job or as a stand-alone position. That extra income can provide a boost to the home deposit fund, allowing enough savings to finally buy a house.
Millennials – just like previous generations – deserve to move out and start life with their own families. It’s far harder and more stressful to do this when living with parents.
2. Millennials Are Changing The Housing Market
Millennials are currently changing the housing market, and it’s not because they want to. Apartments are the most common home that the average millennial buys, but it’s not by choice. With house prices rising alongside record debt levels, it’s harder for millennials to scrape together the deposit they need to buy a bigger home.
Shoebox apartments are the new normal, as the falling savings rates and stricter lending has pushed owning a house out of the reach of millennials hands. Most millennials are in a position where the 20% deposit is too out of reach, with the average time to save taking more than a decade.
Owning a home may be a step toward financial security, but it’s taking longer to get that deposit together. This is pushing millennials to buy smaller apartments outside of the cities, while also pushing them toward contracting for a better income.
On top of this, millennials are now more informed than ever before about their housing options and the impact their choices have on their futures. Freelancing allows millennials to save that bit faster and understand what their payments are getting them – including the interest rates and the impact this has down the line.
3. Millennials Need To Increase Their Income To Afford Housing
The current job market is dire for millennials. Almost every job has over fifty applicants, from the top graded positions down to the lowest salaries, and that means that there is immeasurable competition in every market. Millennials need to bridge the deposit gap, and this means increasing their income with freelancing.
Freelancing – whether full time or around their permanent position – can assist millennials with funding their deposit. Millennials can learn to manage their time better to fit their freelancing work around their day job, which gives them a higher income before and after starting a family.
It’s for this reason that most millennials choose to have the flexibility of full-time freelancing. To afford housing in the first place, freelancing millennials will find better income potential, better day to day flexibility and the chance to own their own home faster than they expected.
4. Millennials Have A Better Chance At Saving For The Future With Freelancing
The future is never too far away, and when it comes to planning retirement, millennials are often behind the curve. So many millennials are not able to save for retirement with a regular 9-5 job, and so they turn to freelancing to help.
Those who do are then able to direct some of those retirement savings toward their house deposit, with the plan to retire part-time later. This is also an excellent way to manage that work/life balance that we discussed earlier.
With freelancing, the money is generally higher, and thus millennials have better savings potential for their retirement and subsequently, their house.
5. Millennials Are Better Connected
If there is one truth about millennials, it’s that they are better connected than any other generation. Millennials live and breathe technology, which means that they can work from anywhere, for anyone and be paid to do so. Freelancing is the perfect solution for funding housing as it can be done from anywhere at any time.
So, if freelancing millennials need to work into the night, they are not restricted and can take or leave the workload that they are offered. It’s important to note that this can eventually lead to a house being paid off much faster than the mortgage length. It’s all down to the boost that a freelancing income can give.
6. Millennials Crave Flexibility
Finding a work/life balance when trying to save for a deposit on a house is not easy in a regular job with a standard salary. Millennials can work all the hours’ overtime and take all the promotions but doing this for a house takes away from a balance in their daily lives. They see their families less and all for a home they won’t be able to afford when they want to afford it.
The best thing that millennials can do instead is freelance. Millennials crave flexibility to go about their daily lives and make their workload suit them, rather than the other way around. It’s why more and more millennials are seeking out ways to earn money freelancing to buy a house. It’s going to allow time to add more contracts to their workloads as they’re not tied down to a fixed schedule anymore.
7. Millennials Look For Bigger Opportunities
Millennials are an intelligent bunch, with the most student debt accumulated and the most educated among one generation. It also means that millennials are the generation with the most potential when it comes to their skills.
With the right knowledge, millennials can take on more opportunities than most, while also figuring out the solutions to problems that the general public are facing.
More online businesses are popping up than ever before, and when millennials combine their know-how with their ambition, they can find the more significant opportunities that are leading them to a better balance in their working lives.
This has a knock-on effect of more income, and thus more money earned for their future home. Of course, this shouldn’t be attempted without a proper plan and the right idea in place for the future!
Millennials look for more – always more – and that means that they are more likely to be able to afford that dream home with the right opportunities presented to them. Given a chance, millennials will be able to buy that house they are watching, and possibly pay it off earlier!
8. Millennials Can Supplement Income
As we are living in a more connected world, millennials can choose to stick with their 9-5 job while freelancing around it. This boosts their income and gives them a chance to experience freelancing for themselves while making connections in their field. Keeping the 9-5 job while this happens is a smart decision, as bills still need to be paid while saving for a deposit for a new house.
Millennials deserve to be able to buy a house, which is why they are being as proactive as possible to make it happen for themselves. When choosing to have a side hustle and freelance, they can save while earning their regular income, and it is an excellent way to learn how to balance work and their social lives without burning out.
Once enough income has been saved with freelance work, there’s a chance that the 9-5 job can be let go as connections have been established, and millennials understand how their new side hustle industry works. This then enables the side hustle to become the only hustle, and a new house has been bought!
9. Freelancing Allows Millennials To Reduce Negative Equity
If millennials do manage to buy a house, there is a chance that they can find themselves in negative equity. This means that the value of their home is less than that of the mortgage, and it’s a stressful situation to be in. Given the state of the global economy and the financial situation for most millennials, negative equity is a scary prospect as it can lead to personal bankruptcy in some cases!
With freelancing, this can be rectified – if not avoided altogether. It can lift your income, which can then lead to a significant reduction in debt. When you have the chance to freelance online, you can access a global job market and open the door to opportunities beyond anything that you thought could be possible.
It’s always an excellent idea to take a second job on paper when you are in debt, but it doesn’t do much for your work/life balance, whereas freelancing allows you to work from home and do more with your life outside of your job. Speaking to a financial counsellor or planner can help you work out whether you can afford to lift that negative equity, as can reading this eBook now!
10. Millennials Deserve to Find A Balance
With freelancing, millennials can find a balance in their lives. Not only will freelancing allow them to have that housing affordability that the banks ask for during a mortgage application, but they’ll be able to manage their housing interest rates proactively to reduce the amount of interest paid.
Freelancing has the potential to change the way that millennials work, allowing them to afford bigger and better housing deposits and even choose to build their own property should they wish. There needs to be a better balance – especially given the high cost of utilities and other bills.
Rent is higher than ever, and with millennials not being able to afford to move out of their parents houses until mid-30s, it can often feel like life has yet to begin. With the right help, millennials can move forward and afford the house that they want the most.
