Posted on 07/30/2018 2:53:04 AM PDT by Libloather
To millennials, the “future”, is tomorrow or the next day...that’s it!
They are so convinced that “socialism” (read: government) will solve all their problems, they’re the grasshoppers, instead of the ants.
Someday they will be too old to “freelance”; cutting lawns and being a greeter at Walmart will only get you so far.
When I started working as an independent contractor, the guy I was working with counselled me about escrowing and quarterly taxes. He said I would be shocked at the size of the checks I would have to write to the government. He also said that if all Americans had to pay taxes this way, we would never tolerate having a government the size that it is.
I’m about ten years from hitting retirement age and thinking how great it would be able to come and go as I please. (I work from home and on the road and kind of make my own schedule now)
But, at the same time, having some form of supplemental income in my field of expertise would also be pretty cool.
The Generation that is also pushing Socialism. I wonder why?
Perhaps they just don’t want to work, never had to. Instead they were brainwashed by their Parents and the Education Establishment into believing that Socialism is a great idea and they deserve a life time of the Government providing their every need...
Here’s the flipside I’ve seen somewhat.
“My dream job is working as an activist or saving the world through a non-profit. I took the job and found I can’t afford to pay my loans and/or have a kid. So I have to quit my low paying dream job and work for a hated corporation so I can afford to live.”
I have noticed that tons of my friends of retirement age move directly from being active contributors to the working world to doing nothing (but traveling, golf, etc.). That is a huge brain drain on our economy.
I had plans for doing some freelancing when I retired.
Those plans lasted just one day as I had slept in and discovered I could do pretty much anything I wanted to do.
I choose to be lazy. Have not regretted that decision one bit.
Of course my definition of being lazy is working on my garden when I wanted to, and working on my hobbies when I wanted to, and going for walks when I wanted to. A nice stress free life.
>>The one thing about being your own boss is that you realize there are no safe spaces.
I agree. The best wisdom is that you should not go into business for yourself because you are sick of the boss’ crap, because when you are self-employed, every customer is your boss.
A person who is writing about how they succeeded is much more credible than who is writing about how they plan to succeed.
Is living in Hawaii the best place to be doing this?
“....Lesson one: how to file your quarterly taxes...”
“...Nailed it! Been there, done that! Not doing it again!....”
Absolutely. Everyone should have to file quarterly. It’s truly eye-opening.
When I first went out on my own, I was shocked at how much the government sucks out of a productive person. My last full year of consulting, I was paying over $25K/quarter and my total tax liability for the year was over $100K!!! Sure, I made some real good money, but I was working away from home, from before dawn till past dusk, 7 days/week. I had no life whatsoever other than working. When I complained to my tax attorney, he had some ideas on how to reduce it some, but his best one was:....retire and enjoy life.
Then one day at a certain location, I drove by a large stream where a bunch of low-IQ types were laid out on the bank, fishing and drinking...I’d see this every day...while I was busting my azz off to make a buck. So one day out of the blue, I took his advice and just outright quit working....DONE! I finally had my belly full.....DONE!
Now, my total tax liability is as close to zero as possible. I went from over $100K to practically zero....and I plan on keeping that way. In my mind, It was just not worth busting my butt off so the govt can suck it out (legalized theft) and hand it to a bunch of low-life that won’t work so they can live off it. Now, I do the fishing, ride my motorcycle, do a little traveling, and fart around in my shop....a waaaaay much better life with less stress.....and a whole lot less taxes.
Yeah. Everyone should have to pay quarterly without payroll deductions of any kind. My guess is that they’ll be voting different on tax issues down the road.
I have bee n doing taxes for twenty years Freelancing is risky tax wise.It’s a good lesson having to pay quarterly . it connects you to the reality of what you actual
lay have to pay.
I see this as a way for these companies to avoid the cost of having employees.
many Microsoftt engineer were self employed.
It’s not as desirable to freelance as these millennial believe.
>>Whew! At least paying back college loans is no longer a problem.<<
And they can bookend that with working their “best life” jobs until they die after never having owned a house or even a car. Who needs to retire? Just work. Forever. And ever.
They’re still not hiring people over 50. Ageism is the last bias being tolerated.
>>Lesson 2: escrowing the money to pay quarterly taxes.<<
LOL — I knew that was gonna happen so I held out a good 30% of each check. I know that was too much but it worked out great since I got the net back when I did the S-Corp calc anyway.
Now that I own my own company I will NEVER be an employee again.
This last weekend I had open for the first time in 6 or 7 months. I had no idea what to do with myself.
I am looking forward to “retirement” but I think that just means I have hit my new target # and it doesn’t matter if I have work or not. I suspect I will work forever (I really want to teach) but because I want to.
I could “retire” now I suppose as I have done the math and could never work a day again and still be comfortable. I just want to be comfortable-PLUS so 2 more years or so.
Billing $250 an hour. Not bad.
I see nothing wrong with this. It is after all their life. I hope their choices are the right ones. Sometimes what look like bad choices turn out to be great choices.
That was my first thought as well!
Also, it's nice to know that the rent will get paid. They will pay the rent, won't they? I'm sure they will.
Seriously, I do think the traditional 9-5 Monday-Friday job is starting to go away and that many employers are electing to go with a consultant "temp" approach to their workforce which will allow them to temporarily hire more "consultants" during peak times (or for special projects) and let consultants go during slow times.
Whether or not that is a good trend remains to be seen.
I have one retirement check already, now working on my second check. Plan on retiring at age 59 after my house is paid off. Would have retire earlier if I known what I know now, how to save money.
Life is short, if you wait until 67, you might not be able to do the things you want due to health.
I don’t blame these young people. Why not have fun. I know so many retirees who worked 40 years for a company only to be told go home. They have nothing but their 401K and horrible heath problems and definitely can’t travel. With China becoming powerful with trillion dollar budget surpluses. We may not have a country in 40 years anyway. Plus companies did this. They have gotten so selfish with horrid pay and zero benefits.
Sitting at work, he says, he saw his whole life flash before his eyes: 50-hour work weeks with a measly 10 days of vacation every year — and he didn’t like it one bit.
Frankly, I don't really know what to say. There aren't many white-collar jobs where someone like this is employable.
In my experience, working full-time for yourself is a harder grind than working for an employer. Perhaps more rewarding, but harder work. To butcher a metaphor...the need to make hay while the sun shines is only oustripped by the worry that comes when the sun isn't shining.
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