Young Workers: Here Are 3 Reasons to Combine Freelance and Coast FI to Live Your Best Life.
The way we work is shifting, let's shift with it.
Hey young bucks—the way we work is shifting.
“A full-time job with one employer has been considered the norm for decades, but this model fails to describe how a significant share of the US workforce makes a living.” — McKinsey & Company
In McKinsey & Company’s recent article, Freelance, side hustles, and gigs: Many more Americans have become independent workers, they reported that freelance work has become more popular than ever, with roughly 36% of employed Americans identifying as independent workers—up from just 27% in 2016. (That’s a staggering 33% increase in the last 6 years.)
This shift has had a seismic impact on both the corporate and individual level.
For individuals, it means more freedom, flexibility, and autonomy in how, when, and where they get their work done. And the benefits are obvious, with independent workers reporting dramatically more optimistic views about their economic opportunities than workers overall.
And for corporations, it means the ability to run lean, tap into the gig economy as needed, and maintain a more nimble and efficient business.
But, let’s focus on you—the individual.
Here’s what you deserve to know.
If you can get a decent net worth built at an early age, say $300k by age 30, then you can lean into freelance work while coasting to financial independence.
What is coasting to financial independence (Coast FI)?
Coast FI is a financial independence strategy where you save and invest enough early on that it’ll grow to the amount you need in retirement.
Coast FI is reaching a point where savings becomes optional.
Then, you let your money do the work for you, compounding for decades in the background while you work flexibly to cover living expenses until your future retirement date.
It’s like the goldilocks approach to financial independence, not so aggressive that you live a life of deprivation for decades in an attempt to amass a million dollar portfolio and never have to work again, but not so lax that you save the bare minimum through your working career and delay retirement into your late 70’s to try and avoid running out of money before you die.
Now let’s explore why this could make sense for you.
3 Reasons to Combine Freelance Work and Coast FI to Live Your Best Life
1. You deserve control over your time.
“Controlling your time is the highest dividend money pays.” —Morgan Housel
The first and most important reason to consider a life of freelance and coast FI is because you deserve control over your time.
When you work full-time for a single employer, they get to decide when you come in and when you stay home. And if you disagree, you could be looking for a new job in no time.
But as a freelance or independent worker, you get to decide when, where, and how you complete your work.
“By definition, independent contractors are able to dictate their schedules. This means that employers cannot tell an independent contractor when to work unless they want to give the worker the benefits of a true employee.” —Brigette Honaker, Can You Tell an Independent Contractor When to Work?
Combine that with the power of coasting to financial independence, where you only have to work to cover your living expenses, and you’ve got significant control over how you spend your time.
2. Life has seasons.
One of the biggest issues I had with traditional employment is how rigid it was.
My boss didn’t care if I wanted to take 3 months off and travel Europe with my family—they wanted me at work, 50 hours a week, no questions asked. And when my daughter was born, I quickly realized that if I wanted to be the dad she deserved, I was going to have to make some significant changes. Which is why I decided to quit my job when I became a dad, leaning into freelance and seasonal work to cover our living expenses.
The point is: life is constantly changing, but the traditional model of work is rigid.
As a freelancer who’s coasting to FI, you’re able to pick and choose the jobs you’ll take based on the seasons of your life. If you’re a newly minted parent, you can downshift your work, just focusing on covering living expenses. But, as you get settled, you can ramp back up, drumming up new business and increasing your income.
Freelance is a more adaptable, customizable, and flexible way to work, and it’s a perfect fit for your dynamic and beautiful life.
3. You are capable.
Lastly, this path is not for the faint of heart, but you are capable.
According to McKinsey & Company, freelance workers face a slew of financial pressures, from securing their own financial future by setting up a retirement plan to finding affordable health, disability, and life insurance. It’s not easy work, but I promise you it’s worth it.
And once you realize that you’re capable, there’s nothing that can stop you.
The way I look at it, each of these “challenges” are the price of admission. If you want to have control over your time, you’ve got to manage your own retirement plan and sign up for your own health insurance plan.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to figure it out on your own:
Retirement Planning for Freelancers:
Health Insurance for Freelancers
In the end, freelance work and coasting to financial independence just may be the financial independence cocktail you were searching for.
And while it may not be easy, it’s definitely worth it.