Home working when there is no other option

Choosing to leave a predictable and stable work-based job is usually a well thought out and calculated decision. However, what happens when that decision is made for you and you are left with no option to return to a normal work-based job?

This might be due to physical or mental health difficulties, lack of child care options, redundancy or significant life changing events and traumas. For some people home working is forced upon them. This week The Money Shed will be talking about how to cope, and earn from home, when this happen.   The absolute ?rst and most important point to make is to remain hopeful. Home working is achievable, and although your salary will likely reduce, there are many benefits to the situation. You’ll no longer need to fight your way through rush hour traffic, or pay extortionate costs in fuel or train tickets. You simply finish your breakfast and leisurely make your way over to your money making device aka computer, tablet or smart phone.  The time that you would have been travelling, can either be used to earn some extra cash, or can be spent with family or on leisure activities. By far one of the greatest benefits to home working is the flexibility it gives you, you can attend appointments, do the school run or take a break when you are too unwell to work. In fact, it’s a pretty good deal.

Crucially, working at home does not mean working alone. You will always have the help, support and friendship of The Money Shed and all its members. The forum site will offer you mountains of possibilities for paid work. Not only that, but our members will always be happy to help with any queries you have about self-employment, home working and job opportunities. Our Earning Money Online section is constantly being added to on a daily basis; just browsing over past conversation threads alone will give you loads of helpful working suggestions.

Also, you don’t always have to be self-employed to work at home, more and more jobs are coming up that allow you to have a permanent contract with a company, with all the benefits of paid annual leave, maternity leave etc. In the last couple of weeks our forum has shared jobs for telephone market researcher, customer service jobs and working for a call centre reminding people of NHS appointments.

Being self-employed or a freelancer means that work can be pulled from under your feet at any given moment. So never allow yourself to become complacent and reliant on one type of work, it could literally disappear overnight. Many of The Money Shed forum members have their fingers in many pies, ensuring that if one source of income fails, they have a backup option.

The tax man will still want to cash in on your earnings, so don’t forget to register as being self-employed with hmrc.gov.uk. If your yearly earnings are over £5,885, you will need to contribute £2.75 per week for National Insurance, and can easily set this up as a direct debit. Anything under that and you may not need to pay any NI. Also, remember you don’t need to pay income tax on the first £10,000 earned, so take that into account when doing your calculations.
So remember, when life throws you a curve ball and work-based employment is no longer an option, remain hopeful that The Money Shed will be there standing by, ready to share words of wisdom and an ear to listen.