A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Lili has found that freelance work has experienced a surge amid the coronavirus pandemic. The researchers gathered 2000 Americans, 50% of who did freelance jobs. They found that 1 in 5 people who worked in a traditional setting and 1 in 3 freelancers thought about their finances about 11 days a year.
Freelance workers worried more about money
They also found that about 27% of the freelancers saved up for retirement compared to 41% of full-time workers. About 62% of them also worried about saving enough money for emergencies compares to 52% of full-time employees, and they feared more about paying their bills (60%). In comparison, 52% of full-time employees worried about their bills.
The researchers also asked the study participants about how they managed their money. They found that about 35% of the respondents tried to make a budget every month. However, most of them found it hard to stick to it.
The reason for this was their bad spending habits such as buying fast food, spending a lot of money on gifts, buying things they wouldn’t use, impulse buying and overspending. For this reason, about 1 in 3 of the respondents said their finances were the most minor organized sector of their lives. Both freelancers and full-time workers showed concern about their spending.
Approximately 53% of the respondents were worried about not having saved enough for emergencies. However, only 17% had an emergency fund.
Americans struggle with their taxes
Respondents also seemed to struggle with their taxes, with 53% not being sure of the deductions they could claim on their tax returns. As a result, 44% of the participants worried about not claiming things properly, while 2 in 5 experienced anxiety when doing their taxes.
According to a spokesperson for Lili, managing taxes and expenses is harder for freelancers hence the need for solutions designed for freelancers. The freelancer community is becoming more prominent, and it is apparent that freelancers try to find ways to save for taxes and emergencies.
When researchers asked for areas respondents would like to spend more, 43% of them said vacations. However, the rest of the items mentioned were essential. They included home repairs (30%), food (33%), and clothing (34%).
