Slice of Business Life: A Freelancer Goes to the Bank to Apply for a Home Mortgage Loan

Slice of Business Life: A Freelancer Goes to the Bank to Apply for a Home Mortgage Loan 

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Those of you who are freelancers might have had a situation similar to the one in this article. Those who are thinking of going the route of freelancer: this article might provide you with a bit of insight into the financial world of the freelancer.

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You see, there are many, many benefits to leaving the traditional workplace, becoming your own boss and living on your own terms. No more traffic jams. No filling up the gas tank twice a week. No workplace politics. No obnoxious bosses. No superiors stealing your ideas and passing them off as their own. Yes, there are a whole lot of plusses and benefits. But financial stability?

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Let’s take a look as we follow a certain work-from-home freelance writer as he goes to the bank with his wife in a recent effort to leave behind the world of apartment rental and graduate to the dream of home-ownership. Although the writer bears an uncannily striking resemblance to me, we’ll call him "Mr. Douglas."

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 Loan Officer: "Well Misses Douglas, your salary seems quite impressive."

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 Mrs. Douglas: "Well, I’ve been working nine-to-five at my company for four years now, steadily moving up the ladder."

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 Loan Officer: "And I wish you continued success! So Mister Douglas, let’s talk about your salary."

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 Mr. Douglas: "Okay. Let’s start with November, ’09 which was a great month for me. I earned two-thousand dollars." He beams with pride from ear to ear.

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 Loan Officer: "Very nice…And December?"

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 Mr. Douglas: "Yes, December" he begins with a slight hesitation. "Five-hundred."

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 Loan Officer: "I’m not talking about a week in December Mr. Douglas, I’m asking about the month of December."

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 Mr. Douglas: "Ma’am, the five-hundred was for the month of December. I guess with the holidays and all of that… people were a bit too busy to think about writing projects. Things get kind of slow. There’s just a lot of downtime."

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 Loan Officer: "I see." Her smile disappears, replaced now with a stern, stony-faced façade.

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 Mr. Douglas: "But Ma’am, if you go back to April, 2009, you’ll see I made twenty-three hundred dollars, my best month yet as a freelancer."

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 Loan Officer: "Yes, but that amazing month seems to be almost completely cancelled out by…this must be a misprint…it says that in July you earned…this can’t be right…one hundred and seventy dollars?

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 Mr. Douglas: "It was the summer Ma’am. You know, people on vacation, trips to the beach, summer-break for students who account for a great deal of my work. And I guess that was when I was sick for a week. No paid sick-days for freelancers…"

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 Loan Officer: "And six-hundred and twenty dollars for the entire month of August?"

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 Mr. Douglas: "Still summer. It’s seasonal…the nature of the freelancing beast. B-But just look how things picked up in September!"

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 Loan Officer: "Mr. and Mrs. Douglas…I’m terribly sorry I just can’t help you. Mrs. Douglas, you have a steady salary. It’s possible to see from month-to-month exactly how much you’ll be bringing in…but Mr. Douglas with you it can be…how can I say this nicely…feast or famine from month to month. I’m sorry. Perhaps you’ll come back next year if your situation changes…"

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 Mr. Douglas: "B-But…please…"

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 Loan Officer: I’m sorry Mr. Douglas, you might just have to consider getting a real job if you want…

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Yes, there are many, many GREAT reasons to become a work-from-home freelancer!

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Waking up and already being at work. Completing your projects in pajamas rather than a business suit. Spending lunch-break walking the dog in the woods breathing in the fresh air as butterflies lazily float by. Flexible hours. And the list goes on. And on…

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If however, you are looking for financial stability, the life of a freelancer might not be for you. It can be an economic roller-coaster ride. It is a life of not knowing what your salary will be from one month to the next. "Downtime" is an ever-present concern. Time between projects can be hours (ideally), days (mercifully), weeks (agonizingly)…or worse! Despite best efforts to drum up business, it is something which a freelancer has little control over.

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Leaving the 9-to-5 life to become a freelancer is a decision to consider and weigh with the utmost care. Just look at the recent trip to the bank which I…hmm…I mean "Mr. Douglas" took. "Yeah…Mr. Douglas." 

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Image credits: All images in this article are courtesy of http://www.all-free-download.com/

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Hello. My name is Yonatan Maisel. I am a professional writer, published author and business-blogger.

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