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For many freelancers, 2025 has brought an amplification of the traditional feast-or-famine cycle, with longer dry spells followed by intense periods of activity. Nick Gripton, who specialises in animation, illustration, games design and art direction, puts it succinctly: “Freelancing has seen higher peaks and troughs than I’ve experienced at any point in the last 25 years. Long dead zones followed by huge pile-ups.” Designer Sophie O’Connor tells a typical story: “After not working for eight months last year due to ill health, January and February were slow, but things have picked up since March. That’s mostly agency work, though. Client…

So often when I’m recommending a rewards credit card to friends and family, I immediately get the question: “But is that one of those cards with an annual fee?”It’s true that many rewards cards worth having come with an annual fee. But, in my opinion, it is usually a very minor investment that delivers outsize value year after year.Take my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) as an example. This card has a (quite modest) $95 annual fee, and I can’t see myself ever getting rid of it.Here’s why.Earning points on everyday spendingThe Sapphire Preferred has some solid…

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Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) has released its inaugural Future Workforce Index, revealing that 28% of U.S. knowledge workers now work independently, generating $1.5 trillion in earnings in 2024. The study shows freelancers are outperforming traditional employees in several key areas:- Median income of $85,000 for full-time freelancers vs $80,000 for traditional employees- 54% of freelancers report advanced AI proficiency vs 38% of full-time employees- AI-related work on Upwork grew 60% year-over-year in 2024The platform now hosts over 12,000 AI specialists in the U.S. The study also found that high-growth companies are more likely…

The Communication Services Select SPDR Fund (XLC) has a 9% weighting within the S & P 500, which is smaller than its growth sector counterparts: XLK Technology (30%) and XLY Consumer Discretionary (10%). But XLC’s future path is extremely important for the general market’s prospects. XLC is heavily driven by three major growth stocks: Meta (META) , Netflix (NFLX) and Alphabet (GOOGL) make up a combined 36% of the ETF. NFLX (which we profiled here on 4/10) has been outperforming for months and just blasted to new all-time highs after reporting earnings on 4/17. GOOGL is trading higher so far…

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Companies, however, can’t simply replace employees with freelancers without facing significant risks, McRae noted. Freelancers are best used for defined projects with clear deliverables. Using them to do the same work as former employees, without changing the role or workflow, can lead to legal and operational issues, she said. As reliance on non-employees grows, so do risks like worker misclassification, dual employment, compliance problems, and costly mistakes such as rehiring underperforming contractors or overpaying for services. “I’ll see this at organizations that instituted hiring freezes, so business leaders turned to contractors to continue to be able to meet their goals,”…

Gold price dips on Friday and looks set to close off this week at a loss. China says no trade talks are underway with the US, refuting Trump’s claims of ongoing negotiations.Traders appear to be buying into the rumours of a deal, pushing stocks higher and reducing their exposure to Gold. Gold price (XAU/USD) is seeing more profit taking this Friday, and looks set to close off this week in the red around $3,300 at the time of writing. The move down comes amid increasing confusion on what is the status of the trade conflict between the United States (US) and China,…

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By Crystal Lindell Living with chronic pain can make it difficult to navigate traditional employment, due to the physical challenges and the unpredictability of our symptoms   Unfortunately, we still need money to exist in our society, so I cobble together a living every month with various side jobs that I try to make into a whole job. Below is a look at some of those jobs, and the pros and cons of doing them if you have chronic pain or any sort of chronic illness.  One large disclaimer is that none of these jobs offer health insurance. For me, for now, that just means…