There are many advantages when it comes to earning money over the Internet, and one of these advantages is speed. Traditional employees are paid once a week or once every two weeks, and they are always paid on the schedule of the company they work for. On the Internet, the self employed freelancer has much more flexibility. They are paid as soon as they're done with their project, and they don't have to wait two weeks in order for their clients to pay them. This means that they have their money conveniently available much faster than the traditional employee, and they are less likely to have to worry about “bridging the gap between pay days” like traditional workers.
The Internet also brings a high level of anonymity to the issue of payments. Not only do freelancers get paid upon completion of their projects, they also get paid privately. The paychecks of traditional employees often have to pass through a payment or accounting department before reaching them, meaning their payment details have a lot less privacy. Then there is the issue of taxes, which I touched on a bit in the previous chapter. When you're an employee, the government always gets paid first and you get whatever is left over. By becoming a self employed freelancer over the web, you completely alter this dynamic, since it is you, not the government, who gets access to your money first. The amount of money you can save over a period of seven years based on this simple statement alone has enormous implications towards your ability to build long term wealth.
When you're paid over the web, even though your money doesn't go through the hands of the government first, it does go through the hands of the company you process your payments through. There are many payment processors available over the Internet, and one of the most prominent is Paypal. For most Internet freelancers, Paypal is the number one payment processing service, and regardless of which field you go into as a freelancer, don't be surprised if your clients request to pay you through it. In general, it is best to set up a Paypal account before you begin taking on assignments.
Setting up an account is free, and can be done quickly and easily, but for each payment you receive through a client, Paypal will take out a processing fee. The good news is that this fee is relatively small, as is the case with most online payment processors. Your Paypal account can be accessed from anywhere in the world so long as you have access to the Internet, and the money from this account can be transferred directly into your bank account. While there are some people online that don't use Paypal, most freelancers do.