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helping advice for self employed people

Running your own business is pretty tough, isn’t it? Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business owner, there is no doubt that the work can be very high-stressed.  Sure, having your own business and being independent is wonderful, but there are so many things to put into consideration that a normal job doesn’t have. One of them is retirement. Many companies offer retirement plans such as a 401k or some other type of resource to help their employees with retirement. Freelancers and small business owners don’t necessarily have these options. So it’s very important that this gets looked at because who knows what will happen in the future. These are eight tips for getting prepared for your retirement. 

 

Create A Budget Immediately

If you don’t already have a budget, specifically a strategic plan for your retirement, you best get to it. You need to start looking into creating a budget and putting back 20% of your monthly income into this budget, as this will be for your retirement. You’re going to need to factor in how much your living expenses are, how much money per month you plan to spend on a luxury purchase, how much debt you’re in, but you’re also going to need to put money back for an emergency fund as well. There is a lot that needs to be factored in, but this should begin as soon as possible.

Begin Saving

As soon as you’re completed with your budget, you should immediately begin saving money right away for your emergency fund as well as your retirement. It’s so important to get this completed and to begin taking action on your retirement. It’s truly never too early to get this out of the way.  Many business owners and freelancers indeed have irregular paychecks throughout each month. But what money is left after bills and other payments should then go into your savings. This should also give you the chance to look at different types of savings accounts. There are different types and each one has its own perks. A better HSA option is here for you and should be looked into.

Check Out Different Retirement Savings

As stated above, there are different types of saving accounts. There are plenty of tax-advantaged retirement saving programs, and only you can choose what’s best for you and your situation. Just because you’re self-employed doesn’t automatically mean that you’re not able to get access to these. It’s quite the contrary, really!  There are Roth IRAS and the Traditional IRAS, 401k, but many others are looking into investing as well. While the method of saving is highly debatable, many self-employed investors look into their stocks, bonds, and even crypto-currency as a method to secure their retirement savings.

Look Into Additional Ways To Make Income

The side hustle economy is still booming, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are plenty of side-hustle ideas that are excellent for boosting your bank account and your savings too. Side hustles are a great way to network, gain more skills, and they also really help in getting additional income. As a self-employed person, you know that there are weeks, even months, where there is little to no work. This is very stressful, and thankfully there are other ways to ensure that you can get enough income for your living expenses and your savings.

Be Prepared

Unfortunately, a stressful situation can hit at any time. This could involve your health, a loved one, a natural disaster, or even a lawsuit. Whatever the reason may be, you want to avoid any financial shocks if possible. Yes, a retirement account is crucial and it’s needed. However, you also need to have a completely separate account to handle emergencies as well. This will help you out and it’s going to help you make sure that your retirement savings can go untouched during these trying times. Try to have around three months’ worth of income in this emergency fund.

Be Cautious With Your Health

Since an emergency can strike at any time, it’s best to at least avoid one emergency by keeping on top of your health. Health complications are one of the causes for quickly draining an emergency fund, but it’s also one of the causes of early retirement. Early retirement shouldn’t always be glamorized as this tends to be caused by being too sick or physically unfit to continue working.

 Of course, not all accidents or medical emergencies can be avoided. But it does help a lot by just getting started on watching over your health. This includes regularly seeing your doctor for checkups, having a healthy lifestyle, keeping active, eating healthy, and watching out for your mental health.  It may seem like a lot of work at first, but if you want to make sure that you’re able to properly look after your career, you have to look over yourself and your health first.

Talk With A Professional

There is nothing wrong with asking for help, it’s actually for the best. Many small business owners hire a CPA to help them with their finances with their business. But did you know that CPAs can also help you with your personal financial health too? Many offer services to assist with your personal finances and this is something that should not be ignored!  They will be able to give you proper advice on how to save for your retirement while also assisting with coordinating assets and tax planning.

Don’t Rush It

Yes, you should get started on budgeting and saving for your retirement as soon as possible. However, you should also not just completely rush this. If you rush it, it’s going to get sloppy and you may overlook something. Instead, take some time out, maybe two to three hours each week to perfectly coordinate how you’re going to budget and how you’re going to properly save for your retirement.  Since retirement is a major plan, a pre-plan at that, you have to begin working on this as soon as possible. But this also needs to be very thorough too.