Financial Independence

Do You Use Work As An Excuse Not To Reach Financial Independence?

Last Updated on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 46 Comments
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I sometimes get into conversations with friends of mine who wonder why I’m trying to save so much money. When I tell them that I’m doing it because I’d love to be able to retire early, I’m often met with the same response: “I couldn’t imagine myself not working. I’d get too bored.”

I’m sure those of you on the path to financial independence have heard that same remark as well. It’s all well and good, mind you. There’s nothing wrong with working. If you like your job, by all means, you should keep doing it. Honestly, if I ever do reach financial independence, I’ll probably keep working too. Perhaps not in a traditional 9-5 job, but I’d probably do something that I find fun.

My problem isn’t with people who say they enjoy working. That’s totally fine. It’s that I find that people who tell me they like working often use that, not as a plan, but rather, as an excuse for why they’re not saving very much. Or they use it as a reason to criticize my own drive to save money.

The Solo 401k: The Side Hustler’s Bonus Retirement Account

Last Updated on January 22, 2018December 23, 2016 51 Comments
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One of the great benefits with starting up a side hustle is the ability to get paid as an independent contractor. When you consider all of the sweet benefits you get from side hustling, you have to assume that the government must want us to side hustle.

Take tax deductions, for example. The government lets you deduct expenses related to your side hustle for things you might already be doing anyway. With a little planning, someone driving for Uber in their spare time could easily offset the costs of driving that they’re already doing anyway.

Perhaps the most amazing thing that the government lets you do as a side hustler is to save money into extra retirement accounts that other people don’t have access to. Start up a side hustle and you can save some- or in some cases, almost all of your side income – into a Solo 401(k), a SEP-IRA, or a Simple IRA. Depending on how much you make and what type of retirement accounts you already have, you could potentially save thousands more per year in tax-advantaged savings.