One of the things you have to figure out whenever you start a new job is what retirement plan options your new employer offers. If you’re lucky, you’ll be in a job that has a good retirement plan that doesn’t take too much work to set up. That’s the situation I was in when I got my […]
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Create A Stupid Mistakes Fund For Your Stupid Mistakes
A few months ago, I got into a dumb and completely avoidable bike accident. My wife and I were biking to meet up with a friend that lives not too far from us. The bike path that leads to our friend’s apartment winds its way through campus and part of the path goes through this […]
Don’t Know What To Do With Your Life: Why Not Retire Early?
One of my more financially interesting friends is my friend Jay (not his real name). While the rest of us are beginning or in the middle of our “real” careers, Jay still works as a bartender at the same restaurant he worked at while we were in college. He recently turned 30 years old, and if my calculations are correct, that means he’s been working as a bartender at the same place now for 8 years (longer if you count the summers that he worked there while in college).
Bartending always seemed like it was supposed to be a temporary stop. My friends and I all graduated college in 2009 – right in the midst of the financial crisis – and found ourselves unable to get any “real” jobs. I worked two minimum wage jobs and lived at home with my parents. My other friends did similar things. One friend worked at a sporting goods store. Another worked at a golf course. Some people worked at restaurants – typical post-college jobs that you’d expect a 22-year old to have to take after the worst financial meltdown in a generation.
Fidelity Solo 401k: A Step By Step Guide To Setting Up Your Self-Employed Retirement Plan
One of the surprising things I learned when I started side hustling was that doing so gave me access to an extra retirement account. This was true even for sharing economy/gig economy side hustles like Uber or Postmates. Most people don’t realize it, but when you’re working in the sharing economy/gig economy, you’re technically a self-employed business owner. Your business is you and you’re the boss and sole employee. And as a benefit, when you’re self-employed, you get to contribute to self-employed retirement plans like a Solo 401k. Yes, even a lowly delivery person can put away money in the same manner as a successful solo entrepreneur.
Last year, I set up my Solo 401k with Fidelity and this past week, I made my first contribution to it. At first glance, the process seemed pretty intimidating, but it actually turned out to be much easier than I expected. This post walks you through the entire process of setting up and contributing to your Solo 401k.
For The New Investor – It Doesn’t Matter What The Market Is Doing Now
A question I often get from people beginning their working careers is whether they should wait for the market to cool off a bit before they get started investing. For the new investor, my response is always the same – ignore whatever the market is doing and just get started now. Of course, I totally […]
How Much Can You Contribute To Your Solo 401k?
My brother recently asked me to help him figure out how much he can contribute to his Solo 401k. He has a pretty successful business in which he’s a sole proprietor – last year, he made well over six-figures in net revenue. When you have a business that makes that much, it’s really important to […]