Retirement Planning Dreams

I’m taking a different approach with this post. I have been running my own business(es) for the past several years while I am also working a fulltime job. I’ve recently built my business quite a bit that I am now seeing stronger income potential with my side businesses than my regular day job. I’ve been living off of my paycheck and socking away all my side business income pretty much exclusively for the lifetime of my businesses, but now I’m beginning to question my current situation.

I’ve been fortunate that I can stash all my freelance earnings in savings while paying my mortgage, credit card bills, and other expenses with my paycheck’s earnings. However, I recently noticed how much money I’ve stashed in the bank and it’s not growing very quickly with the 1% or less APY that I’m earning. My new plan is to speak with a financial advisor and consider maxing out my 401(k) with the most money I can contribute in a year. I already have the company match, so now I may look into increasing it to the largest portion of my paycheck that I can contribute.

I also have already contributed to a SEP IRA for the past two years with my side business income. I will continue to max those out as well, but I’ve already contributed the maximum to my SEP IRA both years so far. My other thoughts are to start a college fund for any children we might have, and to keep saving and eventually buy a beach house! I like both of those ideas – they are a bit more exciting to me than retirement, but that is purely because I just turned 30 this year so those are the things on my mind for the immediate future.

I’ll be sure to follow up and share what I end up doing – if anyone has similar experiences or advice, please feel free to share in our comments below!

Filed under: Early Savings, Retirement Income on August 14th, 2011