AN INVESTMENT WEBSITE FOR FREELANCERS
and single-person companies
A freelance film crew doing their thing.
Are you tired of working gig after gig without putting your money to work for later in your career? Read on to discover simple, sensible investing for freelancers.
— We will get rich, slow —
Who runs this site? Chris Albert, a freelance Director of Photography and investment geek who got so pissed off with the lack of help freelancers and single business owners get, he created this site — it’s all free. Seriously, there is no bullshit sales funnel here that hits you up for moolah to learn the magic.
Getting rich, slow
— The i401k —
It’s just for freelancers and single-person businesses.
An investment and tax deduction monster — up to $76,500 per year. Also known as the Solo 401k, it’s the supersized version of the staffer’s 401k.
This thing will make you rich, but it takes time.
Freelancers investing. It’s this easy.
Investing with the i401k is a freelancer’s ultimate side hustle.
It will make you rich in the background.
The magic is Time + Compounding Interest
Imagine a snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger and bigger — this is your i401k gathering speed and size over time.
The i401k table shows the snowball in action, this example starts with just $400 a month.
As you contribute new money to the i401k, the investments inside grow by an average of 7% a year, every year.
See what’s happening? That 7% growth every year accelerates the size of the account. That’s compound interest; it grows like a monster over time.
By 55, you will have $1.5 million. Have a play with the calculator at the bottom of the page.
This is how you get rich, not by killing yourself working, but by investing as early as you can.
The i401k journey - watch that sucker go.
How much should you save in the i401k?
10% of your gross income (before tax) would be great. Earn $100k. Save $10k.
20% is going to make you some serious money down the track.
30% is f**king epic! It will make you stupid rich over time.
Can saving be tricky? Hell, yes. Rent, expenses, SoulCycle, they ain’t free. Do what you can. The early years are the most important when investing, so don’t wait.
SPEND a little less, EARN a little more, and INVEST the difference in your i401k.
Why invest? What’s the point?
Bragging at parties, obviously.
But seriously, later in life, having a growing i401k means you have choices. It’s not about saving and sacrificing when you’re young to have money when you're old and washed up.
Let’s talk about me (check out that ego):
At 51, my combined stock portfolio is $1.6 million. In the next five years, I will contribute $60,000 per year. Yep, that’s a $60k tax deduction every year.
By 55, growing at 7-8%, it should hit around $2.4 million.
From 55, I will stop contributing because I’ll work less but let the portfolio grow. By 60, it should be $3.5 million. That’s the compounding magic.
Having the i401k growing in the background is why, in 2025, at age 52, I plan on taking three months off during the year. Investing means I can start to enjoy life and work less from now on.
Moving to the spending stage with your i401k - Chill-tirement.
When it’s time to start withdrawing from the i401k (after age 59 1/2), you can safely withdraw around 5% from your i401k yearly without ever bottoming out the account, plus an added amount every year to keep up with inflation.
If you have $1.5 million (totally doable), you can withdraw $75,000 annually. It’s known as ‘the 4% rule’ but has been modified after revisions to a withdrawal rate of 5%. Add that to social security and other investment income, and you’ll be sitting pretty. Read The Knowledge post on Chill-tirement here.
**Five years or so before retirement, I suggest you get a plan from an ‘advice only’ Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who charges a one-time fee. I am not one!
Game on! — Next steps
A few hours of learning here and some admittedly annoying paperwork will make you millions. Time and compound interest are all we need — Future you is going to love past you.
1 - Let’s set up your i401k (also known as a Solo 401k). It will drive your wealth and work as you sleep. It’s also a HUGE tax deduction, up to $76,500 per year. Contribute quarterly and easily have $1 million+ by 55. This is not hard — we will get rich slow.
2 - The Three-Fund Portfolio is what we’ll use inside the i401k. It consists of 1 to 3 simple ETFs or mutual funds. This is a well-known, respected, and sensible strategy that works. It’s all you ever need. Don’t listen to the Wall Street crowd or the blah blah on MSBNC.
3 - Explain the stock market. It powers our i401k using ETFs — Exchange Traded Funds. The Market is simpler and less scary than you think, we need to ignore all the daily noise in the financial media and around the water cooler. Get comfortable with the stock market going down sometimes; it’s normal.
4 - The Knowledge section, we’ll chat about other freelancer-appropriate investment issues. ‘Blog’ always sounds frivolous to me. This isn’t fashion or movies, people! Although finance and investing can be fun. Really, it can. We’ll get set up to maximize tax deductions and create ‘passive income,’ making money without doing anything.
The don’t blame me blurb: I am not a licensed tax professional or investment advisor, and this is not professional advice. It’s information to get you going. Please consult your trusty professional and do your due diligence. Carry on and don’t sue me!
The path to financial independence — not being the hamster on the treadmill.
Investing and learning are our best side hustle
Investing is a long journey. Consider a 20 to 30 year time frame, not just the next few years.
Break the ‘plumber business model’ of making money. We don’t want to be physically there to make money. Our investments will do it for us in the background. This is ‘passive income.’
Investing is actually very simple. We use just one to three ETFs (think of a container with thousands of leading US and international companies) and pay almost no fees. We match or beat all the smart-asses on Wall Street.
Work less later in your career because you will have a large and growing retirement fund. This means the pressure is off so that you can enjoy life more. That’s WHY you’re freelance. You’re the boss, not a corporate slave.
It is easy to have $1 million+ in your i401k by age 55, especially if you start early. It’s not complicated; it's just basic investing and the magic of compounding interest.
If you are at the start of your career, NOW is the time to start. TIME is what matters so the money can grow. Don’t put it off until you earn more. It’s the early money going in that will make you wealthy. A friend started her i401k at 27; now, at 42, she has over $700,000 invested. By the time she’s 55, it will be $2.4 million (It grows at 8%, plus she invests $23,000 per year).
Are you well into your career? It’s never too late to start an i401k. The money will grow, and the tax deduction rocks.
It’s not your fault if you don’t know any of this. Our educators and unions have let us down. Society really sucks on this one. That’s what this website is about — one investment geek freelancer paying it forward. That and some oddball humor.
Share the site with your freelance and single-person colleagues. No one teaches us freelancers and single-person businesses. Let’s learn together and spread the word.
We are going to get rich slow.
It’s not hard to have well over $1 million in your i401k by age 55. Try to start as early as possible.
Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern on investing:
“The good news is, I know how to get you rich. The bad news is, the answer is slowly.”
Quick posts on freelancer investing and finance
Investing is not about money. It’s about having less stress and a more enjoyable life because your growing wealth gives you choices. That’s absolute freedom (otherwise known as f*ck you money).
Kick off your i401k now.
Don’t wait until you earn more or the kids finish college. It’s the early money you put in that matters the most. Put in whatever you can every year.
The i401k Guide. Once it’s going, it’s set and forget.
Now head to:
The i401k page will kick that off ASAP. This is the real wealth builder for freelancers.
The Knowledge for different investment/finance articles. Start with the essential posts.
Financial Goodies for the sites, companies, and investment vehicles I use to make it happen.
Play around with the numbers
with this calculator to see the magic of compound interest.
See what effect changing the amounts and time will have.
Principal - assuming you start with zero dollars in your Solo 401k.
Interest rate - that’s the rate the i401K will grow at 7%
Term - how long the snowball has been rolling.
Contribution - How much you put in each year.