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 annoyed with the lack of help freelancers and single business owners get, created this site. This is education, not financial advice.
Getting rich, slow
— The i401k —
Exclusively for freelancers and single-person businesses.
A tax deduction and investment monster — up to $77,500 per year. Also known as the Solo 401k.
This thing will make you rich, but it takes time.
Earn a little more, Spend a little less, Invest the difference.
Investing with the i401k is a freelancer’s ultimate side hustle.
The i401k (Solo 401k) is like a staffer’s 401k, except you are the employer and the employee.
It’s available to self-employed individuals and business owners, including sole proprietors, owner-only corporations, partnerships, and independent consultants with no employees other than a spouse.
**The income must be 1099, not W-2.
Watch your wealth grow - the magic of compounding interest
The i401k table shows compound interest in action — the snowball rolling downhill getting bigger. This example starts with $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 on top of itself every year, plus your contributions, 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 possible.
The i401k journey - watch that sucker go.
The path to financial independence —
get off the hamster treadmill.
Investing and learning are our best side hustle
Spend 30 minutes every three months on investing. That’s it. We use one mutual fund or three ETFs inside the i401k. It’s very simple and effective.
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.’
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 compound 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 $740,000 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.
Prof G (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.”
Game on! — Next steps
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 $77,500 per year. Contribute quarterly and easily have $1 million+ by 55.
If you are a freelancer with mostly W-2 income, you will need to use a Roth IRA. Only 1099 income can be used with an i401k. Read about the Roth IRA here.
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).
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.