I'm excited! I spent about 4 months at the end/beginning of the year working for a lady who has been writing her grandmother's memoirs (typing, formatting, editing, proofreading, internet research, etc.). She went to her "winter cottage" from February until the end of May so all work stopped while she was gone (she's kind of old school and didn't want to do electronic or snail mail type work). Well, she's back and she just called me to say that she has a TON of stuff for me to do! Woohoo! I am so flippin excited, I can't stand it...lol

I plan on putting all of the money I make back into my business, so now I just need to make a list and try to prioritize my spending so that I make sure to get the most important things taken care of first. I think I've also decided to save 10% of my paycheck away to put towards my business.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by StephanieP

I think I've also decided to save 10% of my paycheck away to put towards my business.

The financial planner in me can't resist reminding you to put 10% away towards your retirement too.

Congrats!!!

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Amanda Moore
Virtual Assistant
VagabondetteVA Blog

And 15%+ for self employment taxes

Congrats on this great news! It's always hard when a working relationship ends (even temporarily) and there's nothing to be done about it. The fact that she got in touch with you again says volumes about your value to her - once you're settled in with her again it might be good to ask her outright for referrals to any of her friends or colleagues who may benefit from working with a virtual assistant.

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Woo-hoo!

Great idea to put the money back into your business. You'll be up and running full-time before you know it!

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

Originally Posted by VagabondetteVA

The financial planner in me can't resist reminding you to put 10% away towards your retirement too. Congrats!!!

I already have a 403(b) with my JOB

But I will probably start an IRA or something like that when I get my business going.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by Tess

And 15%+ for self employment taxes Congrats on this great news! It's always hard when a working relationship ends (even temporarily) and there's nothing to be done about it. The fact that she got in touch with you again says volumes about your value to her - once you're settled in with her again it might be good to ask her outright for referrals to any of her friends or colleagues who may benefit from working with a virtual assistant.

Oh, yeah, can ya'll rain on my parade any more...lol

Actually, I didn't even think of that since I haven't registered my business yet, but after went I went through this tax season (having the IRS consider me being self-employed when I just thought I was trying to pick up a bit of extra cash...lol) because of being unemployed, I will definitely do that.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Congrats Stephanie! That is fantastic news and it is always great when an old client comes back. The best business is repeat business

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Darlene Victoria Gonzalez
The Voice & Vision Behind Your Business

An IRA is a great idea, particularly if you can do a Roth. In fact, it's a strong possibility that you should do a Roth before your 403b...but that's a whole other conversation.

Hmmm...perhaps I should do a seminar on retirement savings for self employed folks...

Whatever you do with the money, at least it's coming in which is the main point!

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Amanda Moore
Virtual Assistant
VagabondetteVA Blog

That might actually be a pretty good idea. I have a hard time management my checkbook let alone my retirement...lol (But, for some odd reason, I seem to be pretty good at managing other people's money. Go figure.)

Question for ya, what do you mean about doing a ROTH beforea 403(b)/401(k)? The money would be coming out for both, right? Do you mean that it's better to start a ROTH before you ever join a 403(b)? If that's the case, then I'm about 18 years too late...lol

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

For most people, it makes the most sense to save for retirement in the following order:

1 - contribute to an employer plan only enough to get full matching money
2 - contribute to a Roth
3 - pay off all high rate debt
4 - max out your employer plan
5 - contribute to a taxable account

Basically, unless your employer is giving you free money when you participate in their plan it's almost always better to invest on your own first.

Now, for self employed people it's different but I'd have to do more research to make specific recommendations since that's not my area of expertise. Maybe I will get some info together and do that class.

BTW - I'm also much better at managing other people's stuff than my own.

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Amanda Moore
Virtual Assistant
VagabondetteVA Blog