The thought of saving for retirement has become a goal of mine quite recently as being a self-employed bellydancer, this is something I need to figure out asap! In a regular 9-5 day job, the social security and other taxes are automatically deducted from your paycheck, but when you own your own business this is something you need to either save for yourself or open a separate account for.
Right now I am about to embark into the research stage and was hoping you all could share some of your advice on what IRA or other options you know about and recommend. This is such a heavy and scary topic for me at the onset, but I know it will be worth it.
My questions to you are:
- 1.How are you saving for retirements with your Bellydance income?
- 2.What option did you go for? IRA, 401K, other?
- 3.At what age did you begin saving for retirement?
- 4.What factors do you compare/look for to help you make the best decision?
- 5.Any other helpful advice?
It is difficult to live off of a Bellydance income, I will be frank, so I am wondering how to continue to save into the retirement fund during slow months. Slow months for most of us bellydancers here in Orlando Florida are during the winter holiday season and the beginning of the new year, and one month during summer when everyone with children seems to go on vacation jiji!
Do all of you entrepreneurs out there simply double up how much you put into the retirement fudn the month before a slow one? Or are you dividing by 9 rather than 12 to account for those 3 slow periods where you may not be able to have enough extra income?
I appreciate all of your input and advice on this matter and if you are a bellydancer/accountant even better! Please chime in with all of your insight and wisdom so many of us out there can avoid common mistakes. Can’t wait to read your responses!