#self employed

Welcome back to “What I Did Last Week,” where I share my day-to-day life as a self-employed creative person. All week (and some weekends) I keep track of the work I’ve done each day, as a way to keep me on track as a full-time working artist. Fellow creatives and freelancers, whether or not you choose to share it publicly, I encourage you to join me in this weekly professional accountability exercise.

Client projects in progress/in review: 3

Client projects on deck: 1

Client projects awaiting payment: 3

Invoices paid this week:

Self-Employed Retirement Planning Looks Different

Without an employer matching contributions, you’re on your own to figure this out. The good news is there are options built specifically for people who work for themselves, some with real tax advantages.

SEP IRAs Offer Higher Contribution Limits

This account lets you contribute a large percentage of your net earnings, often more than a traditional IRA allows. It’s simple to set up and works well for people with fluctuating income.

Solo 401(k) Plans Let You Contribute More

You can contribute as both employer and employee, which often means saving more than other options allow. This works especially well if your business brings in solid, consistent income year to year.

A Local Advisor Can Help You Choose Wisely

Talking to a retirement financial advisor in Fort Worth, TX, helps you figure out which plan actually fits your income and goals, instead of guessing which account sounds best on paper.

Starting Early Makes a Bigger Difference Than You Think

Even small, consistent contributions add up significantly over time. Waiting until income feels “stable enough” often means losing years of potential growth you can’t really get back later.

be honest. did you actually calculate it or did you just pick something that sounded fair and hope nobody asked follow up questions

here's the math nobody does. take the income you actually want. add your expenses (software, insurance, all of it). add taxes, which eats 25 to 35 percent because you're paying both halves of your own Social Security now. then divide by the hours you REALLY bill, which is like 20 to 25 a week, not 40, because the rest disappears into invoicing and emails and proposals that go nowhere.

do that math and most people find out they're underpricing themselves by 30 to 50 percent. not a little. a lot.

also: stop billing hourly for defined projects. if you get faster at your job, hourly billing punishes you for it. project pricing rewards you instead. getting better at your craft should make you MORE money, not the same money for less time.

the financial advice industry really said "just budget better" and then built every single tool around the assumption that you get the exact same paycheck on the exact same day every month

as if freelancers, gig workers, commission-based professionals, and seasonal workers don't exist??

took me years of trial and error to build a system that actually fits irregular income. finally wrote it all down in a practical 103-page guide:

✓ the Personal Paycheck Method (2 accounts, 1 rule, zero willpower) ✓ how to calculate reserves from YOUR actual volatility (not generic "3-6 months") ✓ priority-based budgeting that protects essentials automatically ✓ tax reserves, true baseline rates, debt strategy, retirement planning for the self-employed ✓ a concrete 12-month action plan

every chapter has real examples + exercises + checklists. meant to be used, not shelved.

if your income arrives unevenly, this was literally built for you.

grab it here: https://dreamer86jaya.gumroad.com/l/variable-income-blueprint

Welcome back to “What I Did Last Week,” where I share my day-to-day life as a self-employed creative person. All week (and some weekends) I keep track of the work I’ve done each day, as a way to keep me on track as a full-time working artist. Fellow creatives and freelancers, whether or not you choose to share it publicly, I encourage you to join me in this weekly professional accountability exercise.

Client projects in progress/in review: 5

Client projects awaiting payment: 2