I am turning 50 -I freelance - I have no retirement savings, what can I do?

Question

As a freelance decorator and character actor, I experience a roller coaster income ride: Some months are good, many are bad, and some are just down right frightening! The good months let me survive the bad ones but never enough cash to save. Is there any way I can begin to save for retirement with such an unpredictable income?

/sigh ... I would just like to experience a few years of my life without having to worry about money...

Answer 1

You cannot save for retirement if you cannot support yourself now. That's the harsh but correct answer. If you're 50 and you can't put any money away on your earnings, you need to find a full-time job. You should consider what experience you have and get a 9-to-5 that allows you to do your decorating on weekends, and perhaps try to go to look-sees on lunch. If you would like to go a few years without worrying about money, try something like reception where the hours are well-defined and the salary is low but reliable. Cut your expenses to the bone and get some money into stocks, CDs, IRAs, whatever, but do it now. Good luck.

Answer 2

You have to just do it...there will never be enough money. Set aside a small percentage of your income such as 10%. Put it into an ira every year as soon as you can.

Can't do it? If your income decreased 10% you would find a way to survive. So you can do it? Do you have the discipline to make it work? Yes!

Answer 3

After a really good month, put maybe......$1,000 in an ING Direct savings account. The interest rate there is 4.25% which is amazing for a savings account. just sit back and watch it grow. after each good month, just top that account up alittle and u will see your money start to grow. OR, get a CD or Money Market from ING Direct (b/c if you know when exactly you plan on retiring you can set your CD for a timeframe which may get u a rate significantly higher then 4.25%, but at time of expiration the money MUST come out.

Answer 4

Try investing some of your money, and maybe cut back on spending if possible when you do. Penny stocks are pretty cheap, and if you play it well enough, you can make some good money in a day without committing alot of what cash you do have. You could always go back to college and get some kind of associates degree or something so that you can have a steady job. My mother-in-law went back to school when she was in her late 50's and got a nursing degree.

Answer 5

I will also be turning 50 and was in the same position.

1. added up all credit card/loan debts, paying interest rates of over 19% on consumable goods is insane.

2, wrote down all fixed monthly costs, ie:rent, cable tv,phones,insurance,magazines

3.wrote down every penny I spent for 1 month.

I found that I blew a lot of money on things like coffee,impulsive magazines at newstand prices.

my fixes ?

I used tax return money and paid off my credit card debt. I then dedicated the money that I had been going to CC payments to a new savings account.

I bought an insulated lunch bag and began bringing my lunch to work, I also brought a coffemaker to work. Magazines ? I decided upon 3 that are must reads and searched online, did you know you can often get them for free or almost free.

I got myself a library card,it saves me a bundle on books and movie rentals.


I called the customer retention dept of my cable company and negotated MUCH lower rates for service. I pulled cable tv boxes out of bedrooms and returned them, I bought my own cable modem, slashing my cable bills considerably.

I replaced a couple of really old appliances and found that my light bill got much lower !

I put my debt card in the freezer- I make the trip to the bank x1 per week,when that weeks misc money's gone,it's gone, no more using debt cards to purchase overpriced latte's

In short, one month of documenting every penny I spent showed me my money style, I am a fritterer of funds.Once I took control of this there is now always enough money for me to pay my savings first.

I now have over 5k saved and am getting ready
to move some money into high yield but still liquid money market.

Answer 6

you could get a sugar daddy/mommy that could help the money woes. But on the serious side the best way would be to curve your spending so that you can set aside some money for investing. But keep it safe in an IRA or maybe in some bond mutual funds. You could get a second part time job, that would give you a nice consistent source of income which may give you money for investing in that IRA.
I hope it all works out for you
GCJ

Answer 7

Learn to spot investments that are not time consuming, but that will cash flow. Don't get caught up on ROI (return on investment), just think about cash flow and how much time they will take. Real estate is good and small businesses are even better.

Don't blow your dough the next time you fall into a big chunk of cash. Find something easy to run that cash flows and buy it. Keep on doing this until you can replace you income.

Examples to research-
-Cheap rental properties
-Vending Machines
-Luandromats
-Dry Cleaners
-Tax liens
-Hard Money Loans
-Franchises
-Any "absentee owner" business

Answer 8

Penny stocks are loosely categorized companies with share prices of below $5 and with market caps of under $200 million. They are sometimes referred to as "the slot machines of the equity market" because of the money involved. There may be a good place for penny stocks in the portfolio of an experienced, advanced investor, however, if you follow this guide you will learn the most efficient strategies https://tr.im/ed075

Answer 9

Find a very reputable broker and make some money investing. The best way to make money is in real estate, buying older homes and fixing them up. Talk to a banker and have your plan all mapped out as far as how much you will need to get started and go in with confidence and tell them your plans, or if you know someone you trust to go into it with you the first time that would help. Best Wishes to You!!

Answer 10

You could do what I do, I'm 47 and I don't have any savings but I don't worry about it because I live a "kingdom first" lifestyle.

"No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and he will love the other, or else he will be devoted to the one, and he will despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. "Because of this I say to you, do not worry about your life--what you shall eat, or what you shall drink--nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor do they gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? Which of you by worrying is able to add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither labor, nor spin; and yet I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. But if God thus clothes the grass of the field, which exists today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we put on?' "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own affairs. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:24-34