My Financial Plan Can Help You Make a Change to Your Financial Future
My Reasons for Financial Change
In 2011 I made a huge change and moved from Texas to Colorado with my infant son, two nieces, nephew, disabled sister, and my disabled mom. Up until this point it has been the biggest change of my life. Since then I have worked with the same employer, with the exception of about four months. I have worked my way up in the company and am now the assistant manager.
I love my job, but I have worked an average of 50+ hours a week since I started. I think this summer has done me in though. I have worked 6 to 7 days a week, not having less than 50 hours since April.It has been the busiest and longest Summer since I started. Unfortunately that means I have given up a lot of time with my 8 year old son Torrie and my 1 year old daughter Delila.
On October 8th I had to have surgery on my hand due to a work injury, which is still hurting like crazy. I have not worked for four weeks, and will not be able to for at least another couple of weeks. It has driven me crazy being at home not being able to do much, but I am seeing what I have been missing. Even though I have not been able to do much, I am spending the time with my family.
Now I am seeing what I have been missing, I want to make a change. I want to be able to financially work from home and spend more time with the kids. I want to teach them the things that I have not been able to before. I want to still be able to buy them things they need, but be here when they need ME. The next step for me is to make a plan of action to be able to do all of this financially.
Start by setting a time frame
I have looked at a lot of different aspects in my life and I am pushing my goal for a little more than 3 years. My goal date is 01/01/2023. That will give me time to be sure everything is set financially, and still have both of my kids young enough to appreciate me being home.
Three years seems like forever in some aspects, but financially it seems like it will be here tomorrow. There is a lot to do in those three years to be sure my kids will still have a good financial future. Up to this point I have CD's, college funds, and savings for each of them. It is not much yet, but it is a start for their future. I do not want to lose that for them.
Maximize my 401K
I have studied finances for a number of years, and I am fairly educated on the subject. In order to reach the goal of working from home by my deadline I have to maximize all of the savings methods I have.
401K
I know once I quit I will need to either cash out my 401K or roll it over. I have not decided completely on that just yet, but I want to maximize what I have by then. My company matches up to 6% of my contributions. Currently I only put 5% in, so I want to increase that to the 6% once I return to work. I may do more, but that is something I will have to weigh the benefits on.
I will also want to be sure their is no loans against my 401K. I currently have two loans for small amounts, but they will be paid off by August of 2020. I do not want a large portion of the 401K going to paying a loan. I would prefer to be able to depend on all of the money coming to me or to another program.
Research my investments
I am currently using Stash to invest in different stocks, a retirement plan, and my kids a stock portfolio. I contribute a little each week to a few different stocks, but I know there is more financial opportunities in stocks. So I need to research the stocks that I think will be worth more in the next three years, and the ones that pay dividends. I need to maximize what I will have in case I need to sell some stocks once I quit working. I will also check into other stock purchasing options available.
2022 Update:
I now have over $10000 in investments, and made an additional $10000 last year on short trading and crypto trading. For a single mom who was making less than $35000 a year three years ago, I have came a long way. My biggest tip for anyone wanting to improve their financial situation would be to gather all the knowledge available. There is an excessive amount of information available for everyone. To learn some of the steps that I use please read my personal blog Saving Money and Home Finances.
Increase my income and make it work for me
I work in a place that overtime is available when I want it. Sometimes even when I do not want it. I am the assistant manager, so I pick up a lot of shifts. Now is time to make that money work for me.
I can make the extra income work for me in a few different ways. I can put more in savings, pay off debt, or invest it in a business venture or stocks. All of these would help me financially when I decide to quit working. I do not think just one of these methods will be the best option. It will have to be a formula between them all so that I can be sure it helps the most financially through the entire process.
Pay off debt
Debt is the reason most of us have to work so hard. Unfortunately I did rack up some debt when there was a time we did not have much. Once I purchased my home I wanted the kids to have more. Looking back it was not always the best decision, but it has been made already. Now I have to pay the debt off.
Looking at Americas average with debt, I am in the lower portion. With the house, credit cards, student loans, and vehicle I am in debt for less that $125000. In order to pay off my debt I have been paying a small amount extra towards everything I can each month. I do have a plan for paying off my debt sooner, I just have to push a little harder.
Find a stable home income source
The income will be the biggest thing I need to work on so that it will be a steady stream. I am a person that has to plan everything out, even if it doesn't work how I plan completely. Before I can quit working I have to be sure that the income is steady and will not fluctuate a lot.
One of the biggest things I am working on is purchasing another home so that I can use out current home as a vacation rental. That in itself will bring in about $1000 a month or more. Now I have put together what I need, and on the small end I would have to have at least $2000 a month coming in. So even with the house I would need quite a bit more.
I currently write online, have two personal blogs, I sell items on Ebay, Etsy and community pages, and I do things like sell scrap. I have not put complete effort into any one of these avenues yet, but as this plan goes further I will be focusing on them all.
2022 Financial Success
During the end of 2021 I decided to refinance my home. With that money I paid off almost everything I have, including my truck. Once that was completed I applied for a home loan with my niece. We got approved and just signed on our new home in Arkansas. With the housing market how it is in Colorado, I can make enough money to take a year off of work. Focus on my kids and my home income. If I plan everything out in the way I have so far, I will be working from home almost exclusively within that year. I will probably still keep a part time job during tax season, but in all I will be home with my kids as they grow up.