Have We Become the Slash Generation to Compensate for an Economy that’s Failing Us?

March 23, 2017 By laurasomewherelse in Career, Money Tags: are we the slash generation, changing jobs, economy, employee, freelancer, full time, growth, millenials, minimum wage, multiple careers, multiple jobs, part time, self-employed, slash generation, thirties, unfair Leave a comment

Jane wrote an article about the Slash Generation over a year ago- Are We the Slash Generation?– and it’s one of our most read articles. Why? Well, beside’s Jane’s captivating writing skills, I’m convinced this interest in the slash generation prevails because the slash generation is ubiquitous and is already bleeding into future generations.

What is the slash generation? It’s a generation of 20 and 30 somethings that have multiple jobs and even multiple full time careers. For example: Actor/Yoga Teacher/Nutritionist/Graphic Designer, or DJ/Cafe Owner/Artist/programmer. We all have hobbies, such as occasional running or painting, but the slash generation has multiple JOBS. I’m a prime example of slash generation- my job title is presenter/product specialist/ demonstrator/ marketer/ writer/ actor/ director/ producer. I’m probably forgetting something.

Why is the slash generation on the rise? Well, the economic landscape is changing for millennials in their twenties and thirties- and the changes are affecting younger and older generations as well. Jobs that include pensions are now few and far between and companies don’t necessarily encourage employees to stick around. Changing jobs has become as frequent as changing your socks.

And there are good reasons to change jobs: minimum wage salaries don’t nearly keep up with inflation, most employers don’t reward you for sticking around, benefits are few and far between. So instead of sticking with one company, millennials are going wide and both starting their own companies and working with multiple employers on both a freelance and employee basis. Honestly, we sometimes need to do all these things to pay our bills.

The slash generation is a double edged sword: it can be very helpful to have multiple jobs and skills and to ‘go wide’ so that you have security if certain jobs don’t work out. But the slash generation is also sign of unfair economic times in America- where you can work very hard within companies and still not see anywhere near the kind of money you deserve. This is an era where companies can have spectacular financial success with their employees barely seeing a dime of that growth.

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In America, there has been a 72.2% rise in productivity since 1973 and only an 8.7% rise in pay rate

What Can I Deduct On My Taxes?

March 14, 2017 By laurasomewherelse in Money Tags: benjamin franklin, deductions, employee, itemized deduction, self-employed, standard deduction, taxes 3 Comments

Ah, it’s tax season again! One of my favorite times of the year! Just kidding- I hate tax season. But it definitely helps to know what I’m doing before I file- and I have an accountant. But accountants can only do so much if I’m completely disorganized. So hopefully you have all your w2s/1099s in order and are ready to go. But are you taking the tax deductions you deserve?

Deductions are basically items you’ve paid for that somehow relate to the job you do. So if you’re self-employed and have a modeling business and you’ve bought a bunch of make up and hair products for shoots, those are deductions. But there are countless other deductions for every profession- and you don’t have to be self-employed to take them. Before I list them all,just a quick reminder about the standard deduction- that’s the amount you’ll get to deduct from your income if you don’t itemize deductions separately. So you’ll always get to deduct something.

For example, if you made $40,000 this year and are filing as a single person or are married filing separately, the standard deduction for 2016 is $6,300. So it’s as if you only made $33,700 this year- and will only be taxed on that $33,700. So if you don’t have itemized deductions totaling more than $6,300, then you should take the standard deduction and that’s that. The standard deduction if you’re married and filing jointly is $12,600, and if you’re filing as head of household (meaning you have a dependent), your deduction is $9,300 this year.

So if you think you can possibly itemize deductions adding up to more than that, here are a few deductions you can try:

-Do you own a home? There are deductions you can take that relate to your home including what you’ve paid in property taxes, interest on a home equity loan, and possibly any home improvements made for medical care.

–Were you in school or paying off a student loan in 2016? You can deduct some of your tuition and loan interest!

-Did you have a child in 2016? You’re eligible for tax deductions!

–Are you self-employed and have a home office? You can deduct a portion of your rent and utilities! If you’re self-employed you can deduct a lot more though. See Mashable’s article on deductions for the self-employed. I’m too tired to write a whole new article on this, even though I’m self-employed- theirs is quite good.

–Did you move for a job? You can potentially write off your moving expenses EVEN IF YOU DON’T ITEMIZE DEDUCTIONS!

Also, if you had large healthcare bills (even dental bills) in 2016, or donated to charity, you can potentially write off a portion of these expenses as well!

So don’t leave money on the table this tax season- no matter how nice you aren’t you don’t need to pay Uncle Sam extra money you don’t actually owe!

How Do You Deduct Tips You Pay In Cash While Traveling (To the Bellboy, Cab Driver, Housekeeping, etc) on your Taxes?

January 13, 2016 By laurasomewherelse in Money Tags: business travel, cash, cash tips, deductions, Detroit, self-employed, tax write off, taxes, tipping, tips, travel, write off Leave a comment

I’m currently working in Detroit and just was thinking about when I’d have some time to change a twenty for a bunch of ones when a friend of mine posted on Facebook asking about how, for her taxes, she can deduct cash tips she paid out while traveling.

I realized that I didn’t exactly know the answer to this except that my usual way of deducting the tips I pay out to people in cash is mild guesswork. I know that when I travel for work I almost always tip housekeeping about $2-$3 a day. I rarely use a bellboy to bring my suitcases anywhere, but maybe would use one approximately 4 times a year in order to help me carry something or other up, and tip $2-$3 each time. I’d tip a shuttle driver about $3 about 8 or 9 times a year. Etc, etc.

Make sure you deduct your cash tips to hotel or transportation staff anytime you travel for work. The tips are actual valid deductions. If you’re self-employed, these are no-brainer bona fide travel expenses. But even if you’re not self-employed, if you end up traveling for work, the tips you pay in cash while traveling can absolutely be deducted if you’re itemizing deductions.

The deduction would be under ‘business travel expenses’ and the way you would note them in your records would be to write the tip amount on some form of receipt related to the trip in question. So, for example, if you tipped housekeeping and the bellman during a business trip to Detroit, you would get the hotel receipt (even if it was $0.00 because your company paid for the hotel) and write the cash amount paid on the sheet of paper. Then you would keep that for your records.

This may seem like nickel and dimeing, but these deductions are valid and can really add up, so you might as well take them if you travel a lot for work and are itemizing your expenses.

In our thirties, we should try our darndest to get better at doing our taxes the best we can, so we can keep the most money. We might as well- why lose the money you’ve worked so hard to earn?

View from my hotel in Detroit. I’m here for 16 days, and a lot of tipping happens in all that time.

What Are My Retirement Account Options If I’m Self-Employed in My Thirties

December 3, 2015 By laurasomewherelse in Money Tags: 401(k), contribution, Debt, individual 401k, Interest, IRA, Job, Money, Retirement, Roth IRA, roth solo 401k, Savings, Savings Account, self-employed, sep ira, simple ira, solo 401k, Student loan, thirties, Thirty 2 Comments

So hopefully by now you’ve opened up your Roth Ira or Traditional IRA. Even if you’re not self-employed and have a 401k plan at work, it’s still a great idea to open up a Roth, and it’s never too late. Here’s how to open a Roth IRA right now.

If you already have a Roth IRA and/or a traditional IRA, you probably know that the maximum contribution you can make to both (total) per year, as of 2015, is $5,500. Then you have to wait till next year to contribute another $5,500. If you’re 50 or older (and if you are, you’re awesome and I appreciate that you’re still reading our blog about the 30s), you can contribute an additional $1000, totaling up to $6,500.

Because I’m still paying off my ridiculous NYU student loan, $5,500 a year is about the most I can contribute to my Roth IRA anyway right now. But that won’t be always be the case. So what happens when I want to contribute more than the $5,500 a year Roth IRA cap, but I’m self employed so I can’t open up a 401k at my workplace?

There’s a solution. There are actually multiple solutions.

A self-employed writer friend of mine recently told me that she’d hit the limit for the year on her Roth IRA and was currently holding on to extra money in her bank account while making less than 1% interest (most bank accounts and savings accounts are 1% interest or less). “Roth IRA’s have such a low cap,” she said to me, “$5,500 compared to $18,000 in a workplace 401K. Are we completely at a disadvantage since we’re self-employed? What should I do?”

Holding onto your extra retirement money in your savings account is not a good solution, because your money won’t earn enough interest for retirement. You should, of course, have an emergency savings account, but that account is different from your retirement fund. So without further ado, here are some great choices for retirement accounts if you’re self employed. And these are IN ADDITION to your Roth IRA (which I hope you’ve opened!)

My favorite option: The Roth Solo 401K (also called the Roth Individual 401k)

Why it’s great: You can contribute up to $18,000 in 2015! That’s fantastic, and is the same contribution limit as the one on a 401k you’d get working at a “real job”.. (most day jobs). Also, there are Solo 401Ks and Roth Solo 401ks, but I love the Roth, because all the money compounds and gathers interest in your account for years and years, and when you receive it after retirement, EVERY PENNY will be tax free. AMAZING!

Drawbacks: If you have employees, you can’t open one of these. Only you and your spouse can participate. Also, if you’re self-employed AND working a day job, you’ll be able to contribute only $18,000 to your workplace 401k and your Solo 401k TOTAL (so probably not the best option for day-jobbers with workplace 401ks).

How to open a SOLO 401k: You have until December 31st. Try opening one at Vanguard, which is my favorite place to open Roth IRAs because of the low to no fees involved.

Another Good Self-Employed Reirement Fund Option: The SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account)

Why it’s good: You can contribute as much as 25 percent of your earnings to this IRA, up to $53,000 for 2015. That’s a lot of money! Also, this IRA is very simple to set up. You can probably set one up online in 15 minutes or so.

Drawbacks: You’re not able to make the SEP IRA into a Roth SEP IRA. This is a major drawback, as you’re able to take tax deductions now (every dollar you contribute to your SEP IRA you can write off your taxes now, which is nice), but when you withdraw money in retirement, every penny will be taxed, including all your investment earnings. This is helpful right now for a tax write-off, but not good in your retirement years. Also, this plan may be costly if you have employees, as you’ll have to contribute for them as well.

How to open a SEP IRA: Again, I usually recommend Vanguard, but do your research. T Rowe Price and Fidelity also looked like good options.

Great Option if you have employees: SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan For Employees)

Why it’s great if you have employees: The SIMPLE IRA was basically designed for self employed business owners with employees. If you have a few employees, maybe 3-10, and they make more than $5000 a year, but way less than 100K, this is a good one for you. It’s also easy to set up and should take you 15 or so minutes online.

Drawbacks: If you have more than 100 employees, the SIMPLE IRA might not be the right plan for you- this was designed for smaller businesses. Also, if you have a day job with a 401k, you’ll be able to contribute only $18,000 to your workplace 401k and your SIMPLE IRA TOTAL (so probably not the best option for day-jobbers with workplace 401ks). The deadline was October 1 to open one for 2015, but you can still open one for 2016.

How to open a SIMPLE IRA: Here’s Vanguard again, and you can also try Scottrade, Fidelity, and T Rowe Price.

Hope this was helpful! Enjoy your awesome self-employed life while you build just as big a nest egg as your friends with day jobs!

The glamorous world of working from home a lot when you’re self-employed (hint: not so glamorous).

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Everything You Should Know About Your Thirties

Tag Archives: self-employed

Have We Become the Slash Generation to Compensate for an Economy that’s Failing Us?

What Can I Deduct On My Taxes?

How Do You Deduct Tips You Pay In Cash While Traveling (To the Bellboy, Cab Driver, Housekeeping, etc) on your Taxes?

What Are My Retirement Account Options If I’m Self-Employed in My Thirties

My favorite option: The Roth Solo 401K (also called the Roth Individual 401k)

Another Good Self-Employed Reirement Fund Option: The SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account)

Great Option if you have employees: SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan For Employees)

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My favorite option: The Roth Solo 401K (also called the Roth Individual 401k)

Another Good Self-Employed Reirement Fund Option: The SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account)

Great Option if you have employees: SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan For Employees)

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