Author Topic: General Advice for managing multiple income streams?  (Read 2464 times)

dontwannaworkforever

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General Advice for managing multiple income streams?
« on: October 22, 2016, 04:26:16 AM »
Hey guys! I hope this is the correct topic to post this thread in but I find myself in a situation where I am managing multiple income streams. A bit of background about myself:

1.) Served in the military for 7 years right out of high school. I'm 25 now.
2.) Earned Bachelor's Degree in Finance
3.) Separated and got an internship as a financial analyst
4.) I was commuting 20-30 hours a week for that job and quit (because I'm not about that commuting life)
5.) Stint of unemployment, lived on emergency funds, decided to find a part-time job at my local Lowe's Home Improvement store (I actually have an interview in a few hours and I have been up all night...haven't slept yet)
6.) Went back to school for Master's degree to utilize GI Bill.
7.) Started a business (home inspections...currently enrolled in courses for license requirements)

Now I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing for my career long-term (turns out I like doing finance somewhat but I hate sitting in a chair all day...) but I'm actually enjoying bringing in money from different sources...I also really enjoy the fact that I am starting my own business which is something I have wanted to do for a long time! Here are my projections. All of my projections are for 1 year from October 1 2016 to September 30, 2017.

Post 9/11 Gi Bill Housing Allowance: $21,415.70
Part-time Job: $9,450.00
Small Business: $11,340.00
Total: $42,205.7
My projected expenses: $36,403.13
Cash Flow - $5,802.57
Other notes: fully paid off 04 civic, expenses are higher than normal this year, expecting large refund around $5000 which I normally just chuck into the roth ira

Bear in mind that the post 9/11 gi bill runs out after 2 years so I won't have that anymore after that. My part-time job assumes I start in November and earn $900 a month after taxes. My small business assumes I start getting my first customers in January and I earn $1,260.00 a month ($315 per home inspection, aiming for 4 customers a month). I feel a part-time job works really well with my schedule because I am busy with school and I can be flexible when scheduling customer's home inspections so I can have a constant feed of work.

The tricky part is that I need help with some long-term issues and these are my questions that I hope some of you can chime in with your insight:

1.) The part-time job (assuming I get the job) has 401(k) matching contributions. The employer does matching up to 6% (100% for 3, 50% for 2, 25% for 1). Should I just go ahead and contribute the most I can? (I can contribute up to 50% of salary) or should I not do this because my future income streams are based on assumptions? (such as my business revenue)

Just some more general info about me:  My current investment scheme is a mix of vanguard index etfs: VOO, VTI, BND, and VXUS. I have the following:

$23k in a investment account
$18k in a roth IRA
$5.5k in a savings account
$3.7k in my business account (which I plan on spending for more startup costs)
I have a spouse and one son.

2.) I thought about getting into coding to eventually get into freelancing and making money online but I have no idea where to begin. I figure I will have a fairly flexible schedule over the next 2 years so that will give me ample time. Ideally, and I feel this is somewhat farfetched, I would love to make enough money online to live in my wife's home country (Philippines). We plan to FIRE there one day but if I could get their early that would be awesome. I love where she is from in particular.

3.) Any general advice for a young 25 year old, married, with some investments but weird long-term outlooks? I'm at a point where I can take many different roads but am left somewhat confused. I have also tired for full-time government positions but honestly I'm really enjoying the idea of getting my business up and running and maybe starting another one (I like the idea of self-employment and currently doing research on solo 401ks and the works)
« Last Edit: October 22, 2016, 04:28:17 AM by dontwannaworkforever »

arebelspy

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Re: General Advice for managing multiple income streams?
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2016, 04:32:42 AM »
1.) The part-time job (assuming I get the job) has 401(k) matching contributions. The employer does matching up to 6% (100% for 3, 50% for 2, 25% for 1). Should I just go ahead and contribute the most I can? (I can contribute up to 50% of salary) or should I not do this because my future income streams are based on assumptions? (such as my business revenue)

Unless you have to have access to this money (to reinvest it into the business), I'd be maxing the 401k.

Quote
2.) I thought about getting into coding to eventually get into freelancing and making money online but I have no idea where to begin. I figure I will have a fairly flexible schedule over the next 2 years so that will give me ample time. Ideally, and I feel this is somewhat farfetched, I would love to make enough money online to live in my wife's home country (Philippines). We plan to FIRE there one day but if I could get their early that would be awesome. I love where she is from in particular.

3.) Any general advice for a young 25 year old, married, with some investments but weird long-term outlooks? I'm at a point where I can take many different roads but am left somewhat confused. I have also tired for full-time government positions but honestly I'm really enjoying the idea of getting my business up and running and maybe starting another one (I like the idea of self-employment and currently doing research on solo 401ks and the works)

As to both of these... Passion has taken a lot of bashing in the last decade or so, but... what are you interested in?  What do you enjoy?

A career counselor may be beneficial if you struggle with answering those questions.  If not, I'd put a fairly heavy emphasis on that, for now.  You're young, in a good spot financially, you can take some risks to try things you enjoy that may be profitable, whether that's various forms of entrepreneurship, coding, whatever.

Good luck!  :)
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thedayisbrave

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Re: General Advice for managing multiple income streams?
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2016, 08:14:34 AM »
Sounds like you are made for the freelance/gig life.  Nothing wrong with that -- so was I.  Working a desk job makes me so miserable.

Home inspectors can make a good chunk of change.  You have a lot of ideas in your head about how to make money which is GREAT but you need to focus on one (or two) right now and put the rest on the back burner.  I would focus on getting the job at Lowe's and getting your home inspector's license.

I'm a Realtor-- if you need help with ideas on building your home inspection business, let me know. The home inspectors I work with are reliable & service-oriented (ie always encourage my buyers to ask any questions they have, whether at the event or after).  As far as getting your business off the ground, focus on forging a few strong relationships with successful Realtors (or ones that you identify as having a lot of potential but are new to the game, and you can grow with them).  You mention Finance training, but once you get your home inspection license, I would look into business/customer service classes-- even at your local community college or online (Coursera is free).  Or pick up some books at the library.  Ie learn how to win your customers over, who are the Realtors in your area, because once you have that flow of customers from them, you'll be booked solid (my home inspector books 2 weeks in advance and does 2 a day). 

Also maybe down the road think about getting your RE license, if that is at all interesting to you.  Not necessary of course, but could be a nice complement provided you are diligent about avoiding any potential conflicts of interest (ie don't do the home inspections on houses that you are the real estate agent for).  My home inspector is also a Realtor and as you can imagine.. he RAKES it in. 

Metric Mouse

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Re: General Advice for managing multiple income streams?
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2016, 11:40:49 PM »
My home inspector is also a Realtor and as you can imagine.. he RAKES it in.

I've got friends that do this. They do very well in this business, with very few hours worked, relatively speaking.

 

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