To get a job or not to get a job

[oldtoyota]

A client wants to hire me. I'm considering it after a year or so of consulting.

I like this "boss" a lot. I could work with this person. I'd be in a lower level job than before, but I can live with that if the salary is right. And I am okay not being a manager anymore. I don't want that stress.

I'd be working to earn the $$ needed to retire in 2-3 years. My plan for "retirement" is to earn, as a consultant or something else, some basic living expenses but basically to reduce the amount I work.

Anyone have advice for what else I should consider? I'm trying to think through all the permutations.

[Rezdent]

I might be misremembering, but aren't you FI?
I'd take job over consulting most of the time, because benefits.

If you need and want this job, can you negotiate plenty of free time as needed?

[BFGirl]

If you are FI, you can do whatever you want :)

Take the job, see how you like it.  Negotiate for things that are important to you.  If it doesn't work out, go back to consulting.

[oldtoyota]

For the sake of simplicity, I'll say that I am *not* FI. I want (need?) to built up my nest egg a bit more.

I decided to stay a business owner for now. Thank you for your replies!

[tibberous]

Just out of curiosity, what is your profession?

[Kriegsspiel]

She's a Madam in a latex fetish brothel.

[BlueHouse]

I might be misremembering, but aren't you FI?
I'd take job over consulting most of the time, because benefits.

If you need and want this job, can you negotiate plenty of free time as needed?

I see this a lot and do not understand why people have this feeling. You understand that the self employed just buy our own benefits with our earnings right?  And because we only buy the benefits that are important to us, we can pay less overall. At least that's how it works for me.

[oldtoyota]

Just out of curiosity, what is your profession?

Ghostwriting books and marketing.

[oldtoyota]

She's a Madam in a latex fetish brothel.

I'm allergic to latex.

[oldtoyota]

I might be misremembering, but aren't you FI?
I'd take job over consulting most of the time, because benefits.

If you need and want this job, can you negotiate plenty of free time as needed?

I see this a lot and do not understand why people have this feeling. You understand that the self employed just buy our own benefits with our earnings right?  And because we only buy the benefits that are important to us, we can pay less overall. At least that's how it works for me.

Are you in the DC Mustachian group?

Could you talk a but more about the topic of consulting and benefits? Last year, I calculated if it would be better to buy a 401k plan for myself or stick with the SEP IRA. I chose the SEP IRA since it involves less paperwork and because the 401k required regular contributions. I was not sure if the business would work, so I did not want to sign up for regular contributions and was not clear what the IRS meant by that. I decided I'd take that route for the first year and then re-assess in the second year.

The downside is that one can only put in a certain percentage of *net* income, so my first-year contribution was not as impressive as it would have been if I were an employee.

[BlueHouse]

I might be misremembering, but aren't you FI?
I'd take job over consulting most of the time, because benefits.

If you need and want this job, can you negotiate plenty of free time as needed?

I see this a lot and do not understand why people have this feeling. You understand that the self employed just buy our own benefits with our earnings right?  And because we only buy the benefits that are important to us, we can pay less overall. At least that's how it works for me.

Are you in the DC Mustachian group?

Could you talk a but more about the topic of consulting and benefits? Last year, I calculated if it would be better to buy a 401k plan for myself or stick with the SEP IRA. I chose the SEP IRA since it involves less paperwork and because the 401k required regular contributions. I was not sure if the business would work, so I did not want to sign up for regular contributions and was not clear what the IRS meant by that. I decided I'd take that route for the first year and then re-assess in the second year.

The downside is that one can only put in a certain percentage of *net* income, so my first-year contribution was not as impressive as it would have been if I were an employee.

When I first started my 401k, I also worried about whether I'd be able to keep up with the payments to myself (and others if I hired employees).  I ended up making the employee contribution whatever I wanted (I max it out, but I can change it any time I like on the website).  I made the employer contribution (match) very low -- just in case I wasn't bringing in as much money and wasn't able to change the match as quickly as I needed to.  So whatever I don't get in the employer match, I make up at the end of the year in my Max Profit Sharing portion of my 401k.  I can make this any amount I want.  I feel like this gives me a lot of flexibility in the event I have a down year. 
The profit sharing portion is limited to a percentage of income too (25%), so I have to earn at least 115K to max it out.  Luckily, I've had a few good years in a row.  I'm hoping for a few more of these and I should be in a good position as long as nothing else tanks.  By *net* I assume you mean gross w-2 earnings, and not net income after taxes. 

[oldtoyota]

I might be misremembering, but aren't you FI?
I'd take job over consulting most of the time, because benefits.

If you need and want this job, can you negotiate plenty of free time as needed?

I see this a lot and do not understand why people have this feeling. You understand that the self employed just buy our own benefits with our earnings right?  And because we only buy the benefits that are important to us, we can pay less overall. At least that's how it works for me.

Are you in the DC Mustachian group?

Could you talk a but more about the topic of consulting and benefits? Last year, I calculated if it would be better to buy a 401k plan for myself or stick with the SEP IRA. I chose the SEP IRA since it involves less paperwork and because the 401k required regular contributions. I was not sure if the business would work, so I did not want to sign up for regular contributions and was not clear what the IRS meant by that. I decided I'd take that route for the first year and then re-assess in the second year.

The downside is that one can only put in a certain percentage of *net* income, so my first-year contribution was not as impressive as it would have been if I were an employee.

When I first started my 401k, I also worried about whether I'd be able to keep up with the payments to myself (and others if I hired employees).  I ended up making the employee contribution whatever I wanted (I max it out, but I can change it any time I like on the website).  I made the employer contribution (match) very low -- just in case I wasn't bringing in as much money and wasn't able to change the match as quickly as I needed to.  So whatever I don't get in the employer match, I make up at the end of the year in my Max Profit Sharing portion of my 401k.  I can make this any amount I want.  I feel like this gives me a lot of flexibility in the event I have a down year. 
The profit sharing portion is limited to a percentage of income too (25%), so I have to earn at least 115K to max it out.  Luckily, I've had a few good years in a row.  I'm hoping for a few more of these and I should be in a good position as long as nothing else tanks.  By *net* I assume you mean gross w-2 earnings, and not net income after taxes.

I'm a sole person in an LLC so I don't get a W-2. When I want money, I simply withdraw it from the business bank account and move it to my personal back account. Accountant said this made the most sense to do it this way.

By net, I mean my company earnings after I deduct the business expenses.

As an employee, can I add in the max? Can I be both employee and business in this scenario? I might be confusing what you are calling the profit sharing portion with the overall rules as I thought I could only save 25% of net income in the 401K.