Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Retirement* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector). We record the content for this podcast at our live events.

This episode features five Financial Planners, all sharing insights into retirement and everything you always wanted to know about IRAs* (*but were afraid to ask):

• 1:23 - Bill Simonet, Simonet Wealth Management 
  • Build up savings first
  • IRA (prioritize AFTER savings) - traditional or Roth, Simple or SEP
  • Once you start adding employees, then add in 401(k)s
  • Income matters for IRAs, Revenue matters for 401(k)s
  • Separate personal assets from professional, build savings for small business. Become "ramen profitable" - then start focusing on IRAs and 401(k)s
• 7:26 - Chris Baum, Palermo Wealth Management
  • Vehicles for small business owners - SEP IRA, Simple IRA and Solo 401(k)
    • He's a huge fan of Solo 401(k)
  • Competition has made everything A-MAZING for the consumer, many custodians have similar fees, so it's really about finding the best fit for you.
  • Custodians - hold your money, open your account, facilitate the trade
    • TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, Betterment.com, Wealthfront
    • Make sure there's no account opening fees, inactivity fees, no account closing fees
  • Roth 401(k) - you don't get a tax break the year you make a contribution, but you take it out tax free
    
    • You can always get your contributions back out of a Roth IRA without a penalty (same rules don't apply to earnings)
  • Keep a separate "tinkering" account for investing in things like "water cooler" stocks
• 14:35 - Sophia Bera, Gen Y Planning
  • 4 types of IRAs
    • IRA Rollover - moving a retirement account into your own plan
      • If you cash it out, you have to pay a 10% penalty AND taxes
    • Regular IRA - Up to $5.5K tax deduction for contributions made to IRA
    • Roth IRA - Pay taxes up front, but it grows tax free. In early stages of business it's very ideal as you're in a lower tax bracket then you will be in the future (fingers crossed for you)
    • SEP IRA - Tax deduction
  • Sophia's personal favorite for setting up a retirement account - Betterment.com
• 19:19 - Philip Olson, The Art of Finance
  • Month by month approach - save for taxes and retirement when you get a paycheck 
    • Save 25% for taxes and another 10 to 15% for retirement 
  • Suggestions for fixed income and a mixture of fixed and variable
• 22:22 - Keith Powell, Austin Divorce Planners
  • Pay yourself first!
  • The Richest Man in Babylon (book Keith references)
  • Save first 10% for your future self
  • Retirement calculator (CNN Money Calculator)
• 24:00 - What Ashland is Focusing On This Week
  • Opened a business credit card and determines which card to use based on reward points for the transaction (5% for internet and cell phone with business card, versus 1% on personal card)

We hope you enjoy the many tips and tricks nestled into this episode about saving money on your taxes through IRAs.

If you like what you hear or want to give us some feedback, please leave a comment.

Thank you!

Ashland Viscosi, Creatives Meet Business