Retirement Savings for Freelancers: A Practical Guide

You can absolutely manage your own retirement savings plan. It's a totally doable thing for normal humans. But, if you know that you're the kind of person who gets a headache looking at numbers or just won't want to deal with the hassle of managing the account yourself, consider outsourcing that work to a financial advisor.

Fee structures vary, from flat rates to a percentage of earnings on your investments, so shop around and find an advisor who meets your needs and whose rates and fee structure you feel comfortable with. You'll have to set up a few initial meetings and/or phone calls to get the ball rolling, but once that's done you can relax a bit. Again, it's not the right choice for everyone and if you're a numbers person (or willing to learn to be one), paying an advisor might not be worth it. If you're the kind of person who might never really get started saving for retirement if you have to go it all alone though, it might be worth paying someone to handle the bulk of the work for you.

Saving for retirement as a freelancer isn't as simple as checking yes on a 401k signup form, but it isn't the nightmare you might fear, either. If you commit to learning about the different plans available to you and picking the one that best suits your needs, you're halfway there. And, as un-fun as putting your dollars away might be now, you'll be thankful you did when you get to retire into the good life.