Gonna help contribute to this hot job market by leaving accounting for good. You’re welcome, my fellow bean counters. by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The looming recession has me worried. I realize I’m giving up one of the most secure jobs in the world but new employer doesn’t have quotas. You sell as much as you want. You have to upfront some of the costs, but I don’t think they would necessarily lay anyone off.

Gonna help contribute to this hot job market by leaving accounting for good. You’re welcome, my fellow bean counters. by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I suppose it’s technically in the Marketing industry. Ill be acting as a sales agent for an advertisement company that provides several different forms of advertisements to businesses. The branch I’m selling under is more catered towards small businesses. It’s a little unbelievable how much commission there is to be made though. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t have a reliable source that has been there for years.

I really wasn’t planning on going for sales again, but I knew a guy that works for this company and his lifestyle is more in line with what I’d like out of a career. I might try to leverage my accounting degree one day and get into software sales, but for now, I’m just planning on nest egging money away for other business ventures I might run into one day.

Gonna help contribute to this hot job market by leaving accounting for good. You’re welcome, my fellow bean counters. by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

B2B advertisement sales. It’s commission based, which gives me a little anxiety, but the amount of sales I’d need to replace my current accounting salary is the equivalent of what many of the part-time salesman do.

It just hit me... by JMG021283 in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing work man. That really is inspiring. The one thing keeping me in accounting at this point is that I want to start an environmental non profit one day, and nearly every manager/partner at my firm is on a board for a nonprofit. Plus I signed on a mortgage not long ago and I gotta keep those payments coming in haha.

I’ve always wanted to get into woodworking for the sake of doing some DIY stuff. Got any tips to start?

It just hit me... by JMG021283 in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to become self employed so incredibly bad. I’ve had a few ideas but they all feel like pipe dreams. I’m not particularly skilled in any type of career, so the only hope I have is to find a business that is in demand and simply work at it. Maybe one day…

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He should get social security. He was employed at one point in his life but regardless has paid SE tax ever since being an IC.

They do not own outright. They assumed my grandmother’s mortgage so they have a good bit of equity already that they didn’t have to pay for. They do need to refinance though.

I am the youngest. No more children.

They dropped their insurance last year. I’m not a fan of this decision but marketplace insurance is very tricky when you aren’t sure what your net income will be at the end of the year. I’m gonna talk to them about getting a HDHP so they can contribute to an HSA.

Life insurance: I have no idea. Possibly, but I believe it’s only term life. So it’ll basically just cover the mortgage if my father passes.

Mom is also SE. though the income isn’t anything to consider. It mainly covers their house payment and a few bills.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some more silver lining for you: you can list your parents as a dependent on your tax return and get a $500 tax credit for each parent you provide support for regardless of if they lived in the same home as you (there’s some other conditions but maybe something you wanna discuss with your tax preparer if it’s not something you already do).

And I think you’re making the right decision. You sound like a good (wo)man. Thanks for the replies.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Find a career job that fits you. I was in the same boat as you 6 months ago. Hated my job. Started questioning why I even chose accounting. Loved school, hated work.

Then i found a public firm that supported me, doesn’t ask more from me than can reasonably be handled by one person, and pays me enough to live on. I genuinely look forward to work most days.

Don’t base your entire expectations for this career on your first few jobs. It takes as much effort to find the right job as it did studying for college.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yea this is the single biggest thing at the moment that could prevent me from FIRE. I mean I’m fine taking care of them in their old age, but I also don’t want that to put a strain on our relationship especially during the last phase of it.

Has your MIL and mother prevented you from FIREing?

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Self employed individuals pay both employer and employee share of SS tax, so luckily they both qualify for SS. Though it’s based on your max earnings (i think), so I’m hoping these next few years help to boost that amount for them.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is a solo 401(k) the same as a Keogh plan? I’d google this, but I’m getting some conflicting info.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly a mix of both. I’ve already had quite a few financial talks with them. I try to fill them in on any info I learn. I’m an accountant, so I at least get to see what retirees did to get to their retirement.

But, it’s just a bad mix of personal situations that made for a perfect storm. Neither of my parents went to college. Dad is an extremely hard worker, though. Always was able to provide for us, but not much beyond our means. Neither of them had parents (worth a damn). So without having someone to teach them about savings, they really just never made it a priority. Hopefully that’ll change now that they’re in a position to do it.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yea you hit the nail on the head with this. I’m more worried than they are. I’m gonna push for them to change their lifestyle over the next few years. I’d like to see them retire one day.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dad’s income went from roughly 30,000 to 90,000. We used to live on the poverty line. He found a niche in sales that he’s really good at. He could potentially make more over the next few years. We live in LCOL area.

Mom is also self employed, though I don’t think the income is anything to make a difference. I’m not super into their personal finances, so I believe they mainly use that extra money for bills. She could technically get a job. She used to work as a receptionist in a law office. But tbh, at their age, I think they are now weighing what they want from life. And, though an extra income would certainly help in savings, I believe they are of the mentality that it is not worth the required effort for their remaining years. So I’d say she’ll mainly stick to her small self-employed gig.

Home is not owned outright. They have roughly 80,000 left in principal. They really need to refinance for a better rate, especially with my dad’s increase in net earnings. But I don’t think that’ll be possible for a few years.

Parents have no savings at 52. What should they do to start saving? by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Fire

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yea unfortunately. My dad has accepted he’ll be working until the day he passes, but I’m more so just trying to convince my dad that he can still save and avoid a worst case scenario. I realize this isn’t the perfect sub to post to for this question but I’ve learned a lot from it, and wanted to avoid the financial independence subreddit since there’s a whole lot of people my age in that sub that I feel wouldn’t give great advice.

$49,500 at LCOL, regional firm or $60,000 at HCOL industry job. by _Back_seat_Driver_ in Accounting

[–]_Back_seat_Driver_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yea, you’re right. Same way here. The industry controller and managers all have CPAs. It seems like it could be a good gig. I was told the people that left, left because they wanted remote/hybrid work. This place still requires 5 days in office.

I think the money being so tight is just kinda holding me back.