Entrepreneurship & Finances: Getting a Personalized Plan

When I graduated college, I assumed that I would be a full-time engineer for my adult life. I had the required degrees and I truly enjoyed the subject. However, sometimes the best-laid plans get changed. After working in the engineering industry for a while, I started to realize that it would never provide the lifestyle flexibility that I craved! After having kids, it was crystal clear to me that I wouldn’t want to remain an engineer for the long term.

What I wanted was a career that afforded me more flexibility every day! Being an entrepreneur allows me to schedule last-minute play dates during the day and to go on vacation with my family on short notice.

I wanted a career that afforded me more flexibility

Entrepreneurship allows me to have freedom during the day and to get my work done in the evenings (after my kids fall asleep) or on weekends (when my husband can watch the kids).

Yes, entrepreneurship has plenty of perks! I truly enjoy managing both my full-time lifestyle blog and my tutoring business every day. I have been an entrepreneur for a few years now, and although I love every minute of it, there have been a number of questions popping up in my mind recently. Here are some questions I’ve been thinking about:

1. If my income is not pre-set each month (monthly income can vary wildly), how can I ensure that I am still making smart financial decisions each month?
2. If I no longer contribute to a personal 401K through an employer, how can I be sure I am saving enough money for my retirement?
3. With two young kids that are growing ever so quickly, how do I save for their education in the smartest, most efficient way?
4. How much money should I keep in an emergency fund to be sure that I am prepared for the unexpected?

These are just a few of the questions I have been thinking about, so I was super excited to be given the opportunity to try SUM180. Have you ever tried SUM180? It’s an easy-to-use, online financial tool that creates a personalized plan that helps you reach your financial goals.

Here’s what I loved about my experience with SUM180:

• You provide all your financial information securely via their website (income, assets, debts, etc.) They even provide you with a helpful document ahead of time that lists all the information you’ll need to submit. Plus, the application process was straightforward and intuitive. I was even able to pause the application for a few days and come back to the same spot when I was ready to continue.
• Within days, you get your Plan, which is a condensed summary of everything you’re doing right, along with specific tasks you can do to improve your financial picture. These “next steps” are so helpful! The Plan is written in easy-to-read language that offers actionable tasks.
• The Plan gives you specific figures that compare your financial picture with others in the same age group! I found this feature so cool! I was able to quickly pinpoint the areas where we’re excelling, along with the areas that need improvement.
• The community forum section of the website is an amazing resource for getting specific questions answered by professional financial advisers and other users of the website.

My husband and I really enjoyed looking over our Plan! It was a lot of fun to see all the ways that we’re making smart financial decisions. For example, even though we have debt, it’s the “good kind of debt” – it’s a home mortgage!

It was also neat to see an itemized breakdown of our monthly expenditures into various categories (Housing, Food, Apparel, Education, etc.) Although we spend more than the national average on housing (22% national average), we spend significantly less than the national average on food, apparel, household goods & more! It’s always interesting to see these comparisons. It has really made us wonder whether we should eventually move to a smaller house in a lower cost-of-living area.

If you have financial questions about your future (and don’t we all?!), be sure to check out SUM180. Before you head over, I have a fabulous promotion to share with you. As a special introductory offer, readers of my blog will receive 50% off a SUM180 subscription when they use the exclusive promo code SIMPLE50. This offer is good through December 2016.

Now, learn more about how SUM180 can help you reach your financial goals and tell me: When it comes to your financial future, what are your concerns? Would you love to receive a personalized financial plan that is conveniently delivered right to your inbox?

This post has been sponsored by SUM180. I was provided with product at no charge to sample in exchange for my review. The options expressed in this post are my own. I am in no way affiliated with SUM180 and do not earn a commission or percent of sales.

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