================================================================ FREELANCE SAVINGS TRACKER SoloStack — solostack.madethis.app ================================================================ Four tracking tools in one: 1. Annual retirement savings tracker (monthly) 2. Emergency fund tracker 3. Net worth snapshot 4. Year-end review checklist ================================================================ TRACKER 1: ANNUAL RETIREMENT SAVINGS — MONTHLY LOG ================================================================ TARGET CONTRIBUTION RATE: ________% of gross income ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION GOAL: $____________ ACCOUNT TYPE(S): __________________________ Instructions: - Log gross income, retirement contribution, and % each month - Calculate running YTD total to stay on pace - Calculate remaining contribution room vs. your account maximum YEAR: _______ ┌──────────┬────────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬───────────┬───────────────┐ │ Month │ Gross │ Retirement │ Contrib │ YTD │ Remaining │ │ │ Income │ Contribution│ % │ Total │ Contrib Room │ ├──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────────┤ │ January │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ February │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ March │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ April │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ May │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ June │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ July │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ August │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ September│ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ October │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ November │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ │ December │ $ │ $ │ % │ $ │ $ │ ├──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────────┤ │ TOTALS │ $ │ $ │ % │ │ │ └──────────┴────────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴───────────┴───────────────┘ HOW TO CALCULATE EACH COLUMN: Gross Income: All freelance income received that month (before expenses) Retirement Contribution: Amount actually deposited into retirement account Contrib %: (Retirement Contribution ÷ Gross Income) × 100 YTD Total: Running sum of all retirement contributions Remaining Room: Annual limit − YTD Total ACCOUNT LIMITS FOR REMAINING ROOM REFERENCE: SEP-IRA 2024: $66,000 (or your calculated max — use calculator) Solo 401(k) 2024: $66,000 combined (employee + employer) SIMPLE IRA 2024: $16,000 employee ($19,500 if 50+) Roth / Trad IRA 2024: $7,000 ($8,000 if 50+) TARGET BENCHMARKS: 15% of gross = strong savers pace 20% of gross = aggressive pace (recommended if starting late) 10% of gross = minimum viable pace ================================================================ TRACKER 2: EMERGENCY FUND TRACKER ================================================================ WHY EMERGENCY FUND BEFORE RETIREMENT MAX: Early retirement withdrawals = 10% penalty + income tax A 3–6 month emergency fund prevents you from raiding retirement savings. Build this first. Then maximize retirement contributions. MY EMERGENCY FUND DETAILS: Monthly essential expenses: $____________ (rent/mortgage + utilities + food + insurance + minimum debt payments) Target (3 months): $____________ (monthly expenses × 3) Target (6 months): $____________ (monthly expenses × 6) My target level: 3 months / 6 months (circle one) My emergency fund goal: $____________ MONTHLY TRACKER: ┌──────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬───────────┬───────────────┐ │ Month │ Balance at │ Monthly Add │ Balance │ Months of │ │ │ Start │ │ End │ Coverage │ ├──────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┤ │ January │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ February │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ March │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ April │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ May │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ June │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ July │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ August │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ September│ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ October │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ November │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ │ December │ $ │ $ │ $ │ │ └──────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴───────────┴───────────────┘ MONTHS TO GOAL CALCULATOR: (Goal balance − current balance) ÷ monthly contribution = months to goal Example: ($15,000 − $4,000) ÷ $500/month = 22 months My months to goal: ($_______ − $_______) ÷ $_______ = _______ months Goal achievement date (estimated): _______________________________ WHERE TO KEEP YOUR EMERGENCY FUND: ✓ High-yield savings account (currently 4–5% APY) ✓ Money market account ✓ Separate account from checking (reduces temptation) ✗ Investment accounts — too volatile for emergency funds ✗ Retirement accounts — early withdrawal penalties ================================================================ TRACKER 3: NET WORTH SNAPSHOT ================================================================ Take this snapshot quarterly or annually. Tracking net worth over time is the most important financial metric for freelancers. ASSETS (what you own) ────────────────────── Retirement Accounts: SEP-IRA / Solo 401(k) / SIMPLE IRA: $____________ Traditional IRA: $____________ Roth IRA: $____________ Old employer 401(k) (not rolled over): $____________ Total Retirement Accounts: $____________ Taxable Investments: Brokerage account (stocks/ETFs): $____________ I-bonds / CDs / other: $____________ Total Taxable Investments: $____________ Cash & Savings: Checking account: $____________ Emergency fund / savings: $____________ Business operating account: $____________ Total Cash & Savings: $____________ Real Property (if applicable): Home (estimated value): $____________ Other real estate: $____________ Total Real Property: $____________ Other Assets: Business value (if applicable): $____________ Vehicle (current market value): $____________ Other: $____________ Total Other Assets: $____________ TOTAL ASSETS: $============ LIABILITIES (what you owe) ─────────────────────────── Mortgage: $____________ Car loan: $____________ Student loans: $____________ Credit card balances: $____________ Business loans / lines of credit: $____________ Other debts: $____________ TOTAL LIABILITIES: $============ NET WORTH = Total Assets − Total Liabilities MY NET WORTH: $============ DATE OF SNAPSHOT: ________________ PREVIOUS SNAPSHOT DATE: ________________ PREVIOUS NET WORTH: $____________ CHANGE: $____________ (+ or −) NET WORTH HISTORY (quarterly): Q1 ______: $____________ Q2 ______: $____________ Q3 ______: $____________ Q4 ______: $____________ Year-over-year change: $____________ ================================================================ TRACKER 4: YEAR-END RETIREMENT REVIEW CHECKLIST ================================================================ Complete this in November or December, before the year ends. Helps you max contributions and plan for the coming year. CONTRIBUTION REVIEW ──────────────────── □ Did I hit my 15% contribution rate this year? My rate: ______% Target: 15% Gap: ______% □ Did I max out my available account(s)? SEP-IRA max this year: $____________ Amount I contributed: $____________ Unused room (if any): $____________ □ Can I make a catch-up contribution before year-end? Solo 401(k) employee deferral deadline: December 31 SEP-IRA / employer contribution deadline: Tax filing deadline □ Do I still have income coming in Q4 that could increase my limit? Estimated remaining Q4 income: $____________ Additional contribution possible: $____________ ACCOUNT REVIEW ─────────────── □ Do I need to open a new account type? ( ) I've only been using a savings account → Open SEP-IRA or IRA now ( ) I'm at the Roth IRA limit → Add SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) ( ) I'm earning over $50k and want to maximize → Switch to Solo 401(k) □ Should I roll over any old employer 401(k) accounts? Old employer accounts sitting idle: ___________________________ Action: Roll into current IRA or Solo 401(k) to consolidate □ Are my investment allocations still appropriate? Current stock/bond split: ______% stocks / ______% bonds Target for my age: Review a target-date fund for your retirement year ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW ────────────────────── □ Are my beneficiary designations up to date? Primary beneficiary: ____________________________ Contingent beneficiary: ____________________________ Last updated: ____________________________ Action needed: ( ) Yes — update before Dec 31 ( ) No — current □ Have I updated my brokerage contact information? Address current: ( ) Yes ( ) No Email current: ( ) Yes ( ) No Phone current: ( ) Yes ( ) No □ Do I have my year-end statements for tax preparation? SEP-IRA / Solo 401(k) statement: ( ) Downloaded ( ) Pending IRA statement: ( ) Downloaded ( ) Pending PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR ─────────────────────── □ What is my estimated net income for next year? Estimate: $____________ SEP-IRA max (× 0.9235 × 0.25): $____________ Solo 401(k) employee max ($23,000 or income): $____________ □ What is my quarterly contribution target for next year? Annual target ÷ 4 = $____________ per quarter □ Q1 estimated tax due date: April 15 — retirement contribution ready? Amount to contribute with Q1 payment: $____________ □ Have I reviewed the new year's contribution limits? Check IRS.gov for annual adjustments (released Oct/Nov each year) 2025 Solo 401(k) employee limit: $23,500 (projected) 2025 SEP-IRA / combined max: $70,000 (projected) ================================================================ NOTES ================================================================ • Track contributions throughout the year — don't wait until April to figure out your totals. • Self-employed retirement contributions appear on: SEP-IRA: Schedule 1, Line 16 Solo 401(k): Schedule 1, Line 16 SIMPLE IRA: Schedule 1, Line 15 (if self-employed employer) IRA: Schedule 1, Line 20 • Keep this tracker alongside your tax records. Your CPA will want to know your exact contribution amount. • This tracker is for educational and personal planning purposes. Consult a CPA or financial advisor for tax filing guidance. ================================================================ From SoloStack — Free resources for freelancers and solopreneurs solostack.madethis.app/resources ================================================================