[Jaime]

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice, To give a little bit of context: I’m 32 years old and self employed – my husband and I are relationship coaches and our business is growing.

We started our business during the pandemic and poured our savings into starting the business.

It was the right decision and put me on a path of passion and purposese, but it’s time to start planning for a more solid and secure financial future.

My question is this: if you were beginning your savings and investment journey from scratch today where would you start?

my goals are to have enough invested that we have some passive income and eventually to own a home

[Farre]

IRA is always a good option for retirement. For home savings, a high-yield savings account is good.

[Robert]

The first one that comes to mind is a Simple Path to Wealth. Dave Ramsey has some good solid ideas for helping anyone, and everyone get established with the basics of financial security; and once you have those basic building blocks established, I think you’re ready to move on building your retirement plans.

Bear in mind that there is no “ one-size-fits-all” to FIRE; each individual and each couple has to do what is best for them given their current circumstances; and the lifestyle they want to lead not just now, but when they’re actually retired.

If you do some searching among the threads here – you’ll find a lot of the common factors that go into the basic building blocks of FIRE.

I advised that that would be where you would start; and then hit us up for more specifics along the way.

But bear in mind that this is a journey that will take decades; not years. But I’m glad you’re on board and in this community.

[Janelle]

Congrats on growing your business! Starting from scratch, I’d focus on building a strong foundation.

First, setting up an emergency fund (3–6 months of expenses) is key so you’re not forced to sell investments during a downturn.

For investing, a mix of traditional and alternative assets can help. A broad-market ETF like VOO or SCHD gives solid long-term growth and dividends, while a Roth IRA (if eligible) provides tax-free gains for retirement.

Since you’re self-employed, looking into a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k) could also maximize tax advantages.

For passive income and diversification, I’d consider adding a crypto component—blue-chip assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, plus possibly staking ETH or stablecoins for yield.

The crypto space is still evolving, but allocating a small percentage can provide growth potential and hedge against traditional market risks.

Are you looking for a more hands-off approach, or do you prefer to actively manage your investments?

[Taylor]

If I was beginning my savings and investments from scratch:
1) 3 months living expenses saved in a HYSA (4-5% interest right now)

2) any debt with 3% interest or greater gets paid off

3) 50% of extra savings goes into VTI (tracks S&P500, good growth, currently on sale)

4) remaining 50% of extra savings goes into SCHD (good growth dividend income)

Remember finance is PERSONAL. What works for me might not work for you but if I could do it all over again, this is the way.

Good luck and congratulations on the success of your business.

This is a great problem to have

[Author]

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