2nd & 3rd Part-time Jobs to Pay for Retirement

Photo Credit: www.valuteachers.com

As a ValuTeachers retirement specialist rep I listen weekly to their conference call. I was shocked to learn that some School districts do not pay into Social Security and that some only have one retirement vendor for the whole District. And they were not letting any other company in.

It's been a challenged to get into the schools, but I've begun contacting one by one people I know in the educational field to see if I can talk with their school Principal, HRM/Benefits coordinator, and/or at teachers/staff meeting. No response as of yet, but with more and more employees having to pay for their own retirement instead of a Pension, these payroll slots have to open to more companies.

Prior to ValuTeachers many educators will retire with a monthly income of $1200. However, by contributing to ValuTeachers they can receive as much as $1900 per month. I have talked to people in education and not in education who have said, "I have two or three jobs to make ends meet". Personally if it wasn't for ValuTeachers I would not have been saving as much as I have over the past 7 years. Coming upon my 8th year with ValuTeachers, I'm almost at the same amount of savings as in my State Retirement plan, which I contribute 7% of my paycheck. It forces you to save when you don't have the discipline.

I do not want to work many more years with a 2nd or 3rd and at times 4th part-time job. That extra money for waking up on Saturday mornings to give an SAT Exam to High School students is worth it knowing that is money going toward debt, savings, and/or retirement.

Photo Credit: www.valuteachers.com

Don't be ashamed if you have to work a 2nd or 3rd  job. Only YOU know what your goals for retirement will be. It maybe spending time with your grandkids, visiting faraway family, traveling the country on an RV, a round the world trip with your family/friends, or volunteering in your community/church.

What are your goals for retirement? How are you achieving that goal? I await your comments below.

Rhonda W.
rhondawashington@valuteachers.com

Retirement vs Travel, Emergency Fund, & Debt Payment

When I tell people I'm a Retirement Specialist with ValuTeachers, they want to know for themselves how do I fund my own retirement, "I have high credit card debt", "I want to buy a house", "I want to pay for my kids College education", etc.  My thought is why can't you do both: Fund your Retirement and your other obligations/hobbies at the same time.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.
Personal photo from Rhonda W.

TRAVEL: I love to travel and give it priority in my life. You learn so much from travel. My twin sister Sharee recently shared our love of travel on the Holstee Manifesto page. Prior to 2009 I didn't have a car payment so I saved what I used to spend on car payments to fund my retirement by maxing out my Roth Account ($5,000). My income in Education was not very high so I supplemented my income with various part time jobs (SAT proctoring, working football games, concert events, family shows, etc). Many people saw me at so many places they wondered when I sleep. I make it a priority to not only fund my retirement, but also Travel. 

EMERGENCY FUND: This is an area I need to improve on. You need to have 6 months to a year worth of monthly expenses in your Emergency fund. I have used my emergency fund to pay for unexpected expenses (car maintenance, health expense, etc). You can still do both: Fund your Retirement and your Emergency Fund.

DEBT PAYMENT: In 2009 I was in a car accident. Thus, I had to make car payments again. I bought a used car. With this new payment I wasn't able to finance my Roth Account to the max or fund my emergency account at the level I felt comfortable with. However, I still made it a priority to pay off my credit card balance each month. If I'm not able to pay off the full balance, I pay at least half of what I placed onto the card that month. I use Reward Cards so I get cash back or can redeem the rewards for Gift cards(great to redeem as a Birthday and Anniversary gifts). I still fund my retirement and pay down my debt.

The point is even if you have a hobby (in my case travel), funding an emergency account, and/or paying your credit cards, you still need to fund your retirement account. The standard amount to save is 15% of your gross pay. I looked at my gross pay the other day, took 15%, and it gave me an amount I should be investing. I looked at the actual figures and I was paying $5 more than I should. I was investing 7% into my State retirement fund, $100 into a 403b(LSW/National Life Group), $100 into a Roth 403b(LSW/National Life Group), and $25 into a Roth IRA with Edward Jones Investment.

You can do this. Go ahead and invest in your retirement. Whether you are in the education profession/non-profit sector or not remember to invest first in your State Retirement and then other supplemental places (Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, 401k, 403b, Roth 403b).

Rhonda W.