Financial Planning for 1099 Life — Not 9-to-5 Life
Most financial advice is written for people with a steady paycheck, a benefits package, and an HR department handling their retirement contributions. If that's not you, you've probably noticed.
If Your Income Has Its Own Rhythm, Your Financial Plan Should Too
You know the feeling. A strong month rolls in and you're not sure whether to pay yourself, save it, invest it, or hold it for taxes. A slow month hits and the anxiety starts before the month is even over. You're not bad at money — you're operating in a financial reality that most planning frameworks weren't built for.
Kirstin Chavez, CFP®, spent 25 years as a professional classical singer before building Artfx Financial Planning. That career came with performance fees that arrived in batches, teaching contracts that varied by semester, and months where the calendar was full and months where it wasn't. She built her own financial system inside that reality. That's where the planning framework she uses with self-employed clients came from — not a textbook chapter on variable income, but 25 years of living it.
Artfx is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and works with freelancers and self-employed professionals virtually across the country. If your income is irregular, we're built for that.
What Financial Planning for Self-Employed Professionals Actually Covers
Self-employed financial planning isn't employee financial planning with the employer benefits crossed out. It's a different framework entirely — one that addresses the tax structures, account options, and cash flow dynamics that come with 1099 income.
At Artfx, income planning for self-employed clients covers:
Self-employment tax planning:
Quarterly estimated payments, deduction strategy, and year-end positioning to reduce what you owe without surprises
Retirement account selection and setup:
Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, traditional and Roth IRA — which structures make sense for your income level and contribution goals
Cash flow stabilization:
Building a spending strategy and reserve system that absorbs the variance in your income without requiring you to live in feast-or-famine mode
Income smoothing:
Paying yourself consistently from variable revenue so your personal finances don't ride the same wave as your business
Long-term wealth building:
Coordinating your savings, investments, and retirement contributions so you're building something durable — not just surviving the current month
Solving for This Month and This Decade at the Same Time
The hardest thing about financial planning with irregular income isn't the long-term stuff. It's the fact that a slow month makes it almost impossible to think about 20 years from now.
That's why we address both simultaneously. The immediate work — building a cash reserve, setting up a spending strategy, planning quarterly tax payments — creates enough stability that the long-term planning becomes possible. One without the other isn't a plan. It's either stress management or wishful thinking.
We help self-employed professionals in their 30s and 40s build systems that work in the good months and hold in the slow ones. The goal isn't to eliminate the irregular income — it's to stop letting it run the whole show.
Retirement Planning When There's No Employer Match
One of the more significant gaps in self-employment is the retirement piece. Without an employer-sponsored plan, you're responsible for choosing your own account structure, making your own contributions, and making sure those contributions actually happen when income is strong enough to support them.
The right account setup depends on your income level, your business structure, and how much flexibility you need. For many self-employed clients, a Solo 401(k) offers contribution limits well above what a standard IRA allows — which matters when you're trying to make up for years without an employer match. We walk through the options, set up the right structure, and build a contribution rhythm that works with your income pattern rather than against it.
Planning for the People Who Depend on You, Too
Self-employment income planning doesn't stop at your own finances. If you're thinking about education savings for kids or grandchildren — 529 plans, UTMA accounts, or grandparent contribution strategies — those goals need to be coordinated with your own retirement and cash flow plan so you're not choosing between your future and theirs.
Questions Freelancers and Self-Employed Professionals Ask Us
How do I create a financial plan when my freelance income is irregular?
The starting point is understanding your income floor — the minimum you can reliably count on — and building your spending strategy and savings contributions around that number. Everything above the floor gets allocated deliberately rather than spent or held without a plan. We build that system with you and adjust it as your income pattern shifts.
What's the best retirement account for a self-employed person with 1099 income?
It depends on your net income, business structure, and contribution goals. A Solo 401(k) typically allows the highest contributions for self-employed individuals with no employees, but a SEP-IRA or Roth IRA may be a better fit depending on your situation. We work through the options together and set up whichever structure serves you best.
How do I handle quarterly estimated taxes as a freelancer?
Quarterly estimated taxes are one of the biggest sources of financial stress for self-employed professionals — especially when income varies. We build your estimated payment schedule as part of your overall plan, so you're setting aside the right amount throughout the year rather than scrambling at the deadline.
Can a CFP help with 1099 income planning specifically?
Yes — and it's worth finding one who has direct experience with it. Kirstin built Artfx after 25 years of managing her own irregular income as a professional classical singer. The frameworks she uses with self-employed clients came from that experience directly.
Do I need to be in Utah to work with a financial advisor for freelancers?
No. Artfx is fully virtual and works with self-employed and freelance clients across the country. Kirstin is based in Salt Lake City, but client meetings happen over Zoom — location doesn't matter.