Handymen in north jersey: how the hell do you plan for retirement on these uneven gigs?

Been doing handyman work in north jersey for 15 years, mostly patching drywall, fixing leaky faucets with SharkBite fittings, and hanging shelves with my DeWalt drill. But damn, the pay is all over the place, one month I pull in $8k, next is $4k scraping by on small fixes. I got nothin' saved for retirement, just maxin' out my IRA every year but it's barely scratchin' the surface with these costs up here. Saw a thread on r/handyman about Roth vs traditional, but need real talk from guys in cold climates like zone 5. Someone in Handyman Nation group mentioned a financial advisor who gets the irregular income, but I'm skeptical. Anyone here set up a solid plan without goin' broke? Edit: thanks for the replies, gonna look into that SEP IRA thing.

my retirement plan is dyin' on the job, saves on the funeral costs.

i started puttin' 10% of every cabinet install into a high yield savings, now it's compoundin' nice.

feels bad man, i been savin' since my first toilet unclog but inflation's eatin' it alive.

we're all screwed if we don't union up or somethin'.

set up a solo 401k, contributes more than ira for self-employed like us.

man, i thought handyman life meant freedom, not worryin' about 65.

insurance companies are the real thieves, jackin' rates while we scrape by.

don't sleep on hsa if you got any medical, tax free growth is gold.

my plan? win the lottery after fixin' one more squeaky door.

talked to a cpa who does handymen, said deduct every milwaukee tool as business expense.

watch out for those 'retirement seminars', half are scams pushin' annuities that lock your cash.

yeah, had a buddy get burned on one, lost 20k in fees.

every damn client pays late, kills the savin's momentum.

feelin' this, my roth is pathetic after taxes here.

i use vanguard index funds, low fees and set it auto from job payouts.

started late but maxin' sep-ira now, aim for 25% of net.

pissed at myself for not startin' earlier, now playin' catch up.

avoid 401ks with high admin fees, shop around.

my retirement is beer and fishin', screw the numbers.

same struggle, savin' 5k a year feels like nothin'.

frustrated as hell, one bad season and poof, no progress.

group up with other handymen for bulk investment advice.

set aside 15% religiously, even on slow months.

ira rollover to roth if you can swing the tax hit now.

clients ghostin' payments is the real retirement killer.

sharktank your way to freedom, nah just kiddin', save hard.

we're gettin' hosed by the system, man.

funny how plumbers retire rich, us handymen scrape.

feelin' the burn, knees gone and no nest egg.

proud i hit 50k saved, but need to double it asap.

sharkbite savings plan? nah, too risky long term.

every handyman i know is one injury from broke.

my 401k advisor said diversify into reits for steady income.

screw the banks, crypto for retirement? debatable.

feelin' ya, irregular gigs make plannin' impossible.

big corps buyin' up small ops, leavin' us independents high and dry.

laughin' but cryin', my savings account laughs at me.

use quickbooks to track and auto-save profits.

beware self-directed iras, easy to mess up compliance.

hit 100k last year, feels good but not enough.

fidelity's got good tools for self-employed savers.

started a side hustle fixin' decks to boost savin's.

every quote includes a retirement line item now.

handymen unite against this financial BS.

damn clients undervalue our work, kills savin's.

feelin' the pain, zero balance after tool upgrades.

set up an emergency fund first, then retirement.

what's your target retirement age, bro?

pissed off at tax man takin' half my jobs.

we're all in this leaky boat together.

vanguard or schwab for low cost indexin'.

how do you handle slow winters up north?

frustrated, thought handyman = easy money, nope.

max that ira, compound interest is magic.

pe firms snappin' up trades, bad for independents.

feelin' it, savin's stalled at 20k.

diversify into tools resale for extra cash.

same here, one more bad job and i'm done.

try fidelity's retirement calculator, eye-opener.

collective screw you to uneven paychecks.

what's everyone usin' for trackin' expenses?

frustrated af, retirement feels like a pipe dream.