I've already started analyzing how I'm going to handle the money I earn from the new job I start tomorrow. Many things will be different since it's a contract job with no taxes deducted.

I remember earning about this much at a job in 2005, though that job had benefits. I was contributing 15%, or about $300 to $350 each 2-week pay period to my 401(k). AND I was prepaying the mortgage, sometimes $100 a month, sometimes as much as $400 a month.

Since this job doesn't have a retirement plan, I decided I'll divvy up the money I'd otherwise invest in a 401(k) (and toward the mortgage) in the following way each month:

$350 will go to replenish an emergency fund; this is important, since I'll need that money to live on if for some reason i become unemployed again.

$300 will go to mortgage prepayments...I'm really obsessed with paying off the darn thing.

$350 will go to my SEP IRA. I created that account 2 years ago but it only has about $500 in it now because my freelance copywriting has only amounted to a few thousand each year. However, my full-time job will now all be "freelance," and i recall i can contribute as much as 20% of income (around $10,000).

So if you consider mortgage prepayments as "savings," my new savings rate will be $1,000 a month. Not bad, considering my modest income.

I also plan to create some spreadsheets to help me track my expenses since they will all now be tax-deductible. The ones I will track include:

* My $443/month COBRA premiums; by year's end they will have exceeded the minimum 7.5% of total income needed to claim this deduction.

* Mileage driving to the city, since my primary work location 4 days a week will be home, and after the initial week or two, I'll just be driving in 1 day a week for meetings.

* Phone calls to the office

* Office supplies such as copy paper and ink cartridges

I don't anticipate claiming deductions for my computer or office since I won't be using them exclusively for work.

I also need to mark my calendar with due dates for IRA quarterly tax payments.

I reviewed the agreement he wants me to sign. It's mostly non-disclosure stuff, but it looks like he only wants to pay me once a month, which seems to me a long time to wait to get paid when this will be my only source of income. I will have to talk to him about that tomorrow. Really not crazy about that at all.

I'm going to revise my goals that appear here on my blog, too.