Updated January, 2026.

My name is Chris Albert. I’m a 52-year-old freelance Director of Photography and studio owner who built a seven-figure portfolio from zero—no inheritance, no financial background, just consistent saving and sensible investing over 30 years.

I don’t work in the financial advisory business, but I can write with authority about my journey saving and investing as a staffer and freelancer. I've grown my retirement accounts from $0 to over $2 million plus, and I have invested in property—dealing with the same irregular income, estimated taxes, and retirement planning challenges you face.

Financial institutions consider me a ‘high net-worth individual’. At Schwab, as a $1 million+ account holder, I qualify as a Schwab Private Client Services customer, and, under SEC rules, I am considered an Accredited Investor.

I’ve never received any family money. I worked for it all, saved and invested, and had fun along the way. I’m just a dude, playing a working-and-investing dude.

Why the site?

I built this site because I couldn't find one place that explained what and how freelancers like us should set up retirement accounts (the Solo 401(k), Backdoor Roth IRA, and HSA) and what investments to put in them—without the sales pitch, fees, or the overly-complicated Wall Street products.

I've spent three decades reading, making mistakes, and figuring out what actually works for variable-income earners.

Frustration that our schools, universities, and unions have failed to educate people on the basics of investing and the power of compound interest to secure their financial futures also led me here.

This entire site is free and will always be free. Occasionally, some companies I mention and use myself will send me a small referral fee. The Solo 401(k) providers like Schwab and E*Trade don’t pay me anything when you open an account.

In my industry, I’ve learned that the crew around you, the other freelancers, are the ones who have your back. So this is for all of you. I believe in paying it forward and empowering the next generation of artists and single-person businesses. I hope people get something out of the site.

Me
Because I’ve invested for the last 30 years, I’m at a point now where I have started working less. The portfolio I have built is large enough that it can soon be used to pay me an income so I can work less, or not at all. I take at least three to four months’ vacation every year. The advantage of being a freelancer; you can scale your workload.

Links
www.chrisalbert.net
www.StudiowerksDC.com
LinkedIn

Seth Lowe was nice enough to have me on The Solo Creative Podcast. Yes, my podcast skills are only at the padawan stage! I work behind the camera, not in front of one.

If you have any suggestions or think I’ve made an error, shoot me an email at chris@freelancerfinance.net