Helen Gonzalez is shifting gears. The 41-year-old just left a long-term relationship, bought a home in Bronxville, N.Y., and now she wants to build her business and accelerate her retirement savings.  Ms. Gonzalez is a consultant helping small companies and wealthy individuals manage their books and back offices. She would like to expand but currently is a one-woman shop.  “I’m not sure how much more my business can grow without putting more money into it,” she says. She also wants to begin saving in a tax-advantaged retirement account. For the past decade she has saved a significant amount of money, but kept most of it liquid to help her buy a home.  Her business gross varies from $7,000 to $10,000 a month. After expenses, she has between $3,000 and $6,000. She also receives about $5,000 a month from her ex, but those payments are set to end this spring.  Her monthly living expenses include: $1,000 on groceries and dining out, $250 for utilities, $260 for phone, $175 for cable, $330 on train and subway passes, about $125 on home insurance and $130 for car insurance. Her car is paid off. She paid for the house in cash using savings and money from the separation settlement. She thinks she’ll end up paying about $1,000 a month on home-maintenance. She also helps with her mom’s expenses.  She has about $12,500 in credit-card debt with an interest rate of about 13%—much of that was accumulated during her recent move. She plans to pay off the debt quickly, allocating about $3,000 a month, if possible.  She has about $300,000 in savings in two bank accounts, a brokerage account worth $15,000, and an IRA with $5,000.  Advice from a pro: Kimberly Foss, founder and president of Empyrion Wealth Management, Roseville, Calif., congratulates Ms. Gonzalez on her goals but urges her to take a hard look at her personal finances. “She needs to be living within her means when that $5,000 payment from her ex goes away,” says Ms. Foss, who also recommends buying disability insurance should she have to stop working.  Once she has figured out her monthly expenses, Ms. Gonzalez needs to set aside a year’s worth of expenses in an emergency fund—a bit more than the typical three to six months because she is a sole proprietor and her income varies considerably. She should also aim to save about 10% of her monthly income.  Next, she should open a 401(k) or a Roth 401(k) if her total income is less than $117,000. Ideally, she should fund the account from her savings in December and invest $18,000 in 2017. She also should consider converting her current IRA to a Roth IRA, and fully funding that as well by investing $5,500 before the deadline of April 18.  That should leave her with a little more than $200,000. If Ms. Gonzalez is ready to invest in her business immediately, she should do so, and put her remaining savings into her brokerage account. Down the road if she is unable to reach the annual limit on her tax-advantaged retirement accounts, she should transfer money from the brokerage account to her IRA and 401(k).  To deal with the credit-card debt, Ms. Foss suggests opening up a home-equity line of credit of about $100,000. This way, she could pay $1,000 a month until the loan is paid off, and the interest, which is likely to be between 5% and 6% (much less than the 13% on her credit card), would be tax deductible. It also gives her some dry powder in case she needs it in the future.  Ms. Ward is a writer in Mendham, N.J. You can reach her at reports@wsj.com  Corrections & Amplifications: Helen Gonzalez’s name was misspelled Helen Gonzales in an earlier version of this article. (Dec. 12, 2016)
Consultant Helen Gonzalez gets advice from Kimberly Foss of Empyrion Wealth Management on balancing her books and expanding her business at the same time.