I just have to write and tell you how excited I am to have found you! I’ve been an actor for five years, struggling along with everyone else, and I finally decided that enough is enough: I need to put together a plan so I can really focus.
All of this time, I thought I had already been focusing on my art, when in reality, I was part-timing everything: my job, my family and my craft. Now, you’ve put me on a path that I don’t think I could have accomplished myself. I have an emergency fund, a separate checking account for my business, and for the first time, real hope for the future. While I have yet to score that elusive “great part,” my auditions are much better. I believe this is because I come in focused and without worrying about “how broke I am.” Sure, I still worry about money, but not in the “OMG, I need this role” desperate way that I have in the past.
Thank you again for what you do. I just wanted to let you know there are people out there who appreciate you very much.
Jessica
It is rewarding when we hear from folks who have started to take control of their financial futures, because the unfortunate truth is that many people simply never will.
I was just reading some statistics from a group called the Employee Benefit Research Institute. While most Abundance Bound readers are self-employed (and not employees of others), we frequently fall into these same traps and the results of their recent retirement survey weren’t encouraging: (more…)
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the strange place I found inspiration for my 2013 goals. This week, I’d like to address New Year’s Resolutions head-on. Every year millions of people write out a fresh list of goals in the hopes of making the next twelve months better than the previous dozen. We creative people are no exception: in our world, it’s often the well-disciplined artist who ends up on the road to loftier goals, while the dreamer without clear, concise milestones spends another year chasing the same first-tier plans (and never can figure out why he doesn’t achieve anything….). You know the ones; they’re the artists with grand ideas, fantastic plans, and nothing to show for it except a series of excuses.
One mistake that even big businesspeople make, is that they set professional goals, but forget about the fuel to get them there. It might not be the most glamorous activity, but remember your financial goals; don’t just focus on your art. By making sure that your financial picture is healthy, you’re bound to have the fuel ready to have a wonderful 2013 in your craft. By placing well-executed goals, you’ll get where you want to go faster, and with less bumps along the road.
Some Financial Goals to Act On
Emergency Fund – If you don’t have a cash reserve, now’s the time to start one. Anything can happen…and probably will….in 2013, so you’ll want the protection to know that when bad news occurs, you’ve got the money in the bank to easily get through it.
What’s a good reserve? Generally, I recommend having at least three months expenses in a safe place away from market fluctuation (like a bank account). (more…)
I know Halloween was last week, but let’s keep the fun alive with some financial horror stories. Didn’t you love horror stories as a kid? I liked them…until I tried to sleep. Then, more often then not, I spent the night staring at the ceiling, sure that at any minute some disconfigured arm would grab me from under the bed.
The bad news is that we all have friends who have real life financial horror stories. Their money problems make it difficult to sleep. Maybe you have those issues. There’s good news: many of these horrible stories we can fix simply by turning on the lights: if we know they’re out there, we can avoid them or find ways for them to vanish:
Horrible Story #1)There once was a man who paid an annual fee on his credit card! There’s no reason to pay annual fees for cards unless you’re a high-powered user. Too many cards are available with no fees that still give you a low interest rate and reward points. Only pay fees if you find a card which you are certain will be justified by the rewards that are unavailable from a non-fee card.
Tip: Use online comparison sites to determine which card best meets your needs without paying a fee. (more…)
Remember setting up domino chains when you were a kid?:
I think artistic people understand more than others what these falling dominoes can represent. One positive result leads to another: an artist is shown in a gallery in Los Angeles, and a dealer in New York sees the show. That leads to a second show in Manhattan. An actor scores a part in a play that’s attended by a big producer. The actor’s next role is a small part in a motion picture.
I attached this video because even when all doesn’t go exactly according to plan (they had to roll the marble twice AND there was a break in the chain at one point), there are still positive results!
We tend to forget that one good result has a tendency to create another.
It’s the same with our financial situations, isn’t it? Successful people are far down the domino chain: (more…)
I realize I talk a lot in Abundance Bound workshops and this blog about avoiding “too good to be true”.
But there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to easily implement THE SAME strategy I used to pocket more money NOW.
How did I do it? Easy. I paid attention to taxes.
TAXES? UGHHH.
How can five little letters (t.a.x.e.s.) put people to sleep so easily? It’s the same for me. I can’t stand tax discussions. However, I love talking about how to get more money in our pockets. (more…)
In our last post I discussed (among other things) setting up an automatic savings plan. I’ve received some questions about why this works. If you’ve found that you have trouble starting your automatic savings plan, today’s piece is for you.
I’ve found something awful happens when a dollar appears in my wallet.
I spend it.
Maybe this doesn’t sound like a special revelation, but over the course of the last week I asked a few friends if money disappears from their wallets. It turns out that I’m not alone. After answers that varied from head nods to enthusiastic “I do that too!”’s, I now believe this is a fairly universal trend. Money in your pocket is destined to end up in someone else’s pocket.
This realization spurred another, bigger thought: the inverse is true.
I don’t spend money when it isn’t in my pocket.
This is another truth. I don’t go to ATM machines to take out money often. I avoid using my debit or credit card for purchases that aren’t necessary.
That doesn’t mean I never use plastic. I still spend money if I don’t have an actual dollar in my wallet, but just not as often. Last week we went out to dinner once. I also had a couple of lunches out with colleagues. Those both were on my debit card.
So, I was on the right path, but when I examined places where I could get to money (the ATM or credit card) cash was still being spent. Where did I have money that I never spent? Was there a place where money would always be mine? What about longer term savings? How about my emergency fund? (more…)
What is it about September? People walk a little more quickly. Long evenings under the stars with friends become nights at home in front of the computer. Kids go back to school. Client work picks up. Projects roll. The world shifts into gear again.
This is a time for productivity. It’s a time to set up a successful move for your art. If you’re going to celebrate a great 2012, this is the time to clean up your financial picture so you can focus on your craft, your clients, and your career.
1) Write out your goals. In the book The E-Myth, author Michael Gerber points out that most small businesses fail because they don’t have set workflow practices. Don’t just jot down some 1,000 foot goals, get your hands dirty!
- What are you going to do each day to reach your goal?
- What milestones along the way will you set to stay on track?
- How much is each goal going to cost?
2) Set up your budget and direct deposit schemes. By automating your financial picture you’ll be able to focus on your art instead of on a stack of energy-draining “to do’s.” If you have a side-hustle job to pay the bills, direct deposit this money into a savings account, then set up an automatic transfer of enough to live into your checking. Use online tools such as Mint or Yodlee to plan your budget parameters. Once you’ve written out your expenses, you’ll be much more comfortable in your financial shoes. (more…)
We’re in those beautiful weather days. Baseball. Festivals. Lazy afternoons. It feels like everyone spends the week waiting for Friday night…maybe you’re a little burnt out on your art. Maybe the creative juices are feeling the call of a little fun. After all, you have to live to be able to connect with your audience, right?
These can be dangerous days for your wallet. Time to tighten the belt.
It’s during times like these…the deepest part of summer, that people start seeing fall and rush to squeeze just a little more summer out. Often this means spending beyond your limits before the hard reset of Labor Day weekend.
I know people overspend in the summer because traffic at Abundance Boundand other financial sites like ours is MUCH higher in September than in July and August.
There are ways to finish your summer with a flourish and without worrying about your checkbook surviving.
Do you need some entertainment but don’t want to regret it later? Try out these ideas: (more…)
Lately, as I’ve been working with clients, I’ve realized that there is a NEW spending category that is starting to have a negative effect on some of our bank accounts: Groupon, Living Social and other programs.
A friend recently started tracking a similar website called Woot. She told me that there were amazing deals on the site and couldn’t believe she’d discovered such a treasure.
A couple months later I asked how Woot was going. She sighed and said she didn’t visit it anymore. “I great-dealed myself until I was broke.”
That’s my feeling about Groupon, Living Social, coupon clipping and sales. Only buy items you were going to purchase anyway and they’re wonderful opportunities. Buy items you weren’t going to purchase and you may find yourself beyond your budget.
Personally, I rarely visit these sites because I know that presentation is the key to marketing. I can’t examine a deal until I see the deal. Once I’ve seen the amazingly low discounted price, I want the product! Even if I didn’t want it before, I find 101 uses for the three-armed chair leg counter and backscratcher (on sale today only).
Here’s a better way to shop for deals:
What do you want to buy? Use Google or Bing to search for the product. (I use Bing because they offer a search reward program. I do nothing out of the ordinary and earn free points, which I can convert to Amazon dollars.)
Read reviews on the product. Look for suitable alternatives (often an Amazon search on a product will bring up a list of similar items).
Use a search engine again with the name brand you’ve chosen + the word “discount.” You’ll find coupons, offers and lower cost alternatives.
Remember that low cost isn’t everything if the retailer doesn’t have a good return policy or customer satisfaction rating. Use the search engine a third time to find horror stories about a retailer if you’re unfamiliar with the name.
I’m facing a big tax bill. Every year I have trouble putting away money for quarterly taxes. What’s a good trick to get money saved?
Here’s my favorite technique to save money: save into a central savings account that’s difficult to reach, then pay yourself a separate amount into checking from this fund. Have money automatically deducted from this central savings account each month for your tax bill before you pay yourself money to live so that you don’t face these huge bills.
It’s a horrible mistake to pay tax penalties. The IRS assesses a five percent penalty for every month you’re late filing. Then they tack on a half percent penalty per month on late payments. These amounts are on the overdue sum, not the entire tax due, and are capped at 25 percent.
The biggest problem I see?
People try to use discipline to fix their saving problem. Don’t trust your financial picture to your ability to be “disciplined.” Take 15 minutes with your bank and set everything up on automatic deduction. You’ll be happy you did the next time you encounter a large tax bill and the money is already saved.
money for quarterly taxes. What’s a good trick to get money saved?