We're all trying to set aside money, and retirement is likely one of our biggest financial undertakings — but in this post, I'm talking not just about retirement, I’m talking about saving for the FUTURE. You know, when people are cruising around in flying cars, teleportation is totally a thing, and we’ll all have the ability to live forever. The FUTURE is going to be cool, and no one knows exactly what will happen, but I can tell you one thing — it's going to be expensive.
We love to blame our economic self-depreciation on the myth of the starving artist, romanticizing the penniless demise of cultural figures like Edgar Allan Poe or Mozart. But I'm now considering whether the art form that inspired this knee-jerk aversion to money can be found even closer to home.
Named for the savvy Delaware Senator who in 1997 dreamed up a simple twist in the tax code to create something truly worth shouting about — the Roth IRA is one of the most powerful tools regular people have to get ahead.
Yes, the brilliant switcheroo that Senator William V. Roth Jr. made was to take the traditional upfront tax break we're used to getting with our retirement savings, and instead put it on the back end. What this did was allow most people to pay less tax initially, and then to NEVER pay tax on that money again — offering the peace of mind to know that your growing balance will be all yours (and not the IRS's) when the time comes to make withdrawals.
For Insight's maiden blog post, I'm going to declare myself a super fan of the creative, do-it-your-own-way weirdo. I'm talking about you — the person that doesn't fit into the box of traditional employment, who's making their thing their way because they simply have to. You know who you are. Your work is delightful, unexpected, needed, new, or therapeutic — crafted from your hands, your ideas, or your unique perspective. And maybe, just maybe, you've been so busy realizing your vision that you've pushed money to the back burner. That's where I can help.
I think a lot of us have unconsciously adopted the idea that we’re ‘bad’ with money. The old stereotype that artists are financial disasters starts seeping into our subconscious as early as the first time we heard of Egon Schiele’s tragic end or figured out what was going on in Puccini’s La Bohème. Without realizing it, many of us have adopted the identity that we’re just bad with money and have suffered quietly, thinking there's little to be done about it.
I disagree.
I have nothing.”
I heard this from a client who had finally gotten fed-up with living from paycheck to paycheck for her entire working career.
Because she'd never paid much attention to money — she hadn’t been able to keep any of it. And with her 40th birthday approaching, she was worried she might be aging out of a lucrative, but physically demanding job, and it was high time to start saving.
Back at the beginning of 2017 with 10 weeks before my test, I couldn't image how I'd be able to cram everything I'd need to know into my head (we're talking about the concepts contained in 1000+ of pages of textbooks). But by exam day, I had refined the art of studying to the point where I was not only excited to take the test — I felt like I could turn around and study for the Bar or the MCAT and nail those too.
A few years ago, I was giving a talk to a group of MFA students at Columbia College in Chicago about the right moves artists can make with their money, and a student surprised me with the question, “But what if you just want to dance?”
Huh? It took me a second — but then I understood he was really asking, when is it okay to be impulsive?
To follow up on my list of Grants, Awards and Opportunties for Artists and Entrepreneurs, I sought insight on the most successful application strategies from people with an inside scoop. Here's what I learned...
We're all trying to set aside money, and retirement is likely one of our biggest financial undertakings — but in this post, I'm talking not just about retirement, I’m talking about saving for the FUTURE. You know, when people are cruising around in flying cars, teleportation is totally a thing, and we’ll all have the ability to live forever. The FUTURE is going to be cool, and no one knows exactly what will happen, but I can tell you one thing — it's going to be expensive.
There are few questions I am asked more regularly than, is there financial support for artists?, who offers creative grants? or where can I find provides funding for women entrepreneurs?
The idea of a supportive institution handing out what can seem like 'free money' to help propell an ideas is the stuff of our sweetest fantasies. And as mythic as they seem, these opportunities do indeed exist! But where?
Each time I've been to Disneyland, I can't help but think about the business of Disneyland. I find myself wondering things like, who gets to be in charge of character themed baked goods? or how much do they make each day from 60-second cut-paper silhouette renderings? [hopefully a lot, those scissor-wielding ladies are a miracle.] But the thing I found myself wondering about on my latest trip is what I am calling the power of 'Site-Specific Fashion', or the 'Phenomena of Mouse Ears'.
Ladies, let's talk. I know you have a ton going on, and you're busy with whole world of must-extinguish-four-alarm-fires — but this can't wait. As your self-proclaimed financial mentor, I need to make sure you understand how important it is to get yourself into a position where you can be regularly saving and investing for the long-term. Here are a few facts we all know, but may not have considered together:
Years ago I came into some money as a result of an unexpected layoff. I had no idea what to do with it, so I deposited it into a savings account and let it sit there for 2 years, agonizing in indecision.
Every time I tried to come up with a plan, I would freeze, fixated on the thought — I don't know what to invest in, and I need to find someone to tell me what to do.
Named for the savvy Delaware Senator who in 1997 dreamed up a simple twist in the tax code to create something truly worth shouting about — the Roth IRA is one of the most powerful tools regular people have to get ahead.
Yes, the brilliant switcheroo that Senator William V. Roth Jr. made was to take the traditional upfront tax break we're used to getting with our retirement savings, and instead put it on the back end. What this did was allow most people to pay less tax initially, and then to NEVER pay tax on that money again — offering the peace of mind to know that your growing balance will be all yours (and not the IRS's) when the time comes to make withdrawals.
For Insight's maiden blog post, I'm going to declare myself a super fan of the creative, do-it-your-own-way weirdo. I'm talking about you — the person that doesn't fit into the box of traditional employment, who's making their thing their way because they simply have to. You know who you are. Your work is delightful, unexpected, needed, new, or therapeutic — crafted from your hands, your ideas, or your unique perspective. And maybe, just maybe, you've been so busy realizing your vision that you've pushed money to the back burner. That's where I can help.
