My Total Money Makeover
Here's a rundown of the principles that got me out of debt and into a better relationship with money.
If you want me to go deeper on any of the tools or resources mentioned below, hit reply and I'll include in a future post.
How It Started
Growing up a middle-income family, I was raised to be relatively responsible with money.
Besides the fact that I was born with a fondness for rule-following, my parents had always positioned money as tool for getting things done and definitely “not to be played with.”
Everything, from my private Christian school education to our weekend vacations to San Diego Sea World (disclaimer: it was the 90s), was because of money hard-earned and dutifully saved.
As I grew into my early twenties, I retained a lot of these beliefs.
It wasn’t until I got serious about pursuing a music career that my financial behavior became a lot more impulsive.
I was deeply passionate about making “it” happen, and everyone around me said it was impossible unless I paid to play.
First it was the looks. I needed better clothes, cleaner shoes, and more frequent haircuts.
Then, it was the drinks, the dinners, and the parties to make more friends in the industry.
When the time came for me to release a bunch of songs on the internet for free, I hired a PR person to pitch blogs at over $1,000 per month.
That was the first time I ever used a credit card to finance my dreams.
Shortly after, there were the photoshoots and the music videos (more $1,000s).
And when those early investments resulted in me going on tour as an opener, I ended up spending more on travel expenses than I earned.
At a certain point, I just stopped paying attention to the ins and outs. And that’s what I want to highlight here.
Where It Was Going
It wasn’t inherently a bad thing for me to spend thousands of dollars on my passion project. Self-funding was not the problem.
After all, I was trying to build a business. And I was trying to do it without signing the same predatory label or publishing contracts I had seen trapping so many of my peers.
The problem was my willful ignorance to the financial realities that would face me down the road.
I continued to open credit cards, take out loans, and borrow from my retirement on a prayer that a big win was just around the corner, waiting with open arms to help me pay off all the debt, in one fell swoop.
I did have a few big wins. But none of them came how I expected.
By that time the damage was done. My money habits were trash.
The Breakdown & Breakthrough
I heard someone say you need to be at least a little delusional to achieve success in the arts or entertainment. I won’t disagree.
Maybe there is such a thing as a healthy level of delusion, narrowly aimed at your wildest dreams.
I came to realize though, nearly five years after financing my first project with a credit card, that this delusion had leaked into every crevice of my personal life.
My self-image was suddenly cocooned in subtle materialism and lifestyle upgrades. This, even as my income was hitting a sharp downtrend.
Renting in a trendy loft building, a $16 cocktail + one for a friend every night, organic produce every week, and an unlimited yoga membership every month?
These were the new necessities. Artifacts of my belonging. Proof of millennial success.
The spell finally broke when I decided to move to a new neighborhood and had a hard time qualifying to rent on my own again.
My bank statements wouldn’t lie to these leasing agents the way I had lied to myself.
So after barely making it into another apartment (much less ‘grammable than the former), I finally faced the music.
The Mindset Makeover
All that spending...was it self care or self sabotage?
The first step was looking in the mirror and admitting that I was no longer the person I thought I was.
I needed to add up how much I owed to see the reality with clear eyes.
I googled “how to pay off $60,000 in debt,” and started my journey.
A few pledges I made to myself that day:
I will not be ashamed of my financial reality.
I will not attach my self-worth to my net worth.
I will not "lifestyle" my way out of emotional or mental distress.
I will not penalize myself for choosing stability over passion.
I will not be ashamed to engage in new ways of earning (e.g. selling equipment, picking up shifts at my friend’s restaurant, doing work-for-hire gigs).
I will not use personal debt to fund my creative projects.
I will allow myself to rejoin the 9-5 workforce when the opportunity feels right.
I will allow my beliefs about money to change radically.
This was in the fall of 2018.
How I Got Out of Debt
By the summer of 2019, I was meticulously tracking my payoff with charts like these.
By that time I had also taken a 4-month long break from alcohol. The mental clarity achieved and the money saved were undeniable.
I read a book about money every week and went down a steep YouTube rabbit hole where people shared everything about their journeys to financial freedom.
Suddenly I found myself cutting my rent in half by moving in with my new flame ❤️.
And a new job was providing me the steady check I needed to supercharge my savings.
I followed an Excel sheet budget for every business and personal expense, spending an hour or two each month to make sure I got it right.
I checked my accounts on a daily basis and cancelled any unnecessary subscriptions.
And of course, no more credit card use until my debt was paid off.
The Conclusion
It was excruciating at times, but I’m happy to say, a budget built me back better.
I'm debt free now, 2.5 years later.
I’m building up emergency savings so I won’t be caught slipping again.
I’m learning how to invest in a responsible, measured, and altogether not delusional way.
I’m investing in my own education, and leveraging my job to learn everything I can about business.
I’m no longer just the creative person stuck between “starving artist” and “lifestyle goals.” I get to be the CEO, CFO, and COO of my own life, and I’m getting better at it everyday.
Any of the above sound familiar to you?
Do you have financial goals this year, and if so, how are you approaching them?
Liked and Followed
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Until next time,
JP