So after not having work booked, I'm getting a fair bit busy. I have one show in rehearsal right now, another show starting rehearsal tomorrow. Then in July I start rehearsals for the next one, and I'm also booked for November and February.
This is pretty great for me. Some of these gigs pay well, some of them less so. I'm excited to have work in my calendar. Right now I'm consistently working until September 4th. I'll really need to keep on top of day gigs and extra work to get my bills paid though.
One thing that I haven't had much success in recently that drives me nuts is getting my savings back in shape. As a general rule, you should have three months of expenses in saved up. I don't. I've got about two weeks right now. It's one of those frustrating things because I find it so hard to get ahead.
When I'm working this much, I eat out a lot. If I just have an hour to go and grab food, I do. I don't buy expensive food, but it really does add up. So, it's going to be back to using my trusty bread maker to make fresh bread and back to buying things to make sandwiches with.
I've got to keep on top of this, get my savings built back up, and get travel money saved up. My big brother gets married in July and trans-atlantic plane tickets sure aren't cheap these days!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sacrificing Wealth for Art
June and July are going to be financially rough for me. I know this already. I'm prepared for it.
I'm working on two plays that, in a nutshell, pay diddly squat. But gosh it's going to be satisfying. I get to work on new contemporary work, play with some of my best friends, meet new awesome people, and add some very nifty credits to my resume. I'm glad I'm doing that, but this is one of those things where there isn't money in it.
When I left my corporate job last year, I knew there might be times like this. I was prepared for it and I've never really been into having money but hating my job. This is the first time, though, where I've really put myself in a financial pickle. I really think it'll be worth it, but I doubt very much that I'll be clearing my overdraft either month.
As well, the price you pay for loving what you do and working in the non-profit industry. I'll be doing as much side work as I can, but I still doubt it'll quite be enough.
By the way, you can now find some of my writing on the Gaucho blog
Also, hi Mimi :-)
I'm working on two plays that, in a nutshell, pay diddly squat. But gosh it's going to be satisfying. I get to work on new contemporary work, play with some of my best friends, meet new awesome people, and add some very nifty credits to my resume. I'm glad I'm doing that, but this is one of those things where there isn't money in it.
When I left my corporate job last year, I knew there might be times like this. I was prepared for it and I've never really been into having money but hating my job. This is the first time, though, where I've really put myself in a financial pickle. I really think it'll be worth it, but I doubt very much that I'll be clearing my overdraft either month.
As well, the price you pay for loving what you do and working in the non-profit industry. I'll be doing as much side work as I can, but I still doubt it'll quite be enough.
By the way, you can now find some of my writing on the Gaucho blog
Also, hi Mimi :-)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Plink
I have no idea why I have titled this post "Plink". Just felt right.
Sometimes, being broke is particularly rough. I'm having trouble getting my spending under control again. You'd think that I'd be fine, what with working a bunch and such, but I find myself always spending more money than I intend. If I go to Target for one thing, I end up with three other things I had forgotten that I needed. I've been trying to be on a spending freeze, but that doesn't seem to be working so well.
What I really need is a major kick in the teeth. I should be done with vet bills for now. I need to save for plane tickets, but I certainly don't need to be going out a bunch or buying anything that I don't absolutely need.
Each month I start with nothing charged to my ING overdraft. This is where I pull gas and grocery money from, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. Pretty much every month it's got several hundred dollars charged to it that I need to clear. It's driving me bonkers. So I think May is going to be my serious lockdown month. I'm considering taking my card out of my wallet. Drastic times call for drastic measures of course.
Has that ever actually worked for you?
Sometimes, being broke is particularly rough. I'm having trouble getting my spending under control again. You'd think that I'd be fine, what with working a bunch and such, but I find myself always spending more money than I intend. If I go to Target for one thing, I end up with three other things I had forgotten that I needed. I've been trying to be on a spending freeze, but that doesn't seem to be working so well.
What I really need is a major kick in the teeth. I should be done with vet bills for now. I need to save for plane tickets, but I certainly don't need to be going out a bunch or buying anything that I don't absolutely need.
Each month I start with nothing charged to my ING overdraft. This is where I pull gas and grocery money from, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. Pretty much every month it's got several hundred dollars charged to it that I need to clear. It's driving me bonkers. So I think May is going to be my serious lockdown month. I'm considering taking my card out of my wallet. Drastic times call for drastic measures of course.
Has that ever actually worked for you?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Errors in Judgement
So I took a job for the last month which was a lot of hard work. I put in 30 hours more than I should and subsequently managed to knock my hourly rate (I was getting a flat fee), down to below minimum wage. No fun. I managed to get out of the second half of my contract and am working on something else that is a little more money, a little less driving, and a lot more fulfilling.
My issue here is that in hindsight, I should have gotten more details about the job before I took it. Part of it is that I didn't know the right questions to ask, but part of it also was just my desire to work work work.
I spent 6 weeks without a day off. I might have gone a wee bit crazy around the end there.
So now it's back to working what a normal person works. The only problem is that with that, comes less income and a little more financial stress. I have a $250 vet bill to pay this month, and as it stands, with what I have booked, it's going to have to get pulled out of what has become a miniscule savings account balance.
I'm starting to freak out again because I'm back to making painfully slow progress on my debt. My student loan is costing me a minimum of $608 a month which is about half my expenses. I want to get these payments down but it's so darn hard to find any extra money to throw there. I'm using every penny I have to cover bills and living expenses. So here we go again. It's spending freeze time. Last night I bought enough groceries to last a good long while. I have a couple of things to buy for the garden and a birthday present to get and after that, no more going out, no more nothing. We're going to see if I can get through the month and charge absolutely nothing to my card other than gas.
I feel like I might not be able to pull this one off, but I'm sure going to try!
My issue here is that in hindsight, I should have gotten more details about the job before I took it. Part of it is that I didn't know the right questions to ask, but part of it also was just my desire to work work work.
I spent 6 weeks without a day off. I might have gone a wee bit crazy around the end there.
So now it's back to working what a normal person works. The only problem is that with that, comes less income and a little more financial stress. I have a $250 vet bill to pay this month, and as it stands, with what I have booked, it's going to have to get pulled out of what has become a miniscule savings account balance.
I'm starting to freak out again because I'm back to making painfully slow progress on my debt. My student loan is costing me a minimum of $608 a month which is about half my expenses. I want to get these payments down but it's so darn hard to find any extra money to throw there. I'm using every penny I have to cover bills and living expenses. So here we go again. It's spending freeze time. Last night I bought enough groceries to last a good long while. I have a couple of things to buy for the garden and a birthday present to get and after that, no more going out, no more nothing. We're going to see if I can get through the month and charge absolutely nothing to my card other than gas.
I feel like I might not be able to pull this one off, but I'm sure going to try!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
HItting Monthly Goals
So I've been working on keeping to a couple of goals. I've been doing pretty well. I've been completing a pair of socks each month as planned, though I've had a bit of a leg up (no pun intended) the last couple of months because they've already been partially finished.
Also been keeping up with the reading. I've finished I think four books so far, though unfortunately I still have 60 to go this year. I'm not giving up hope yet, but I'm definitely going to have to do better.
I've started working on paying extra on to my student loan. It's only been a little bit, $21 last month, but the idea here is to lower my monthly payments. Because I'm freelancing, I don't have a guaranteed income, so the lower the amount of money I have to make to stay afloat, the better. I'm hoping to get it down to payments of $400 this year. So far my payments are $609. I have 37 monthly payments more to make. Scary scary number.
I'm keeping my spending down when I can. I've been eating out more than I should be of course, but I'm working on getting that under control again. Also hoping that as spring comes, our utilities are lower and that will certainly help.
Doing okay on the work front. My nine week gig ends soon, but I just started another one. It doesn't pay stunningly well, but the work is kind of fun and I don't have too many hours. I can do other things in the meantime.
Other than that, just plodding along feeling a little stuck, but progressing as best I can.
Also been keeping up with the reading. I've finished I think four books so far, though unfortunately I still have 60 to go this year. I'm not giving up hope yet, but I'm definitely going to have to do better.
I've started working on paying extra on to my student loan. It's only been a little bit, $21 last month, but the idea here is to lower my monthly payments. Because I'm freelancing, I don't have a guaranteed income, so the lower the amount of money I have to make to stay afloat, the better. I'm hoping to get it down to payments of $400 this year. So far my payments are $609. I have 37 monthly payments more to make. Scary scary number.
I'm keeping my spending down when I can. I've been eating out more than I should be of course, but I'm working on getting that under control again. Also hoping that as spring comes, our utilities are lower and that will certainly help.
Doing okay on the work front. My nine week gig ends soon, but I just started another one. It doesn't pay stunningly well, but the work is kind of fun and I don't have too many hours. I can do other things in the meantime.
Other than that, just plodding along feeling a little stuck, but progressing as best I can.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
In the Interest of Not Being Thought to Be Dead
Darnit I disappeared again! No excuse.
So, the last 6 weeks have been terribly busy. I'm on week 6 of a 9 week gig and though it has been grueling and challenging (which I actually like), it has also been great for my finances. I've had a few normal hiccups, like vet bills and such, but the last two months I have hit my monthly necessity goal and been able to not pull anything out of my emergency fund.
Now the bad news. Taxes are coming. Taxes are one the most frustrating things for me because I never seem to get it right in my head what will happen.
Last year, working my 9-5 corporate job may have paid off $11,000 in debt, but it also pushed me into a higher tax bracket, so I owe money. A lot of money. More money than is left in my emergency fund. So, I'm remaining calm and working hard and hoping that I can get this all balanced out somehow.
One of the things that I do that can sometimes be a little crazy is, I never turn down work if I can technically do it. So you might find me getting up at 7am to drive an hour to go and install a set for six hours, then driving directly to my regular gig and setting up and stage managing a show, then going to have dinner with my heavily neglected best friend, then heading back home to sit up and do paperwork, then crashing at 2am, getting up at 8am, and doing it all again. It's busy, it's crazy, it's exhausting, but boy is it ever fun.
And this is how I make ends meet. A little here, a little there. Have crescent wrench, will travel. In this profession how can I not? I could have three weeks where I get no work, run out of red wine entirely, and watch 31 episodes of Stargate SG1 in four days. Keeping busy is good. Working is good. Being able to pay my bills is good.
Now if you will excuse me, I have a two show day to prepare for and someone has to handle the fake snow.
So, the last 6 weeks have been terribly busy. I'm on week 6 of a 9 week gig and though it has been grueling and challenging (which I actually like), it has also been great for my finances. I've had a few normal hiccups, like vet bills and such, but the last two months I have hit my monthly necessity goal and been able to not pull anything out of my emergency fund.
Now the bad news. Taxes are coming. Taxes are one the most frustrating things for me because I never seem to get it right in my head what will happen.
Last year, working my 9-5 corporate job may have paid off $11,000 in debt, but it also pushed me into a higher tax bracket, so I owe money. A lot of money. More money than is left in my emergency fund. So, I'm remaining calm and working hard and hoping that I can get this all balanced out somehow.
One of the things that I do that can sometimes be a little crazy is, I never turn down work if I can technically do it. So you might find me getting up at 7am to drive an hour to go and install a set for six hours, then driving directly to my regular gig and setting up and stage managing a show, then going to have dinner with my heavily neglected best friend, then heading back home to sit up and do paperwork, then crashing at 2am, getting up at 8am, and doing it all again. It's busy, it's crazy, it's exhausting, but boy is it ever fun.
And this is how I make ends meet. A little here, a little there. Have crescent wrench, will travel. In this profession how can I not? I could have three weeks where I get no work, run out of red wine entirely, and watch 31 episodes of Stargate SG1 in four days. Keeping busy is good. Working is good. Being able to pay my bills is good.
Now if you will excuse me, I have a two show day to prepare for and someone has to handle the fake snow.
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