TRIP HOME AND UPCOMING SHOWS

Slowly regaining footing here, I only have a few hundred dollars left to tackle on my private loan –tossing in extra money each paycheck is paying off quickly.  I have an excellent schedule these days.  It’s more than forty hours between my two jobs, and I’ve taken on a supervisory position at one of them, which is adding a little more stress to my life, but I feel much better about my cash flow and ability to pay necessary money toward rent, food and art supplies.  I even bought a ticket home to Florida, which I thought was going to be impossible this year!  It’s time to reapply for deferment on my student loans and food stamps, and as I’ve taken an additional job, I am concerned that I will have to start paying for loans and food again, even though my jobs only keep me afloat with a spare amount of cushion.

As the summer progresses, I plan to move back to the South.  The sunshine (or lack thereof) here in New England drains me terribly, and I miss the vibe of vacation life, my cats, and my parents and brother who are getting older.  To do this successfully, I’ve worked out that I need to save about $3,000, which will require a significant amount of restraint.  6 months is a long time to stay disciplined!  When I return South, it will be difficult without a vehicle.  Ideally, I will work hard, make a couple thousand and buy a car.  OR, I will move to a city with good public transit and a living arrangement that is close to a grocery store, an art store, and transit route.

Cities I’m interested in are Austin, TX, New Orleans, LA, Miami, FL, Jacksonville, FL.  Any tips?

Menny Hapee Returns

Hi everybody, tax time!  I went through the hassle of filing all of my many W-2s, 1099’s and multiple state returns.  After all was said and done, I ended up paying about $100 to TurboTax for all of the various extra calculations the program had to do. Something to keep in mind, if you are working as a “non-employee” and will be filing a 1099-MISC, (or any other 1099) is to save your receipts religiously.  All of your receipts.  When filing, you can claim your purchases as deductions, including your expenses for travel, cell phone costs, food (in certain circumstances), supplies, hotels, clothing, electronics, etc.  This can really make a difference, especially if you made a decent amount from the job.  Without these deductibles, you will likely be paying a hefty lump sum in income tax, since you haven’t been automatically paying over time in your paycheck as with a W-2.

$500 should be magically appearing in my account in the next few days.  I’m looking forward to using $75 of the money to jump start a gym membership (as a little birthday gift to myself!  Here comes 26), $100 to kill a chunk of my private loan,  $200 to my parents for having shipped my jalopy of a car to Florida a few months ago, and the meager remainder to go into my savings, where I hope to leave it alone and let it magnetize more cash.  I had hoped for a lot more money because I still need a computer, and I am getting itchy feet for more education and a fresh new lifestyle.  I suppose this is just one more fire under my rear to get me looking for additional income.

Tax Season

This tax season, I have no less than 7 W-2s and 2 1099s.   I’m also getting food stamps.  My tax return process is going to be a nightmare!  In the past I’ve never had to fill out more than two jobs worth of information.  In total, I still didn’t make very much in the 2014 year.  I hope to get back a decent chunk of money, some of which I will use to pay off my private loan, the other I will put away for big travel plans, and a new computer.  If I can get back at least $1,000, I will be in pretty decent shape.  If I did my math right, I paid a bit over $1,200 in taxes, so we will see.  It was an incredibly rough year.  I sometimes can’t believe I survived.  I put my nose to the grindstone and pushed to make those bucks and find the wiggle room where I could.  Even this month I’m having to pay in chunks for my rent, planning to gain another form of income soon.

A friend of mine is lending me her awesome desktop, complete with the Adobe Suite, and I’ve been having a blast playing with it.  I haven’t had access to the programs since the dark ages.  Now, they are so much more slick and intuitive.  I’m also editing video for a past artist in residence here, and am starting to feel pretty confident in my speed and abilities with Adobe Premiere.  I’m relearning how to animate in Flash, and testing out fancy time saving techniques in Photoshop.  Over the next couple of months, my portfolio will start to grow with character design, motion graphics and editing.  I also grabbed my silkscreen and intend to hit the printmaking studio again, get some work done on old etchings, and start to combine my digital and physical skills into a powerful monster!

I am also starting a cleanse and fast this month.  With all of the stress and financial pressure I’ve been under, I’ve been eating quite a bit more than I should to try to ease the pain.  In doing so I’ve gained about 20 pounds this year.  I’ve almost forgotten how my body is naturally shaped.

Anyway, it’s nice (and daunting) to have this pile of paperwork as testament to the amount of work I put in this year.  It was truly challenging, but I survived and intend to keep growing and learning as an independent person and self-supporting artist.  I have good feelings about this year.  I’m considering moving to New Orleans in the summer, which will be a very difficult decision, especially after all of the snow melts away in the gorgeous spring right around the corner up here in New England.  And every day I flip-flop between being absolutely frustrated, and absolutely in love with Providence.  I’ll give it another month or two to mull it over.

Good luck all, hope you get lots of money back!

Bring Me Up to Speed

Hello debt adventurers!

I have been slowly chipping away at my personal loan, using a bit of extra cash from each paycheck to whittle away at it, rather than waiting to drop a lump sum at the end of the month.  It’s easier (and less painful) to gradually pay what I can over the duration of the month, which makes the final payment much smaller, and sometimes helps me shrink the balance if I’m making a little extra money.

These days, my computer is on its way out.  I’ve had this HP Pavilion dv6000 since 2007, and everything about it is deteriorating rapidly.  I can barely open a Word document without the memory crawling and gasping for air.  Physically, the keyboard is in poor shape as well, so it takes a really long time to type things –keys stick, the cursor will randomly move my text bar to the middle of an earlier paragraph, sometimes I have to punch a key to get it to work.  It’s really irritating, not to mention a frustrating productivity bomb.  As a freelancer, it’s impossible to even consider working on any Adobe programs.  Just try adjusting the levels on a photo, might as well take a nap while it’s working.  I did some research, and decided that a Gateway NV510P07u is the way to go.  It will more than double my working capacity, and is pretty affordable at around $400.  I also intend to get a new Wacom tablet…I sold mine in an hour of need several months ago.  I didn’t even imagine the advancements that have been made since I had my old Intuos 3…WOW, they’re touch sensitive!  My eyes just about blew right out of my head.  Eventually I will own a Cintiq…When I’m rich.  Anyway, I’m trying to time travel to 2015, folks.  When I finally get the thing, the world outside my room and my various cafe haunts will never see me again 🙂

I fixed my sewing machine which kept breaking needles.  It was a little scary to open it up, but, not being able to afford a repair gave me the guts to check things out.  A piece of a pin had broken off into the bobbin chamber.  I picked it out and voila! All better.  Now I’m going to make a bunch of yoga mat bags to sell at an upcoming flea market.

Food Stamps.  Are you struggling?  Get them.  What a relief!  After I shook off the systematized embarrassment of asking for government assistance, I applied to Rhode Island’s great SNAP program, and was awarded with a pretty decent, livable sum because of my low income and subsidized living situation.  I am almost giddy with excitement when I march up to the butcher counter and ask for real, quality ground beef and whole chickens, and can afford it.  I actually eat healthy now!  In the not so distant past, weeks on end would go by where I would stuff my face full of bowls and bowls of white rice or corn flour tortillas with a random bell pepper now and then, without ever feeling satisfied.  It’s amazing, I can cook up all of my own pharmaceuticals, super healthy chicken soup and fabulous teas –I keep my ailing roommates healthy with my cooking, too.  Seriously guys, don’t be shy, apply!  When you don’t need it anymore, you’ll appreciate that you had it when you did.

Hoping you guys are seeing progress in your own journeys.  See you later!

Tickets Please.

Some of you  might have wondered where I went.  You’re thinking…”gee, she used to post quite often, then she fell off the train!”  Well, you’d be right.  But what happened?

For quite some time I was holding down no less than three jobs at once.  To say I had a full schedule would be the understatement of the year.  But, given the circumstances, I stuck it out and worked like a dog  in order to get out of the nasty cycle of poverty I’d been in.  So where am I now?  Well, I have but one job at the moment, which pays a decent hourly wage, but only for a few hours a week.  My other jobs have since phased out, like that wacky temp job working as an assistant stage manager for a Renaissance Faire.  How I got that job I’ll never know.  But now I’m organizing an upcoming craft fair and variety show, which has me pumped.  I can’t wait to see what everyone does with the space.

I’ve arranged a burlesque act, a sax choir, a comedy show, and a play.  Also a number of wonderful handmade artists around Providence.  It’s gonna be nuts. Meanwhile, that job I mentioned?  I sell tickets for the Trinity Repertory Company, which is fabulous because I have free admission to shows.  Did I say there was an open bar?

At least I now have something in the bank.  It’s really not much.  Not much at all.  How much?  A little more than $50. But I went a little crazy during my manic million-job period, and bought a lot of comfort items and nice dinners for myself on impulse, and hey presto!  I’m not much better than I started.  I updated my resume, and it looks a bit more like an adult wrote it.  I’m going to the library to print it, and then I’m off to the mall and a few other places to drop it off despite my bitter hatred for corporate America.  Well, at least they have the money to pay me consistently.

Anyway, how’s it going for you fellow slave laborers?  Hitch up your skirts for that holiday season, it’s gonna be cold.

It comes out of nowhere and everywhere.

Finally, I have a little bit of money in the bank.  I am CAUGHT UP ON RENT for this and last month!  I can breathe so much easier now.  My only outstanding debt payment for this month comes to $92 on my private loan.  I am less concerned with that debt than being fitted for contacts.  I found a clinic that does a $35 fitting vs the $100 my swindling original optometrist charged.  Lesson learned; it pays to do a bit of market research.  If you call local businesses, chances are you’ll eventually get a good quote.  Also, don’t take things at face value.  The clinic knocked off $15 because I already know how to use contacts, which was not advertised.    

I suddenly have a million odd jobs. It’s all about the hustle people!  I am modeling for figure drawing, drawing chalk board illustrations for a new small cafe, doing inventory for a reseller on Amazon, teaching again in the fall, working part time at an ice cream shop, had an interview at Dick Blick, HAD MY SOLO SHOW (and had a piece in another show that opened this month), am working on the workshop programming in Costa Rica, and will be an ASM for King Richard’s Faire.  Whew!  No rest for the weary.  With all of this random income, I must be careful of spending all my petty cash.  I am a lover of coffee, brunch, and evening drinks, and I can easily spend $40 or more every few days, especially with tips coming in, on little treats for myself.  In September I will finally downsize to a smaller room and gain some more cash in pocket.  It’s a much more efficient set-up for doing administrative work; a big beautiful desk, lots of storage to get mess out of the way (completely different from my current studio,  which is a big empty room).  I feel that it will be a good business move, in addition to helping with my income.  

Looking forward to sending more happy updates along!  See ya!

Rainforest Boogie

So call me a dreamer, but here goes:  I am really hopeful about a new stage in my life, grad school, international travel…a big move.  I need money!  I’m not sure I will ever get more money if I cannot get outside Providence (anyone catch the reference?) in order to move forward.  I feel this way in my life fairly cyclically; stumble, itchy feet, big change.  Jupiter is in Leo, and on Saturday the new moon was  in Leo, which is totally awesome, because my natal moon is in Leo.  I am setting my intentions to grow outwardly, that my abundance will come from expansion of the home base, foreign travel and higher education.  I’m super pumped.  Committing again to a corporate identity through grad school might not be the answer I’m looking for, but I definitely intend to travel.  In October, I am planning to fly to Costa Rica, to stay at Saint Michael’s Sustainable Community which is run by a friend of mine I know from Florida.  It seems like an incredible experience, and something I’ve been craving since I traveled to Peru last summer.  Oh yeah, did I tell you I traveled to Peru?  Let’s go back in time….(choose your favorite mysterious interlude music)

So, about 25 pounds, $3,000, and 13 months ago, I was traveling through the Amazon Rainforest with a group of researching entomologists as a clueless artist in residence.  I managed to survive through a number of crazy unsafe choices, poisonous plants and animals, sheer falls, agitated oil drums, extreme alcoholism, leaking boats, desperate locals, and diarrhea.  In other words, I absolutely loved it.  I was a total rookie, but God I felt at home in the sweltering, buzzing chaos of the rainforest.  I learned that I don’t mind the beat of a developing country, the challenge of roughing it, nor the feeling of being an outsider.  My Spanish was embarrassingly poor, but it was encouraging that the locals were so pleasant and helpful in trying to find a common ground.  A lot can be accomplished with a smile and expressive gestures (not to mention comrades who bridged the gap with their bilinguality).

My plan for Costa Rica is to start a workshop program at the villas, but I will hold off on any details till a future post.

Are you a teaching artist with a compelling workshop?  Contact me with a proposal and we’ll talk 🙂

See ya!

Advice is Nice

Hey entrepreneurs, check out this sick list  of podcasts.  I suggest interview 636 with Kristin Thompson on the Entrepreneur On Fire channel.  She offers down to earth, real strategies that will get your heart pumping to go pursue that dream.  Here’s a little nugget of advice I loved from her talk; the purpose of a business is profit. What a concept, right?  But I know that I have certainly fallen into the trap of little details regarding originality, ethics, product, style, design, copy, material, etc.  All of these things are important, but none of them matter if there is no monetization!  So number 1 on the to-do list is to find where the money is coming from and do that thing.  

Now it’s time for Lindsay’s advice:  don’t procrastinate communication.  What am I talking about?   Banks, loans, jobs, landlords, interviews, hunches, networking opportunities, even simple questions from online followers.  If there is anything to avoid procrastinating, it’s responding to e-mails and phone calls in a timely manner.  I can’t tell you how many opportunities or great networking I’ve let slip because I’ve put off a simple reply until the response becomes irrelevant.  It’s even more essential to keep contact if you are trying to jumpstart a business.  Imagine how frustrating it is for clients to ask meaningful questions with no response.  It would be a glaring red flag for investors!  Show you are committed and responsible enough to follow up.  Even a simple “Thank you for your question, I will respond to you shortly,” would be better than no reply at all.  Also, feeling totally overwhelmed and unable to pay for your various bills?  Extend an appeal.  There is an honest-to-god real human on the other end somewhere.  You may have to dig through some tape to find them, but they are there to help you.  The worst thing you can do is to crawl under a rock in hopes that the situation will disappear.  It won’t.  The numbers will keep growing until you take action.  Believe me, I have made my debt situation significantly better by just talking to someone (did I mention Sallie Mae cleared my balance and gave me a $0 monthly payment?)  Did your friend invite you out for coffee?  TRY TO GO.  Most of my success comes through my friends.  Jobs, show opportunities, networking in the gallery scene, international trips, all through good relationships.  They matter.  Even if you can’t do it this week, plan for next week.  Can’t go to that fancy bar?  Ask for a raincheck, and suggest old reliable down the street on the next Tankard Tuesday.  You will, more than likely, be surprised at how accommodating your friends are, and they probably appreciate the extra bucks in pocket too.  

Good luck everyone!

Little Things

So today I blew a little cash!  Whoops.  I couldn’t help it, I’ve been simply dying to spend.  I mentioned a couple posts ago that I was gonna go out and party, well after my post, I changed my mind and stayed responsible.  Today was my breaking point.  This morning I coerced a couple friends to go to a delightful little cafe that serves my favorite beverage around, their spicy mocha, which is always decorated with a lovely little bit of latte art (I’m a sucker for decadence).  At the last moment, my friend insists to buy my drink.  Not that I want to figure this into savings, but wow, what generosity!  She certainly didn’t have to do that.  Later in the day I happily took the bus to work, which allowed me to stay a little longer and chat over coffee with my friend, then on the way back I was able to splurge on a couple of snacks for the walk home with my coworker.  It felt wonderful to be able to do that, since he has been grabbing little things for me during my time of financial woe.  I did a job helping my roommate move in a bunch of heavy boxes from her reseller job (which I am totally fascinated by, and am considering as a way to make a living myself), and she gratefully gave me $10 for my trouble, which I used to splurge on a burger this evening, something I really love to eat every once in a while.  I write this with a happy, full belly, and an impending food coma.  

Some updates:  My private loan payment is back up at $92, I still owe rent for July at $425, and will owe for August in 10 days at another $425.  So come August 1st, I will have a total of $942 to take care of in monthly payments.  Luckily, I will be payed about $1,012 for my work at the school, and will be able to take care of these basics.  I have a little bit of cash coming in from eBay, and looking forward to my position at the ice cream shop (I start Wednesday), and working weekends at the Faire.  I can’t wait to get some money in the bank.  

Oh yes, I contacted the contact website and will be receiving my refund shortly.  That doesn’t change the fact that I am stuck with my glasses for now, but I am optimistic that things will turn for the better on that front.  

By the way, I always appreciate any likes and follows, you guys are really blowing my mind with your support!

Rain Rain Go Away

I want to pull my hair out.

My vision is terrible, which is not a good match for someone scraping bottom.  I have worn my outdated, scratched, and ugly glasses for months because I haven’t been able to afford new contacts.  I really hate my glasses and have very low self-esteem when I wear them, not to mention I can’t see well.  Last night I spent a great amount of time searching for deals on contacts.  I finally found a decent one, placed my order and sat on cloud 9, thinking,  Yay!  I’ll finally feel like myself again!  I was so excited that I gave myself a haircut in anticipation of my fresh new face.  This morning I woke up to an email informing me that my order is unable to be processed because my prescription is out of date by 5 months.  I could really scream.  I can’t afford to get an eye exam in order to get new contacts.  This is a political, optometrist lobby scam, forcing people by law to pay $100 annually when their prescriptions are perfectly fine.  I suppose all I can do is wait for the next stream of money to come in.  Meanwhile, I have not been refunded the $65 dollars I payed for these contacts, which is producing a great deal of white hot rage in my chest.  I feel overwhelmed and helpless again; it’s so exhausting to try to stay on top of things, feel like my ducks are in a row, then be rejected, AND not see my hard-earned money back in my account!  Since it’s the weekend, I can’t talk to a human being in order to be sure that I will receive my refund.  I never understood why companies close on weekends anyway…