5 Money Management Tips For Musicians in Ghana and across the world. In the right hands, money is a valuable tool for furthering a worth vision. In the wrong hands, money is little more than a means to an end.
The problem (or prospect) isn’t with money – it’s with the individual using it!
Some have a lot, and some have a little. For those that have a lot, getting more can be easy. For those that have a little, getting more can be difficult.
But management is all that really matters. You won’t necessarily be any happier when you have more money – you’ll simply have more security and more options.
How you choose to spend, save and invest makes all the difference. We all eat, we all need a place to sleep, and most of us have to pay for some form of transportation. If you’re serious about a music career, you will have to pay for a lot of other things too, like travel, CD replication, or recording sessions.
So the goal is to learn how to manage well. Once you’ve developed the right habits, decisions concerning money will become simpler. Here are five money management tips for musicians.
1. Get Out & Stay Out Of Debt
If you are in debt, you need to recognize that there is nothing more crippling. It doesn’t just affect your music career – it affects your life. It severely limits your options and even has a negative impact on your overall well-being.
“I’m fine,” you may say, but keep in mind that you’re trying to do something most people don’t do by pursuing your passion. You’re trying to do something extraordinary. That means you can’t just fall in line with the crowd and keep doing what clearly isn’t working. If everyone is doing things one way, run the other way and try a different approach.
There aren’t too many “acceptable” forms of debt if you’re committed to seeing your dreams come to pass. If you have a mortgage, you may want to rethink your priorities. If you have a car loan, realize that a quality 10-year-old car can be purchased for roughly 10% the value of a brand new one. Sell your new car and get a cheaper one.
There’s plenty of time to scale up your lifestyle later. You can get money back, but you can’t get time back. If finances are holding you back from pursuing music wholeheartedly, you’re in a more desperate situation than you even realize.
Live like no one else will now so you can live like no else can later.
Tip 2. Open A Separate Checking Account For Your Music
Disputes often come up in bands over money because there’s one or two members footing most of the bills while everyone else is balking at the idea of pitching in to pay for a recording session, a new merch item, travel, or membership dues.
Whether you’re a solo artist or in a band, you need to open a separate checking account for everything music related. You need to tough it out and start saving most of your music income in the account. If your band members absolutely insist on being paid from a gig, agree on a percentage that makes sense and save the rest.
Now you have a band or artist fund. Keep an eye on this account so you know exactly how much is coming in and going out. Only make financial commitments when you have the appropriate amount of money to do so.
Oh, and don’t bother opening a business account – it’s expensive. Get a no-fee account and say that you will be using it for personal purposes.
3. Save At Least 10% Of Your Income From Music And Outside
It probably sounds trite, but as it turns out, saving 10% of your income is sound advice. The problem is that most people don’t do it.
You need to get into the habit of paying yourself first. We all have bills. But most people prioritize their bills over themselves! How does that make sense? Do you really care more about your cable provider than your own future?
You have just read a part of this article. Am keeping the rest for you. Contact us for more ([email protected])
Writer: musicindustryhowto
