Ninety percent of women who participated in a 2006 survey commissioned by Allianz Insurance rated themselves as feeling insecure when it came to their finances. In the same survey, nearly half the respondents said that the prospect of ending up a bag lady has crossed their minds. A 2006 Prudential financial poll found that only 1 percent of the women surveyed gave themselves an A in rating their knowledge of financial products and services. Two-thirds of women have not talked with their husbands about such things as life insurance and preparing a will. Nearly 80 percent of women said they would depend on Social Security in their golden years. Did you know that women are nearly twice as likely as men to retire in poverty? - Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman
So there you have it - both the good and bad news about women and money. We're making more of it, there's more opportunity out there for us, it's just when it comes to keeping it, making it grow, or getting more of so many are failing.
Often when there's talk of making a living as an artist, the focus is on how you feel, the journey, the blessings. Art and money seem to be exclusive of each other for so many people. Not for me. I want to be creative but I also want to make a great financial living as well as have a great retirement income. Being happy drives me, doing what I love drives me, but if I do not financially make it, if I do not look after the money I make and invest it wisely, than I will not be happy and I will most likely lose the ability to choose what I do for a living. I think a lot of women - especially creative women - don't look at it that way.
My first year as a writer, I barely made it financially because my focus was feeling secure as a writer and getting my head space wrapped around that and not in how to invest my money or what I was worth. Besides, all the books I read on how to write, be creative and be happy never talked about money. They never told me how to make it, keep it, or expand it. It was as though the majority of these books were just to make me feel happy about being creative and broke! So my first year was financially tough.
That first year I was also extraordinarily wrecked with guilt and fear because I knew that I could not sustain myself with the low amount of money I made. And I didn't even know what to do with that low amount of money except just worry about it and that bothered me. Just getting by wasn't good enough for me. Worrying about every bill was not fun. There came a point that it didn't matter how great it felt to write something wonderful, worrying about rent always had a bigger place in my mind and heart.
It was during this first year that I contemplated going back to the 9-5 grind and working in a job I didn't really like but I knew would pay the bills. But then I realised that I could make money on my own if I learned about money, took it seriously, invested, thought long-term and worked my extraordinarily hard in jobs I loved. So that's what I did and now I make several times what I would have made had I taken a corporate job that first year.
I've written articles on how my (frugal yet wonderful) lifestyle has contributed to being financially sound but there's more to just saving pennies. There's understanding banking, investing, questioning fees, looking into retirement, asking the right financial questions to the right financial people, not underselling myself, not giving up my talent for free (unless it's for charity - I still donate time and efforts to two different charity groups a year), feeling OK for being paid, being competitive with rates, and most importantly, understanding my worth.
Money and art should not be exclusionary whatsoever. Because I bet you, you cannot be happy with a painting, with your store, with your jewelery, with your book, if you are stressing financially everyday. You do not have to be a millionaire to not stress - if you take charge of your life financially you can be OK with $30K a year. You just have to make decisions that are sometimes tough and scary. But you do need to look at your financial picture.
When I talk to women about business, money hardly ever comes up on their end. I bring it up - a lot. I want women to be financially responsible for not just their families, but for themselves. I don't want women to just financially survive - I want them to flourish. I do and not with a cost. I don't do work I don't want to do (being financially savvy has allowed me to really choose projects I take on), I don't have to cheat any financial system, I don't have to go without, I don't have to have a part-time job so I can be creative. And this happened that second year of me being on my own financially just as it does in my 6th year - because it's not necessarily the amount of money you make but what you do with it. And I always ask women what they do with their money just as I ask what they do with their hearts.
I also make no apology for wanting money. I don't base my success simply on money but it does play an important role on how I see my growth, my worth, and how secure I feel about the future. It also allows me to be extraordinarily choosy about projects I take on. When there's money in the bank, I can say no. However, I don't often hear women talk about money - especially in not wanting it. They just want to be happy and creative but I tell you, nothing sucks out happiness and creativity more than stress.
I encourage you right now - whether you make nothing, $15,000 a year or $500,000 a year, to look at your financial situation. Do you understand it? Do you have it together? Can you do better? There's so many self-help books out there to make you feel good but unless you take actions in other areas, you can't ever have the whole package. And I really, really want you to have the whole package.
Because I sincerely believe you can have the career you want and have the financial life you want if you take charge of both. Even if you won the lotto, if you don't have your act together that lotto money will mean nothing. Money doesn't solve money problems and pretty pens and books with colourful writing doesn't solve life problems. That's all up to you.