How to Achieve Creative Freedom

Nyrryl Cadiz

Congratulations, Lee! I'm very happy for you. Indeed your lifestyle can affect your career and not just the other way around. I'm just out of school and I still don't have that much experience with credits and debts. However, growing up in an impoverished household, my mother has taught me the value of not being in debt. She always said, "it's better to have less than to have plenty but owe it all to somebody else." I wish you all the best.

aska

This is very inspirational! You are a wise man Lee White. Good luck!

demotlj

When I was a kid, my father who was a college professor turned down some promotions that came with a higher salary because he said, "Once you get used to a higher level of income, it's really hard to go back." Essentially, he like Lee wanted to have the freedom to have choices and not be locked into something because he had come to require a higher income level. So I've tried not only to stay out of debt but be careful about what I think I "require" financially to be happy and I absolutely concur with Lee that the freedom has been worth the trade offs. Great post, Lee.

Johanna Kim

@lee-white Thank you thank you thank you, Lee, for generously sharing your story and advice. Everything you say resonates with me. I'm going to check out those links today. Congratulations on achieving your own financial freedom.

lmrush

That is awesome Lee! Congrats. I am thrilled for you and your family. I will say we are right behind you. We are selling our 5 bedroom/4 bathroom home in suburbia that comes with a suburban lifestyle, and suburban bills. We are moving from an over 2800 square feet not including a huge finish basement to a 900 sq ft cabin on a lake in a small community. This move was on purpose; less house to heat, less house to clean, less yard to maintain, and less bills per month. We wanted to get back to nature, back to family time, and have more time to do what we love. We have been tossing a ton of stuff, donating boat loads and it feels liberating!!!!! Thank you for sharing and thank you for the links. Keep us posted

demotlj

@lmrush My house is 960 square feet. Pros -- quicker to clean, cheaper to heat, can't save stuff I don't really need, and cheaper to re-roof/paint/re-side when those things need to be done. Cons -- a little too cozy when your kids start bringing home girlfriends/boyfriends to watch TV and cuddle. Buy earplugs and a white noise machine if you have teens!

DOTTYP

Congrats lee hope the move works out well for you.What you say makes a lot of sense,I grew up very poor , I was also taught to only buy what you can afford,and stay away from credit. Reading what the other guys say maybe artists are more sensible than other people and not so materialistic,and tend to be more into family and friends and pets than processions. Good luck.

lmrush

@demotlj Thank you!!!! I have an 18 year old and a 4 year old, I do have a noise machine (thanks for the reminder) and headphones everywhere you look Lol I am so excited to simplify!

Lee White

This might be too extreme: https://vimeo.com/151916585. haha!

lmrush

@lee-white that's hysterical lol

Sarah LuAnn

@lmrush Wow Lisa! Your house/move sounds so awesome, can we come visit? I want to keep my 1500 square feet in suburbia though... no tiny house for me!

@Lee-White is so right though--being debt free definitely effects your career, and your mindset. Part of the reason I feel no guilt about subscribing to SVS, and pursuing this dream of a career in illustration rather than trying to do something practical that could make more money in the short term, is the fact that we have no debt aside from our 15 year mortgage.

MOO

Wishing you the best in your move! We're in the process of selling our house, leaving all our friends, etc. too but we're going to be living in a fifth wheel as fulltimers (also a fun thing to google and learn about). It feels great to be ridding ourselves of the clutter in our lives and today, I threw away a banana cream pie because it was such a big temptation to me. It was a big deal because I don't like to waste anything AND I'm a sugar addict. And afterwards I was thinking, that was clutter too. I'm getting older and I need to quit putting so much "clutter" in my body too. Living simply and getting rid of unnecessary stuff (like all the stuff we may go into debt for) -our homes, our bodies, our thoughts...good to sort it all out and get rid of the excess, unneccessary junk in our lives and move forward. I look forward to fueling my creative bank account with moving and spending more time in the great outdoors Less time dealing with stuff. Sorry this is so long....

Miriam

@Lee-White
Wow, that is impressive--Congratulations! That's great that you are sharing what helped you. I've seen the trouble debt can cause while I was growing up, so I've always been very careful with money, but that Mr. Money Mustache guy sounds really interesting! I'll check it out.
Good luck with the move--I bet your family is so excited to have you nearby!

@nyrryl-cadiz
You have a good start by being aware & having good advice from your mom! She sounds like a smart lady!
Since you said you don't have a lot of experience with credit and debt, my advice would be that it's good to have a credit card IF you:

Make sure that there are NO fees/interest as long as you pay on time. Also, look for cards with cash back.
NEVER buy anything with it if you don't already have the money in the bank to pay it off BEFORE you buy.
ALWAYS pay off the balance due every month.
Consider setting up auto-payments, so you can't forget. And sign up for notifications & read your monthly statements, so you'll aways be aware of what's going on with your account.
(Make sure you pay the full balance due for that month's statement--not the minimum payment, and not the entire balance of the card--since any charges made after the closing date aren't due yet. If you pay the entire balance--including what isn't due yet, I believe it doesn't build up your credit score--which I think is stupid, but that's the way it works, as far as I know.)
If you can handle doing all three of the above, always use your credit card instead of other forms of payment (unless there's a fee).
This way, you'll stay out of trouble, while establishing a good credit score--which is important if you ever want a loan for things like a car or house.
And of course, don't spend even a small amount of money without thinking about whether it's really worth it.

LauraA

@lee-white said in How to Achieve Creative Freedom:

https://vimeo.com/151916585

That video is hilarious!!! (And soo American!) It hits a bit close to home because we lived in a 440sf apartment in NYC, with a 4-10yo. Those six years of living in a number puzzle helped us financially but the move to a 2 bedroom apartment didn't come a moment too soon!

This fellow Southerner wishes you the very best in your move to Nashville. We tried at one point to move to Portland from NYC but wound up in Italy instead. Long story and not the vacation it sounds like, but now it's home. And people here are very frugal and savings oriented, so that helps

lmrush

@sarah-luann Yes of course Sarah, let's chat once we are settled

Nyrryl Cadiz

@miriam Thank you! I am planning to get my own credit card soon. This is very helpful.

Whitney Simms

Nashville! Heck yeah! Bout time we get some of you guys in the Southeast! I can drive to Nashville. Hopefully you'll do a show in Charlotte or Atlanta! Best of luck! Dave Ramsey is the best. We are hardly debt free (just car and house), but there are many principles we still use from him. I still grab cash for food and family misc budget. Target money basically. It's darn amazon that gets me. Good luck with your move!

Larry Whitler

Hey Lee, Good luck in Nashville. It is a beautiful city and one of my favorites. I am reading your post on June 9th so I’m guessing this past week has been exciting and challenging. Yes, you are correct. Creative life doesn’t manifest very well without “real” life. God makes plants grow in dirt, not on gilded highways. You are a magnificent artist (including the art of photography) and I have enjoyed and been impressed by your observations of art and life. Your family is blessed to have you. The rest of us are blessed by you and benefit by knowing you. Good luck and blessings to you and your beautiful family.

Kayla Groening

Congratulations Lee! Being debt free is something that I'm working towards, as well, after being inspired by "The Minimalists" podcast. I may never become a true minimalist, but a lot of what they speak about in terms of freeing up time and money to live a meaningful life (as they put it) really resonates with me.

I am very mindful of what I buy. Will I use it? Do I need it? Can I get by without it? Will it last or is it disposable? are common questions I ask myself before making purchases. As an artist, I am inspired by the work of other artists and the tools they are using to create their beautiful pieces. I am tempted to go out and buy new equipment and tools. But I have come to discover that, having all the newest and greatest tools wont help me become a better artist. I've put myself on an art supply buying ban until I use what I already have (and it's a lot; especially paper...how do I have so much paper???). Once I use up all my traditional art materials, I may have to venture into the digital art arena (since I already have all the tools for that, but have never really used it sigh)

Since my ban, I am spending less time shopping for the "perfect" tools and spending more time to actually create, which is a great feeling. Also, some of the money I am saving, I can use towards classes such as those on SVS, which just improves my artist abilities even more (win-win).

Thanks for sharing your story. It is always inspiring to hear people freeing themselves from debt (especially in an age where most people are very reluctant to talk about finances altogether). Wishing you all the best with your move.

Eli

@kadelex I so relate to this and could have written the same post--ha ha. I have also been working towards a (more) minimal lifestyle. I fall into the trap of getting (or at least wanting) new supplies whenever I am inspired by someone's work, and realize how much time I spend doing that instead of actually doing the art. It becomes just another way to procrastinate and sabotage yourself in the process. There is a similar ban going on in my life, and the digital thing resonates--I've had the tools for several years and now I am just getting into learning them (thank you, SVS).