How to Achieve Creative Freedom

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).

Stephanie Hider

Wow congrats! I would agree completely about the creativeness vs debt. There have been times I have had to take jobs I would loved to have turned down. I definitely love love it when someone comes along that I can turn down now that amount of freedom is priceless. Kudos to you on not going back into debt as well. Not an easy thing to do it's very tempting to go deeper in debt. When I bought my house they tried to convince me I could get a house for twice what I got mine for but I knew in my career layoffs happen for creatives so I declined. I did not go out and get a new car when mine was paid off shes 10 years old and still running. Many of my friends over the years have made fun of my living location but it's safe, cheap and yes boring hehe but I am ok with that. We have no debt outside of the house and it is halfway paid off can't wait until it is paid for as well. I pay cash for everything including my computer upgrades etc. I heard a quote recently that kinda hurts a little because I haven't followed it but I think I will going forward. "If you can't afford to buy two, you can't afford to buy one". This actually makes sense there have been times I cringed a bit when I bought a new mac knowing that if just one client project fell through I'd be in trouble so now I don't do that anymore.