How To Stay Out Of Debt

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Disclaimer: This topic is not new. It inundates our political chatter and rears its headevery time we turn on the TV. There are no less than a million books on this topic, witheveryone from your grandma to Oprah chiming in on how to keep yourself free ofdebt. But, more so than with other careers, being debtless is instrumental to thelong-term success of the artist (I recently quit my job to become an actor). For manywayward adventurers of artistic pursuits, it is the monster in the closet, a constantreminder that constrains every move. This mindset isn’t helped by thehigh entry costs of most artistic industries. A truly successful artist is not just amaster of his or her craft, but is also a marketing genius, a business guru and a networking machine. Theproduct is you, and you are constantly on call. All these costs hit you hardest right whenyou are starting out, and keeping a tight leash on your expenditures becomes a crucialaspect of your day-to-day. So how in the world do you keep it together enoughto pursue your artistic fancy, live life and not have to consume Cheerios and instantramen for the foreseeable future? The answer is there is no answer. What has worked for memay not work for you, and vice versa. The best I can do is provide insight into how I havestayed out of debt. Before I go any further, here is disclaimer No. 2: I amnot a financial expert. But I can offer you the following facts: I am 26 years old, I aman actor and I am in the black by a large, undisclosed sum of money -- enough to buy acar. I do not say this to show off or flaunt my status; I am only providing it as anexample of what is possible. The path here can be summarized in two words:self-control. Though I've had some help in the last few years, in the end, finances arenot someone else’s responsibility. Unless you’re a child or an addict, you areyour own best gatekeeper. The mantras I have followed these past fewyears are very straightforward: 1. If the money isn’t coming in, thenspend only what you need to. 2. If the money is coming in, save what you can foremergencies. 3. Manage one and two to stay in the clear. None of theabove is possible without self-control, which means having a system in place to manageyour spending. A system could be something as simple as not spending money on junk food ormeticulously documenting every single expenditure. Whatever it is, having one isabsolutely crucial. There is no way to control yourself if you have no idea where yourmoney goes. Self-awareness is the first step to self control. Here’s away to do it: Put everything you spend on your credit card(s) andpay them off in full every two weeks. If you’re a financial expert, this is settingoff all of your alarms, but with a proper system in place it can actually be a veryeffective way to manage your spending. It does, however, require an iron will. Continue Reading

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