Re: Tips for making $, but what about tips for saving it???
^^^ I'm glad to see that this thread was 'resurrected'. With the economy looking more 'shaky' these days, thus after-tax camgirl and dancer incomes being more likely to decline than increase, it's again becoming very important for dancers and camgirls to keep a firm grip on their 'non-essential' spending.
As you allude to, the first important step is to create a budget that covers 'essential' spending as the top priority ... estimated tax withholding, rent - groceries - utilities, etc. Second priority should be paying down ( or paying OFF ) interest bearing debt i.e. credit cards, auto loans etc. Third priority should be setting at least some amount of the remaining money aside as savings. Last priority is spending remaining money on any 'non-essential' items.
When it comes to savings, I am a firm believer in utilizing term deposits i.e. Certificates of Deposit at banks or credit unions. Even though the interest rate paid is near zero these days, 'tying up' saved money for certain periods of time ( like 6-12 months ) ... with a penalty charge coming into play if the money must be accessed before the term of the CD elapses ... is a much stronger incentive to avoid 'non-essential' spending than having that money immediately available in a bank checking account, a home safe / freezer etc.
When I first started dancing, I made it a point to try and set aside $1000 per month with which to purchase a 6 month CD every month for those first six months. I then moved to purchasing a 12 month CD every month for the next 12 months, using the $1000 I was saving plus the 'rolled over' value of my maturing 6 month CD's. I kept adding to the 'size' of the 12 CD's until they reached $2000 each ... which effectively gave me an 'emergency' fund that could provide me with $2000 in cash every months for 12 months if for some reason I was unable to work ( with the $2,000 per month being based on my 'essential' spending requirements at that time ... adjust accordingly ). Using this technique of twelve separate 12 month term CD's worth $2000 each made it a lot easier for me to resist splurge spending than if I had simply dropped all $2000 * 12 = $24,000 into a bank checking account !!!
Once I had completed building my 'emergency fund' of twelve separate $2000 12 month CD's, I then started directing my $1000+ monthly savings towards other types of investments ... as well as a few 'non-essential' items like paying cash for a more dependable 3 year old used car.
Re: Tips for making $, but what about tips for saving it???
^Last time I checked, CDs these days were hardly worth investing in - even if you left the money in for a few years, you wouldn't end up getting much back.
Would you say that that is still true? Or were CDs more worthwhile to you just because they helped you avoid spending the money while also accruing more interest than the money would in a savings account?
Re: Tips for making $, but what about tips for saving it???
^^^ In truth, the differential in interest rates between a zero term bank savings / checking account, and a 6-12 month term CD, was never much of a reason to opt for the CD's. It was the 6-12 month term, plus the imposition of a penalty charge for early withdrawl, that 'enforced' a greater degree of financial discipline.
When one has all of their monthly bills paid, and is staring at $24,000 of immediately available money in a zero term bank account, it's all too easy to take the position that 'I can spend this $2000 on a vacation' or 'I can buy this designer dress' or 'I can trade in my old car for a new one' ... because there aren't any immediate negative financial consequences.
Similarly, had I been 'laid up' and unable to work for whatever reason, staring at $24,000 of immediately available money would have made it all too easy to simply 'dip into' that money whenever I wanted. With CD's, knowing that withdrawing money without penalty was limited to $2,000 per month ... just about exactly what my monthly rent + utilities + groceries cost at the time ... provided an incentive to both control my spending on any 'non-essential' items, plus provided an incentive for me to get back to work ASAP.
Re: Tips for making $, but what about tips for saving it???
For me I had to blow a lot of money to really get the motivation to save it. My first year of dancing I had amazing regulars and I was pulling in insane money, 20-25g a month at the height of my time then... and I spent every penny I had on spas, salons, shoes, clothing, drugs, and above all, handbags. When I quit I barely had enough money for a plane ticket home.
So when I started up dancing again I let myself spend some money in the beginning. I bought a new computer, which I really needed, another Chanel bag, a cute leather jacket, etc. But after making my five luxury purchases I just focused on spending. I do well with goals-- I get obsessed and I have to reach them, and setting a goal for how much I wanted to save up REALLY helped me. I got to the point where I didn't even want to go shopping (and I'm a shopping addict, no joke) because I just wanted to reach that goal!
For me it's also important to remind myself when I have a good night that good nights are something special that I should not take for granted. I don't have the urge to go on a shopping spree when I have to work really hard just to break $400, but when I made $1200 easily in a night there's something about that that just makes me want to drive to Neimans. So I always remind myself that good nights should be appreciated and the money should be saved, and that when I'm having a BAD night I will be in a much better place mentally if I stuck that 1200 in my shoe box or safety deposit box.
I also don't deposit my money in a bank account. For some reason it's much easier for me to spend money on a credit card or debit card than it is for me to spend cash, so I find I'm much less likely to spend if I have to it tucked away somewhere. I work with a girl who has some special kind of bank account where she literally can't touch the money without getting a huge fine and she said that helped her save a lot. I also used to know this girl that didn't cash in her funny money very often because it helped her save (I'm not really big on that idea but it worked for her). I've been saving these past few months for my move to London and I converted the money into pounds... great way to save, I couldn't even use it!
Writing down a spending diary and budgeting out are also great options.
I think it's something that you have to work on over time and be really disciplined about. And I think the older you get and the longer you dance the easier it is to save.