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Thread: Money Advice for New Dancers

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    Featured Member amylynnej's Avatar
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    Default Money Advice for New Dancers

    Okay so you started dancing or youre about to. Well here is some basic advice when it comes to money.

    Lets say one night you make 600 bucks. You need to open a savings account and deposit 200 of that into the account. Take 200 and put that in your checking account for bills etc. The other 200 is your spending money. Usually half of that I spend on stuff for the job. So if I work say 3 nights a week Ill have 300 to spend on just stupid stuff. 300 for work. 600 for bills.

    My savings account right now has almost 19k in it. Which is good seed money for when I quit next year and move onto other things.

    Bottom line is you need to save at least 1/3 for when youve quit dancing or for emergencies like some people tend to ask about here.
    AmyLynne

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    Veteran Member sunkissedbeachbunni's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Thanks that's helpful.

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    Featured Member Destiny's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Excellent idea for a thread Amy! I'll toss mine in. When you have the night of your life, resist the urge to go out and blow it all on something. If you must, treat yourself to a small treat, but put the rest of it in the bank. You'll be glad you did after one of those nights that suck.
    Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle

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    Featured Member amylynnej's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Saving money is important. If you want something plan for it. Even if you can buy it now wait 2-3 weeks and it will be more worth it.

    Too many girls go out and blow their money or give it to their boyfriend.
    AmyLynne

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Quote Originally Posted by Destiny
    Excellent idea for a thread Amy! I'll toss mine in. When you have the night of your life, resist the urge to go out and blow it all on something. If you must, treat yourself to a small treat, but put the rest of it in the bank. You'll be glad you did after one of those nights that suck.
    And to add tot his, keep to your schedule. Don't treat yourself to a week off because you made a $1000 in a night. Put it in the bank and act like it never existed.

    I put all excess in the bank. I have trained myself to think of money in the bank as only for taxes, IRA, mortgage, utilities, car and insurance (necessities). Anything left over goes to extra payment on my mortgage. I like being "cash poor" because it motivates me to work.

    My advice:

    Make a real schedule and stick to it (5 or 6 nights a week). Treat this as a full time job....which also means....

    1) Buy insurance. You don't want to go broke because of medical bills.
    2) Pay taxes. So not fun, but you actually make more money in the long run because you can be earning interest.

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    God/dess Gynger's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    I'm going to add to this too... because I used to see a lot of this-

    Buy only what you need to for work. I used to see so many newbies buying buying buying new outfits etc... then they'd complain about being broke. This went for makeup etc.

    At first you are going to have to invest in clothes shoes etc.. but keep it basic if you can.. buy one pair of black shoes, one pair of white ones.. shop the internet, get good deals.. and as far as clothes.. find things that are easily transitional.. things that you can mix and match with etc... buy off of other dancers who might be getting rid of things they are tired of.

    After you've invested in your base wardrobe.. then limit yourself to maybe one outfit a month..

    Get an IRA or some sort of portfolio!! You'd be surprised how much $100 a month contribution will add up...

    If you have a car payment.. pay an extra $50 on your payment every month.. you'll get your car paid off in half the time.. (I paid a three year car loan off this way in one year 17 months)..

    Save for that rainy day like everyone else has said... and one last thing.. the VERY most important thing ever.... Plan on getting out.. make your money, save save save and have a goal in regards to what you want to do in X amount of years.


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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Do not develop expensive tastes. Live below your income now so you can live above your income later. Get used to driving a car for much of its life-- 4 years with no car payments allows you to save that money to buy a complete car for cash sometime later.

    Do not fall for the only a dollar a day gambit. A dollar a day for 3 years is over 1000 dollars. Drop a Starbucks a day and we are talking $5 grand in 3 years. Cook for yourself rather than eat out. Think what you can buy at the grocery store for $15 as opposed to what you can get at a restaurant. If you are too tired to cook, alternate days cooking and dining out,

    Plan for the future. Salt some money away for retirement now. The longer it is there in an IRA the longer it compounds for before you retire. It will never be easier to save than now, since your income will probably go down. Figure an exit strategy other than marrying a illionaire ow winning the lottery.

    So not lend money to lovers or family. These are the two groups most likely to screw you. If you have a roomate and they are supposed to pay bill A and you are supposed to pay bill b or you go halfs, check to make sure they are really paying that bill.

    The most important is your health. It costs but get health insurance before you need it. a week in the hospital without insurance will cost $10
    K or more. Take care of your knees. You get lots of exercise so major overweight is unlikely but dancers do all kinds of shit to their knees without thinking there is a price-- there is, and it is all day everyday for the rest of your life. Keep a regular schedule so you sleep pattern does not get screwed up. It is easier to move a schedule after 5 years than it is to start one from scratch after 5 years of variability,

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    Featured Member Destiny's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Quote Originally Posted by montythegeek
    ...Drop a Starbucks a day and we are talking $5 grand in 3 years...
    And your point is? Surely you are not suggesting giving up my Starbucks. I'd rather give up sex than my Starbucks.
    Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle

  9. #9
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    ^ All of this is fantastic advice. I wish I had known this years ago. Save your money because you will feel like you got shoved through a meatgrinder when you're finished with dancing and the least you can say is that you are better off financially. You also have the rest of your life to look at. Never stop thinking of that.

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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    This is great advice for anyone starting out in life. I wonder what would happen if customers started following these same rules?

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    Senior Member pet_rock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Well, you all probably have your own computers--get and install Quicken or Money and USE it. Enter all your income and outgo for at least a couple of months. That means going through ALL your receipts and setting it up so you can categorize EVERYTHING. It IS a pain to set it up, but once it's done everything pops up when you start to enter an item.

    When you get it rolling it's easy to do and you can figure out a LOT about your spending habits. Like for example, I have a chocolate addiction and I can go back and find out how much I spent on candy overall last year, and I can even break it down by each type--and since I was the only one eating it and I know that I always buy the big bags of M&M's, I calculated I ate 55 POUNDS of those things alone last year! (I only weigh 160 pounds--almost all of it chocolate! I guess that's why I'm so sweet? )

    You girls might be shocked to find out just how much you spend on make-up in any given year. And if you track JUST your stripper paraphanalia in a separate category--i.e. stuff that will NOT be used outside of a club or bachelor party--then you may be able to deduct it as a business expense.

    As for taxes, um, a LOT of girls I've known don't report their tips and this can get you in trouble with the IRS--they see you have 19K in a bank account but reported only 10K in income and they might flag you for an audit. I think Melonie will chime in here as she has the knowledge about how to do it right.

    These programs give you nice views of your budget of how much you need to come up with each month if you decide to take a vacation, as well as a way to see your overall net weath--the best way to build weath is to see it increasing month by month.

    These programs will also help you track your bank accounts AND your mutual fund/stock purchases. Having a big savings account is great, but it shouldn't be TOO large. You want to get into other investments after you have your six month rainy day funds set aside--but that's a whole 'nother thread...

    But even if you don't use a computer--SAVE. If one stripper year is three regular years, you have to sock it away while you can, however you can.


    Quote Originally Posted by smooth_and_cool
    I wonder what would happen if customers started following these same rules?
    Well, I KNOW to the penny how much I've spent vs how much I've budgeted--I've only gone slighty over budget since my ATF is SOOOOO fine to me! I can even rationalize away my expenses like this:

    If I wasn't spending it on her, I'd just be buying stocks since I don't buy much of anything other than basic food and clothes. Stocks go up in price when their earnings go up--and I'm not spending anything to make their earnings go up! However, my ATF IS a good consumer and she goes out and buys things which ups their earnings and hence the values of my stocks...

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    Featured Member paintgoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    I could not agree with pet_rock more about tracking one's expenses. Keep your receipts and categorize your expenses. I have been doing this since I was 17. Am almost 25 now and I can tell you that is the smartest thing I have ever done. It allowed me the foresight to save my money when it seemed like all of my peers were blowing their hard-earned money at the mall and at Taco Bell. I knew that if I spent it, I'd have to write it down. OUCH!! And I could see what expenses hurt me at the end of each month when I talleyed everything up.

    So my success story--because I saved and saved, I was able to pay the 16k necessary for school tuition and housing (along with taking out a MUCH smaller loan than anyone else I knew) for my senior year in college, after my parents suddenly cut me off two weeks before the bills were due. OUCH. But it was there when i needed it. And needed it I did. It allowed me to finish my degree without being 25k or more in debt for one year of school!

    So save now. You will thank yourself later, even if you do not know what you need it for today, you will need it, because life happens--good stuff and bad stuff, and you want to be ready for either. Now i'm going to strip to save for grad school!!

    Good luck to all of you out there!

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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    One thing that has helped me when I shop.
    I ask myself "Do I really need this?" and I ask if there is anything that can justify my purchase. Ive saved much more money not buying an extra shirt, exspensive jeans, or extra food (like brownies) I dont need.
    I wish I had read all this when I first started dancing at 18 and moved out. I didnt save jack!! Now, Im pissed at myself b/c I never did. Now, Im trying to re-move back so MAKE SAVING MONEY A PRIORITY.
    That shirt or wtvr you want to spend your money on will be gone..your savings will take care of your for years and in hard places.
    you live like an ivy vine
    you can only survive by clinging onto trees
    that's your flaw
    put down some roots so you can stand on your own
    -Kenpachi



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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    the thing about saving....

    EVERYONE (not just dancers) knows they should, but most people don't. It's easy to say "save, save, save" but for most people, it's not gonna happen. It's not so much to spend less, but force yourself to make well beyond what you really need to live.

    Saving is so not fun, which is why I think buying a home and forcing yourself to put all extra money (besides your IRA contribution) in the principal is great way to save. You can see the fruit of your labor and enjoy your hard work every day. When you leave dancing you will have something tangible to show for it.

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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Another thing to consider is that interest rates have been at recent historical lows for the past couple of years, meaning that the cost of NOT saving i.e. spending borrowed money and paying it back later with interest wasn't really all that high. Obviously I'm not talking about subprime credit card interest rates, but things like zero percent car loans, 5% mortgages etc. This contributed to the general mentality that it's OK to buy things on credit.

    The FED just raised interest rates for something like the 6th consecutive time today, and also sent a clear message to the financial world that interest rates will keep on rising, meaning that the true cost of NOT saving money just took another big upward jump. Higher interest rates means that the overall cost of buying things on credit will increase substantially ! Higher interest rates also means that the passive earnings power of money saved in a bank account or investment also just increased.

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    Featured Member MinahSky's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    This is a site full of intelligent, kind, hard-working, together, informed women. Stupid strippers my ass...
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Do unto others as you would have them do to you...it's less work to be nice than it is to be evil!

    "Miss ChiChi, if you was my girl you would never cry from anything...except maybe happiness."

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    Default Re: Money Advice for New Dancers

    Having cash on hand makes spending a dollar here and there easy. You dont realize what you spend daily if its not logged down.

    I started clipping coupons for groceries. Sounds cheap! I saved an average of $20.00 per week . This is an extra $1000.00 a year. Apply this attitude toward all your spending habits and think what you could invest with that. HUGE LESSON- Only use coupons on things you accually use. If not you will spend on items you dont need or would normally not purchase increasing your bill.

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