Piece #3

Keeping expenses separate is really important for the self employed. This will make doing your taxes so much easier come April.

Depending on your particular industry this could mean you can claim books, magazines, journals, writing supplies, etc... (for writers) or you could be taking concert tickets, iTunes, blank CD's, sheet music and musical instruments (for musicians) off your taxes.

Consult someone who is well versed in taxes for artists as to how much and what can be used for taxes and what can't. Here in Toronto I went to see Amanda Mills of Artbooks to figure out how to configure my business. I learned that I had not been taking enough off my taxes and that I could be claiming thousands more! It's worth it to talk to someone who knows what they're doing.

p.s. Keep your receipts for everything!

Piece #2!

Piece number two is setting money aside. Many personal finance books will advise that you make saving automatic so you can accumulate money without having to think about it. That can be disastrous for someone on a fluctuating income.

Making savings automatic means setting up a set amount to be withdrawn from your chequing account to be deposited to your savings account on a regular basis. When you don't know how much money will be coming in every week saving a set amount of money could put you into overdraft. Because it's automatic, that money is going to go out whether or not anything went into your account to begin with. I've had cheques bounce because of this.

A better idea is to keep saving conscious and do it manually every week/month/set period of time. You can automate it by setting yourself a reminder via your calendar or cell phone to put money into savings. My method is to deposit any money I make as soon as I make it and then to set aside the money into savings as soon as I get home that night. If I wait until the end of the week I tend to forget. I stick to 20% into a savings account for taxes and 10% into savings. It can be a little embarrassing to deposit 17.00$ into an account and then put 1.70$ into savings but everything adds up over time.

Personal Finance

Right now the theme of my personal quest for all knowledge is focused on personal finances. As of January 2012 100% of my income is coming from self employement sources which what prompted this current binge of book reading.

Many of the personal finance books out there offer the same advice over and over again so it's starting to get a little repetitive. Over the next little while I'm going to be posting the best advice I come across as it pertains to the self-employed artist.

Piece #1 - Know where your money is going! As self-employed artists you likely have many different streams of income coming in on an irregular schedule. With money coming in at strange times it can be easy for money to go out in the same way. Track your spending and don't spend more than you earn. Getting into large amounts of debt is especially dangerous for the self employed since we don't know where the next paycheque is coming from or how much it will be.

Back to regular writing!

Probably the most important thing I've learned lately is that small, incremental change can add up to a big deal very quickly.

Like many people I have tons of projects on the go, I love having my fingers in many different pies, but many of these projects never get done because the amount of work they require seems insurmountable. Starting is always fun but that new project glow wears off and then you need something to sustain you.

One of these projects is doing something with all the cards and personal mail that tends to build up in our house. I love getting cards and letters but while I always plan to put them in a book or scrapbook, it always seems like too much effort looking at the box of mail I have waiting for me. I have started to overcome that by taking one card and gluing it into to book. Just one a day. At this rate it will take me a couple of months to get it all organized but my previous method of ignoring it was getting me nowhere.

Today's piece of knowledge: Small incremental changes!

New Direction!

As much as I like sharing my travels with people I don't think I travel enough to keep this blog going. Therefore, this will just involve random bits of knowledge hopefully on a regular basis.

Today's bit of knowledge: Currently I am in Quebec City after having driven 6-7 hours from Fredericton, New Brunswick. Practicing a language makes sure that it stays current in your mind. Just because you were fluent in French when you left French immersion 13 years ago doesn't mean you are still fluent. Oy!

For some reason this poster for an all Japanese cast of Wicked cracked me up no end. I have no idea why.

I was so impressed that this Canadian actress is being featured in movie poster in Kobe! If you haven't seen Whip It yet you should because that is what this is for!

Taken on my first day in Kobe.

Japan has pretty gardens

Stairway of mystery

Small shrine (I think). These little things we everywhere!

Koi fish are oddly shy. I was lucky to catch this one on camera.

At first I thought the turtles were statues until one moved. Turtles are extremely slow. Who knew?

I have never seen such colorful dragonflies in Canada. This one is blue although I saw bright red and green as well

Enormous shrine thing! Tiny dinosaur is placed there for perspective.

After exploring downtown Kobe I decided to relax in a Japanese garden for a little. It's amazing how peaceful it is in there. You're only steps away from the hustle and bustle of a major city and yet you can barely tell from inside the garden. I never enjoyed myself so much looking at foliage.