Budgeting for Your Writing Dreams
Stop spending and start investing...
There is no such thing as not having enough money to invest in your career. If you’re spending, that means you aren’t investing; and if you have goals of being a full time writer, then you need to be investing in your career early.
I hear writers complain about not having money to do what it takes to build their writing career. Things such as investing in a writing coach, editor or books that will help them when they reach the point of publishing. Even the spirit that hovers over ebooks can be somewhat daunting, leading people to believe that if the price is higher than $2.99, the book is too expensive (writers included).
Writing is hard, grueling work. Your work should be rewarded. But how can you expect readers or someone else to invest in your writing when you won’t do so?
People spend more on coffee at Starbucks in one month than they do on putting gas in their cars. Think about it? A $5 coffee everyday for a week is $100/month. You won’t ever see that cup of coffee again. Yet you fret about investing in a writing coach who can help you finish a project you’ve set aside for the last three years?
Look at things that you spend your money on everyday and I guarantee you, you’ll find at least $200-500 extra dollars a month that you can save. How do I know? Because I did it years ago. Between magazine subscriptions, eating out and just spending money, I was able to account for $300 that I could save.
In 2010, I started making no excuses when it came to budgeting for my writing dreams. If there was an $85 workshop, I did whatever it took to get the money for that workshop. You know what I realized? I simply cut out things that didn’t matter in the first place.
Stop spending and start investing today. Here’s some things to look at when it comes to budgeting for your writing dreams:
How much money do you spend in a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks at work, etc.)?
How many magazine subscriptions do you have that you know you can cancel (you probably don’t read the magazines anyway)?
Are you taking time to find coupons for the things you buy every week at the grocery store?
When you see a sale, do you need to buy that item or are you buying it just because it’s on sale?
These are just a few things to take inventory of. You don’t need a money article to realize that in today’s economy, investing is better than spending. Are you looking to be a full time writer over the next two to five years? Then start budgeting for your writing dream today. It’ll pay off.