“Sell so much that the kids think they are next!” – Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Make Over
My days have been spent, posting, selling and shipping my collectibles on eBay and Craigslist. I have collected a lot of stuff through out the years while I was blocked creatively. Now I’m ready to get rid of as much as possible. The extra cash helps quite a bit with my husband’s recent lay off.
Debt
I have come to the sobering conclusion that debt is self sabotage. I have battled with it for years while avoiding my creativity. My breakthrough came while reading The Artist Way by Julia Cameron in 2003. It was HUGE for me to read her accounts on artist hiding as assistants and supporting Crazy Makers.
After moving from California to Northern Oregon to escape my Crazy Maker aka Mom, I began to slowly push through my self inflicting pain and started advocating for my own creativity. In doing this I also had to get sober about our finances. I consolidated my debts and got through some of it by watching Suze Orman. Eventually, I came across Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Make Over** and I’ve been listening to him since.
My husband and I have attended his financial classes and have learned a lot. It has also solidified our relationship as we begin to figure out how to be more stable no matter how crazy life can get…. and it can get pretty crazy from lay offs, son in the military, close family dying of cancer, my own cancer scare and numerous surgeries.
Budget
Creating a budget is crucial to keep control of the finances and my future in painting. If I can live on a budget I have more dedicated time to paint. It’s that simple. If I am not spending more than I earn then I don’t have to get an extra job to pay for it…. hence more time to paint.
If keeping up with the bills is an issue, I highly recommend picking up Dave Ramsey’s book from the library. If it sounds doable, then check out his program at a local church**, where they meet for 9 weeks in s class setting called Financial Peace University. Like I said, it changed our life and the way we deal with money and future plans. Even though it’s held at a church it does not try to convert you in becoming a member. They are careful about not being preachy which my husband and I really appreciated.
Selling Things
Decluttering equals more room to paint bigger and money to buy supplies. It also helps in paying bills and putting food on the table when things get tight. You’d be surprised how much a weekend garage sale will bring. Or selling things that you haven’t used in a year. Craigslist is a great place to sell stuff as it is finding an easel and other studio items for really cheap.
Boundaries
Learning to say NO! and yes even to myself. Learning what over extends you is very important. Teaching others to respect your time by respecting it yourself. Family and friends will take your creative time seriously if you do. Telling friends that you can’t meet them on a whim because you have scheduled a painting day will show them how important that time is for you. It won’t sink in right away. They might even get hurt that you are blowing them off by being selfish, but when they are at work you don’t drop in un-announced to take them out to lunch in the middle of a meeting. They just need to be taught by you how precious that time is. If they refuse to honor your commitment to your creativity it’s time to have a talk and even let them go. Yes, this is a serious issue for most creatives. Being assertive is key, as is being consistent.
Whole Life & Whole Foods
Eating real food and not dieting. Creating a weekly menu is another huge time and money saver. We buy in bulk, like 25lbs bags of rice and beans and shop at Costco for most of our groceries. I make mostly everything from scratch and try to keep things simple. Making a weekly menu can be time consuming for the first two weeks but once I got the hang of it, I was able to swap protein, veggies, carbs/starches and desserts pretty quickly when the ingredients are consistently available. Leftovers are also a HUGE time saver. We try to keep eating out to once a week or every other week when we are not up to cleaning up after dinner, like my teaching days.
Exercise
I find it weird that whenever I try to get on a serious exercise program, like daily yoga or going to a gym, it actually takes away my need for creativity. I find this to be true with cooking elaborate recipes. After so many years of trying to balance a holistic healthy life and painting it does not work for me. I have had to put painting as my main focus and once that is accomplished for the day / week, I can head to the park for a long walk. Walking is amazing. My favorite place to walk for at least 45 minutes 3-4x a week is our local library. They have a gorgeous duck pond with water lilies and everything. When I can’t get out, I walk around the house. I put the kitchen timer on for 40 minutes to be sure I get a good walk in, as well as my favorite shows to distract myself.
Prioritizing
Everything gets better when you spend time on it. Think about it, if you take an hour a week to plan out your schedule, exercise, food menu, finances, even relationships, they get better. The more time you dedicate to something the better it will flow and become a habit. It took me years to get things to feel natural especially the food part. Working on one area in your life for a couple of months helps to hone in on what works for your schedule.
**I usually don’t endorse programs like this but this has been a life changer for us. Now, I do have to disclose that it is based on Christian bible beliefs on how to deal with money, but I don’t really pay attention to that part of it. I don’t think it gets in the way of the program but then again I was brought up Catholic and I’m quite used to it actually. I attribute the spiritual part of this to grace, which can be attributed to any religion and non believers. My personal beliefs lend themselves to more on the Buddha side of things, reincarnation and respect for all life…but that’s another story for another time.
painting joy - nancy cuevas 