Category Archives: personal finance

art, personal finance

Molly Crabapple’s Rules For Creative Success In The Internet Age

Now that the new tax bill has been passed, creatives have to really look at how they can survive financially, because itemizing deductions is basically obsolete. Coincidentially, I remembered this excellent article by Molly Crabapple that outlines her rules for creative success. Molly Crabapple is an artist who I met over ten years ago in Brooklyn. She is someone that knows her worth, and doesn’t romanticize the idea of being a struggling artist. Molly wrote this excellent post for Boing Boing, and I keep referring creatives to it. Now that I am blogging about it, I know I will always have it.

This is her second rule, but it is number one in my book:

2. Companies are not loyal to you. Please never believe a company has your back. They are amoral by design and will discard you at a moment’s notice. Negotiate aggressively, ask other freelancers what they’re getting paid, and don’t buy into the financial negging of some suit.

personal finance

First Thoughts On The New Tax Bill

If you have a job where you get a W-2, and you don’t itemize then you are good. The new standard deduction for a single person is $12,000. If you used to itemize on a schedule A, then things are changing. Some people may want to run out and create an LLC, but I would advise to estimate your tax bill pre and post the new tax bill before doing that. Don’t panic and incur more expenses that you have to.

I am going to wait until tax professionals analyze the bill and add more to this post when I know more.

 

 

opinion post, personal finance, writing

The Economy Has A Donkey Booty

Yes, I am comparing the United States’ economy to a woman’s figure. If you watch ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta‘, then you may have heard Phaedra Parks wax poetically about the Donkey Booty. It is a curvy, round butt that stands out. Despite Wall Street profits and the S&P hitting record highs, the middle class is shrinking. The middle class is losing numbers like JHud whittled her waistline from Weight Watchers. The new jobs coming from the private sectors are not living wage jobs. The public sector is not doing enough to create jobs. Cutting spending and creating lopsided stimulus packages are the only tools Congress is using. To refer back to my analogy, Congress keeps cutting carbs from their spending diet and thinks that makes the economy healthy. You may fit into those skinny jeans, but it doesn’t mean you are fiscally fit. The majority of jobs is coming from the retail and restaurant industry which typically are low wage jobs even if in managerial positions. These jobs don’t pay enough for a family to get ahead or even cover basic needs. Some people who are vying for these positions are often college-educated and are over-qualified. The current labor market is slack with four generations who are eligible to work. The donkey booty is a synonym for a woman’s posterior, an onion. Basically, the economy is so bad at the low end that it can make you CRY.

food, personal finance

Comfort @ O At Home

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Last night I went to the O at Home event at the Hearst Tower. The theme was comfort and the speakers were Thom Filicia, Personal Finance Expert Jean Chatzky and Chef Art Smith.

Thom Filicia formerly of Queer Eye and current host of Dress My Next advises the audience about to bring more comfort into your home with interior design. He highly recommends personalizing your home with a mix of textures. He emphasized having a plan for the space and find furnishings, colors, pillows that fit how you will use the space.

Jean Chatzky spoke to the audience about financial comfort. She has a great book, Make Money Not Excuses, and she talked about how to stop using excuses and deal with your personal finances. As an entrepreneur, you need to look at both business and personal finances to succeed in your goals.

She outlined four simple steps to be richer.

1. Make a decent living.
2. Spend less than what you make.
3. Invest. Have your money work for you.
4. Protect yourself from the unexpected. Sock away money for emergencies.

Chef Art Smith prepared the delicious food which included shots of gazpacho, mini crab burgers with bacon and tiny cups of macaroni and cheese.
I hung out with MediaPost’s Kelly Samardak and talked to some cool women including Shannon from Krupp and Danica Lo from the New York Post.

I only wish there was more food and more opportunity to talk with the crowd. Name tags would have been good because people are likely to introduce themselves when they see your name. It was a very informative event.