What Do You Want From Your Money in 2021?

What Do You Want From Your Money in 2021?

Emily Nixon

Emily Nixon

Rags to Reasonable Community Outreach Coordinator

Emily Nixon is an actor/writer/director/filmmaking Swiss Army Knife. She is also a big money nerd and Community Outreach Coordinator for Rags to Reasonable.

She came to this work after becoming completely fed up with living paycheque-to-paycheque and being too afraid to look in her chequing account. She is passionate about empowering other artists and variable income earners to keep doing what they love and feel confident about their finances.

Email Emily at emily@ragstoreasonable.com

Want to start getting control of your money? How can I help?

2020 In the Rearview-Financial Takeaways

2020 In the Rearview-Financial Takeaways

Emily Nixon

Emily Nixon

Rags to Reasonable Community Outreach Coordinator

Emily Nixon is an actor/writer/director/filmmaking Swiss Army Knife. She is also a big money nerd and Community Outreach Coordinator for Rags to Reasonable.

She came to this work after becoming completely fed up with living paycheque-to-paycheque and being too afraid to look in her chequing account. She is passionate about empowering other artists and variable income earners to keep doing what they love and feel confident about their finances.

Email Emily at emily@ragstoreasonable.com

Want to start getting control of your money? How can I help?

COVID Interview-Scott Beaudin, Actor

COVID Interview-Scott Beaudin, Actor

1.What were you doing for work before the pandemic?

In March 2020, I was employed at the Stratford Festival, the largest repertory theatre company in Canada. My contract was cancelled in the middle of March and I was laid off. The season, which was scheduled to run until November, has been cancelled. As of this writing (July 2020), there is no determined date for it to start back up again.

2.What do you miss spending money on these days?

I show love through purchasing gifts for my partner and loved ones, and I have not been able to afford those luxuries since I lost my job. I am not skilled with my hands and am not good at making handmade gifts, so I feel a little hamstrung in this sense. I make sure I’m being very vocal about my love and appreciation for the people around me, because that’s all I have these days!

3.How do you think your spending will change after the pandemic?

I don’t expect the pandemic to end for at least a year, so it’s hard to predict where my spending will be. I have hopes to start a family and purchase a house, so my costs are likely going to skyrocket in the next 2 years, for better and for worse.

4.What are your tips on how to cut costs?

I have been able to save lots of money by eliminating alcohol from my life. I had started this before the pandemic, but am so thankful for all of the health and financial benefits it has provided me. I am not a foodie, so I have been satisfied with removing luxury food items as well (I don’t have to eat the finest cheese the supermarket has to offer). Since I have cut out alcohol, going out to restaurants to pay $16 for a hamburger just seems like too much money at this point. I am happy to socialize in outdoor spaces, or make smaller food purchases if I am out with friends.

5. Do you feel that there is uncertainty about how your work will look after the pandemic ends? If so, what are you doing to cope with this uncertainty?

I have no idea what my industry will look like in the coming year or two. Theatres will likely have to be socially distanced, which means budgets will be greatly reduced and that employment will become increasingly difficult to find. I am expanding my net in the performance field to film, radio, and animation in an effort to grab as much work as possible. I have begun teaching acting classes over Zoom and am prepared to leave the performance industry altogether if necessary, though that would be a last resort. Employment uncertainty is a common feeling in the performance industry, so I’m actually used to it. I feel bad for those who are new to this feeling, as I know it is a heavy psychological load to bear. I have faith that our industry will adapt over the next year to create clean, sustainable work spaces that can adapt to changing health and safety concerns. Perhaps I’m being naive.

I would also like to add that I am a huge proponent of Basic Income. This moment seems like the perfect time to try out this social and fiscal experiment.

Emily Nixon

Emily Nixon

Rags to Reasonable Community Outreach Coordinator

Emily Nixon is an actor/writer/director/filmmaking Swiss Army Knife. She is also a big money nerd and Community Outreach Coordinator for Rags to Reasonable.

She came to this work after becoming completely fed up with living paycheque-to-paycheque and being too afraid to look in her chequing account. She is passionate about empowering other artists and variable income earners to keep doing what they love and feel confident about their finances.

Email Emily at emily@ragstoreasonable.com

Want to start getting control of your money? How can I help?

Emily’s Favourite Money Stories – July Edition

Emily’s Favourite Money Stories – July Edition

“The Latte Factor, Poor Shaming, and Economic Compassion” by Piggy at Bitches Get Riches

Hell. Yes. Is all I have to say about this blog post. When I was reading it, I was basically a human version of the clapping hands emoji. Yes, this. All of this. The latte factor is a sneaky thing because it can work like a charm. But only if you have enough money to meet your basic needs.

 Poverty may be something that you know well. I have been lucky enough to only be there in short periods, but I remember these vividly. A time when I survived on dumpster diving and baby food (I found a bunch of discounted jars of it and lived off that) or another time when I only ate white rice for a week. I put oil or sugar on it to add more calories.

 But during those times, if someone had brandished the “latte factor” at me as a means of extricating myself from that poverty, I would not have known enough to tell them to fuck off. I would have internalized it and added it to the dogpile of reasons that “I [was] just not good enough.” Now, I know better.

 And since poverty affects minorities disproportionately, whether the marginalization is rooted in race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability,  the blaming of people for their own financial hardships, when they result from economic discrimination is oppressive and abusive.

 Bitches Get Riches presents an eloquent “f*%$ you” to those who would use this technique as a way to shame those struggling against economic oppression.

“The Only Metric of Success That Really Matters is the One We Ignore” by Jenny Anderson at Quartz

This article feels like such a good reminder to me right now, and always. One of my friends (alright, it’s Chris Enns) refers to the casual connections that populate your life as “loose ties.” Although they may not feel deep, they add colour and richness to your daily life. For me, its one of the main reasons why I have a garden in my front yard. 

I live in the Annex, a densely populated neighbourhood in Toronto. Strangers rarely talk to each other here, but when I am in my front yard gardening, people will frequently stop to talk. They like to tell me how much they appreciate my garden, or that they saw a monarch there the previous day, or they stop to take photos of my very camera-happy cats.

When I think about what time wealth feels like, I think of the small parcels of time that I spend in my garden. Somehow half an hour out there is infinitely more rich than the same amount of time spent on social media. The time spent in nature and forming these “loose ties” feels like time very well spent.

Anderson’s piece is a wonderful reminder that effective self care isn’t necessarily spa days, yoga classes, or any of the other money-costing things that capitalism likes to sneakily package as “essential for your mental health.” But that forming loose connections in short, building community is truly one of the essential pieces that build a framework for a happy life.

The “Bad With Money” Podcast hosted by Gaby Dunn

I leuurrvv this podcast. The host, Gaby Dunn, is fun, relatable, and very open about her life. She uses her own examples (sometimes phone calls with companies she is in debt to) to demonstrate all the ways in which her financial life is challenging. Her confidence in claiming her nonexistent money skills makes it feel safe for the listener to be softer with their own struggles. It’s framed as her journey through a world peopled with those who are good with money and her trying to learn from them what she herself (and likely us as listeners) are lacking in financial knowledge.

She is open about many aspects of her life, we see that she is a queer woman who becomes increasingly frustrated with capitalist structural issues as the series progresses. And it’s neat to watch her journey.

I especially love episodes in which she tries to understand larger political financial issues, such as “Who Can Afford to Have Sex? (AKA Babies),” in which she examines the interwoven issues of class and reproductive rights. I also loved “A Myth We Somehow Believe (AKA Money and Politics),” in which she learns how Trump’s politics are in fact aligned with the Christian movement known as the Prosperity Gospel.

“When Buy One, Get One Free Isn’t a Great Deal”

OoooOOOO those sneaky stores/restaurants/kids at the lemonade stand. I love little videos that break down how something that felt too good to be true in fact is. It makes me feel better equipped to manage the world out there. It makes me feel smart. Watch it if you want to feel smart too.

“Unlearning My Buffet Mentality” by Rachel Khong at The Cut

In this article, the author tells her story about her experience of wealth as a child of immigrants growing up poor in California. She puzzles through her metrics of what it is to be wealthy, and comes to a lovely conclusion.

What’s your favourite? Any that we need to check out this month? Please send recommendations if you’ve got any!

Debt Diaries #3: Riding the Waves of Variable Income

Debt Diaries #3: Riding the Waves of Variable Income

 

Current Debts:

Credit Card: -994.25
Bank Loan4,892.45

Current Debt Total: -5,886.70

So…I kind of feel like I’m crushing it right now. Not really because of anything I’ve been doing, but mainly because it feels like I’ve been really damn lucky. Since the last entry, I have killed 2,042.93 in debt. It’s been just over a month.

It’s been a wild ride. I know what you’re thinking: a variable income earner having ups and downs? No way!

But seriously. I settled an Employment Standards Act case with a previous employer and used half that money to pay down my credit card bill. I saved the other half to build myself a bit of a cushion. Then, I got fired from a serving job, booked a voice gig, got a sweet tax return, and contracted Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. The last one has nothing to do with money, it just gives you an idea of the ups and downs I’ve been riding.

Some of these things are plannable, most are kooky dooky flukes. But I thought it might be useful to examine them to see which ones are repeatable or plannable.

  • Settling an Employment Standards Act violation out of court
    • This one isn’t really plannable, but I will say, when your (or other workers’) rights are being violated, speak the eff up. Even though it will certainly not guarantee financial gain, it will feel right.
    • Sidebar: if you feel you or your colleagues are having their rights violated, check out the ESA guide or speak to the Workers’ Action Centre or the Parkdale Community Legal Society. There are some badass folks at these organizations.
  • Getting fired.
    • I would say avoid this one…generally not great for income. But it does happen. And we, as variable income earners tend to have mega strong hustle. This one is easier if you have an Oh Shit! fund. I didn’t this time, so I called on my powers of hustle and networking to find extra gigs.
  • Booking a commercial voice gig
    • Oh man, if I could find a way to make this one a reliable source of income…well, that’s what I (and so many of you) are working on. Let’s just keep plugging away, folks.
  • Getting a sweet tax return/unlocking my tax savings
    • Finally, something that is actually plannable! I usually get a pretty sweet tax return because I’m meticulous about keeping my receipts. Also, as a financial literacy teacher/actor/writer/producer/server/French teacher/exercise teacher/childcare worker/administrator, you’d be hard pressed to find an expense in my life I can’t claim as a deduction. If you have questions about claiming deductions, check out this link. Save your itemized receipts, folks.
    • As for the tax savings, both Chris and I like to do what we call “fear saving” for taxes. Throughout the year, we set aside more than we need to on our self-employed income and put it in a taxes-only account. Once we have filed our taxes, there is usually money left over in this account that we now know we can use. Cha-Ching! To get an idea of what you might want to put away for taxes, check out this Simple Tax calculator:

Being self-employed is a bonkers journey, and we so many ups and downs. I’m still working towards regaining the sense of financial stability I had previously built for myself. But the waves will come, and when they do, our job is just to surf them, and plan as best as we can while we’re riding those gnarly A-Frames. This way, we’ll make the bombs feel like ankle busters. (PS I learned all my surfer slang here.

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