How to Save More as a Musician

For many musicians, saving is a challenge. You may have multiple employers and gigs, but no guaranteed salary to create a consistent budget around. You may not know what work you will have in 6 to 12 months, let alone how much you will make or can save. Things can be much more unpredictable than for someone in a traditional job.

As a musician, you might not have a 401(k) with a company match or other benefits. Instead, you need to think like an entrepreneur and become responsible for creating your own savings plans.

Saving and investing is the path to financial independence. Even if you don’t want to retire, you should still aim for financial independence, so you can work because you want to and not because you have to. Saving isn’t just for retirement planning, it’s developing a plan for financial security to free you from worry today.

How can we make saving easier? What steps make you more likely to succeed?

1) Put your saving on autopilot through automatic monthly contributions. Whether it is establishing an emergency fund, contributing to an IRA, or creating a 529 college savings plan, making it automatic is the way to go.

2) Emergency Fund Triggers. Hopefully you already have an emergency fund with at least 3-6 months of living expenses. I know that musicians often need to tap into funds during the summer when their income drops with fewer gigs and students. Coordinate your saving with an emergency fund target: if your target is $12,000, anytime your account exceeds $12,500, sweep $500 from your emergency fund into an investment account. When you have busy months, you will have funds to invest more frequently.

Having trouble getting your emergency fund started? If you contribute to a Roth IRA, you can always access your contributions (but not any earnings), without tax or penalty. Hopefully, you will not have any emergencies and can leave the Roth account intact.

3) Set goals. If you don’t have a finish line – a target amount for your nest egg – it’s hard to feel any sense of urgency to saving. When I was 30, I knew where I wanted to be at 50, which also meant I could determine where I needed to be at 35, 40, and 45. Those specific goals have helped me stay on track through the years. Without long-term goals, short-term actions often lack direction and a clear purpose.

4) Think big, not small. How many times have you read that you can fund your IRA by giving up your daily coffee fix. Forget that! If you get the big decisions right, the small stuff takes care of itself. Instead, be very smart, calculating, and objective on two essential things: housing and cars. These are the biggest expenses for almost everyone, and we have tremendous discretion in choosing how much we spend on these two categories.

If you want to jump start your saving, take a close look at all your recurring monthly costs: insurance, utilities, cell phone, cable TV, and memberships. Comparison shop, look for savings, and drop items you don’t use or won’t miss.

5) Focus on maximum saving. There is an oft-repeated rule of thumb that you should save 10% of your income. I am guilty of saying this one, too, especially as a “realistic” goal for new savers. However, there is nothing magical about the number 10%, and there is no guarantee that if you start saving 10% today that you will have enough money to accomplish all your financial goals. Try to contribute the maximum to any employer retirement plans, which for a 403(b) or 401(k) means $18,000 or $24,000 if over age 50. And if you are also eligible for an IRA, fund a Traditional, Roth, or Backdoor Roth IRA. If you have self-employment or 1099 income, you may also be eligible for a SEP-IRA.

If it helps you to increase your saving, then let’s calculate each need separately and contribute to:

• Employer retirement accounts
• IRAs
• Health Savings Accounts
• 529 College Savings Plans
• Term life insurance policy
• Taxable brokerage account
• Savings for a first or second home down payment
• Savings for your next car, so you can pay cash when you need to replace your current vehicle

In other words, you have lots of reasons, needs, and ways to save!

Link: If your Adjusted Gross Income is below $30,750 (single) or $61,500 (married), you may be eligible for The Saver’s Tax Credit when you contribute to an IRA or other retirement account.

I know a lot of millionaires who were great savers and invested in generic, plain mutual funds. But I have yet to meet anyone who has turned $5,000 into a million through their brilliant investing. Investing decisions matter, but you are likely to reach your goals faster if you can figure out how to save 50% more rather than spending your time trying to increase your returns by 50%, because it is not possible over any meaningful measure of time.

Saving is the foundation of financial planning. It’s the first step which leads to many other good things. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult step for most of us! But if you spent years practicing an instrument and studying in a conservatory, you already have the discipline, organization, and drive to be successful. It’s just a matter of applying that same process and curiosity to your finances!