---
title: Financial Advice for Artists
description: Stefanie O'Connell has a few tips and tricks for artists trying to make a living.
authors:
  - name: Susie Poppick
    url: https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/
    at_money_since: 2013
    articles: 117
    covers:
      - Career Advice
      - Banking
      - Business
      - Credit
      - Credit Cards
      - Economy and Politics
      - Education
      - Housing
      - Identity Theft
      - Insurance
      - Investing
      - Lifestyle
      - Loans
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
      - Shopping
      - Taxes
      - Technology
    social:
      - https://x.com/susiepoppick
    former_staff: true
published: '2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z'
modified: '2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z'
section: Career Advice
tags:
  - Artists
  - Budgeting
  - Debt
  - financial advice
  - freelancers
  - Millennials
  - Money
  - Savings
  - stefanie o'connell
  - video
  - Young Money
word_count: 111
canonical: https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Screen Shot 2016-02-19 at 10.56.39 AM](https://img.money.com/2016/02/screen-shot-2016-02-19-at-10-56-39-am.png)

[Stefanie O'Connell](https://stefanieoconnell.com/) says that artists, who often live paycheck-to-paycheck and have fluctuating incomes, need to embrace the numbers and get real about their finances.

Artists should figure out the minimum amount of money they need to live each month, then commit to making that money each month. That will give them the freedom to do what they love. That minimum amount should cover basic living expenses like rent, groceries, and utilities, along with savings, long-term retirement goals, and debt repayment. Once they make that minimum each month, they can decide whether they should focus on earning additional money to cover discretionary expenses, or on devoting their free time to their art.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Career Advice",
          "item": "https://money.com/career-advice/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Freelancing",
          "item": "https://money.com/freelancing/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "Financial Advice for Artists"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/",
      "name": "Financial Advice for Artists",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Financial Advice for Artists",
      "articleSection": "Career Advice",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/02/screen-shot-2016-02-19-at-10-56-39-am.png",
          "width": 2560,
          "height": 1440,
          "caption": "Screen Shot 2016-02-19 at 10.56.39 AM"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Susie Poppick",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/#author",
          "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_poppick.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1",
          "email": "susie_poppick@moneymail.com",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://x.com/susiepoppick"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z",
      "description": "Stefanie O'Connell has a few tips and tricks for artists trying to make a living.",
      "abstract": "Stefanie O'Connell has a few tips and tricks for artists trying to make a living.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/financial-advice-for-artists/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2016-02-25T11:45:04.000Z",
      "wordCount": 111,
      "keywords": [
        "Artists",
        "Budgeting",
        "Debt",
        "financial advice",
        "freelancers",
        "Millennials",
        "Money",
        "Savings",
        "stefanie o'connell",
        "video",
        "Young Money"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Career counseling",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career_counseling"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Freelancer",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freelancer"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```