How much money would it take to make you feel as though you had enough? Five hundred thousand euro or dollar? A million? What would you do if you had that kind of money? Would you still work? Would all problems be gone?

Actually, having money will not solve all your problems. It will make you feel good for half a second. You’ll have a lot more friends until it runds out. You’ll get some new problems – investing, worrying about losing what you have got. Money won’t bring you peace of mind, freedom, or the sense of security you probably think it will. You’ll find out you can never have enough. As you earn more, you spend more, and after a while you can’t understand how you lived on less.

People with money to burn will always find themselves surrounded by people with matches: deadbeats, cheats and creeps who want to take your hard-earned money; jealous rivals and critics who want to bring you down; people eager to work for you, do for  you, supply you with whatever you desire.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the saying ‘Do what you love and the money will follow’.  They don’t say when. For the creative person who sometimes has to work on spec, negative cashflow can be disastrous.  People don’t pay you on time, but you’re expected to pay your bills on time or face hefty penalties, repossession, loss of credit.

Even successful creatives often have to deal with periodes of low income (everything is great until the play closes, and then it’s months before you get another gig). The only way to deal with it is to go with the left brain and start a savings program during the good times to tide you over in the slow times.

Most right brainers don’t want to deal with filthy lucre. They don’t want to worry about money – they just want to have it when they need it. I repeat: the only way to have it when you need it is to learn how to manage  your money. If you don’t balance your checkbook as you go, you never know how much you really have, and it doesn’t seem real.  It helps to have the kind of personality that can handle ups and downs – emotional as well as financial, because they often go together.

ACTION TIME

Write one sentence about what money means to you. What is your financial philosophy?