New investing piece, invoicing guide and 'finfluencer' warnings...
The week in Creative Money - 3 September, 2021
Creative Money aims to have an open conversation about finances in the creative industries.
It was founded in July, 2020 in an attempt to address a frustrating lack of relatable financial guidance for creative workers and is written by me, Matt Parker, a music journalist and lecturer.
Hello! This week I finally got my third piece on investing for creative freelancers live, over on the Creative Money site. It’s about breaking down some of the key categories of investments you can buy (or ‘asset classes’, for the financial cork-sniffers out there). Here’s the link…
Investing for freelancers: what types of investment can I buy?
It’s important to think about what to invest in and how you might go about it, as there are pros and cons to all approaches.
For instance, someone who’s short on time and cash reserves but wants to build an investment for the long term (for instance, for retirement) might be happy drip-feeding money into the stock market on a monthly basis, perhaps via mutual or index funds.
Whereas someone with a lump sum, strong DIY skills and a chunk of time on their hands (congratulations, btw, if this is you) might prefer to focus on buying and flipping a property.
Investment really comes down to one principle: buying an asset you understand in the hope it will produce income, or rise in value before you sell it.
This piece aims to serve as an easy starting point to understanding some of these key types of assets, in the hope you find a good jumping off point to develop your own research, and eventually, figure out what makes sense for your situation and goals.
Until next time,
Matt
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What do you need to know this week?
A guide to making, sending and chasing up invoices (Creative Lives In Progress) If you’re trying to figure this stuff out, you might find this useful: Finances for first-time freelancers: tax and self assessment
This is a useful music publishing explainer from SongTrust: The two halves of a song (SongTrust)
Many ‘finfluencers’ are talking nonsense: As ‘finfluencers’ spread through social media, beware the pitfalls (The Observer)
Relatedly, I enjoyed this ridiculously pedantic takedown of financial-idiot Twitter: Ain’t Nobody Getting Rich Off Tomatoes (Government Worker FI)
Funding and development opportunities for UK creative workers
CLOSING: Lewisham Art House Graduate award scheme 2021 (.docx file download)
Offers recent visual arts graduates a free opportunity to continue developing their practice in a 200ft studio based within our artist-led cooperative. Deadline: 5 September, 2021
CLOSING: ROSL Photography Competition 2021
The Royal Over-Seas League are pleased to announce that the 2021 theme of the ROSL Photography Competition is ‘International Friendship’. Offers prizes of up to £2,000. Deadline: 6 September, 2021
CLOSING: The Whickers Radio and Audio Funding Award
Awarded annually to an emerging audio producer based anywhere in the world to create an original radio or audio documentary of between 28-45 minutes. Main award of up to £6,000 including mentorship from a top industry professional. Deadline: 8 September, 2021
Future Bubblers artist development scheme
A mentorship/development scheme supporting new music talent, you can apply for yourself or nominate others. Successful candidates will be paired with an industry mentor and get professional press shots/bios, an all-expenses paid induction day in London, along with a video session and compilation release. Deadline: 10 September, 2021
Huxley-Parlour Four By Three exhibition/mentoring opportunity
A new initiative awarding four emerging artists per year a fully-funded exhibition at the gallery’s project space in London’s West End, includes £5,000 grant and access to gallery’s mentorship programme. Deadline: 11 September, 2021
Manchester LGBTQ+ Arts and Culture Network Create Bursary
Opportunity for two LGBTQ+ artists or companies based in Greater Manchester to develop new performances. Will include a cash grant of £2000, access to rehearsal space, and tailored development support from partner venues. Deadline: 17 September, 2021
Open to visual artists who are within five years of graduation from a UK-based art school. An opportunity to exhibit and sell work an a programme of continuing professional development. Deadline: 20 September, 2021
Help Musicians Hardship Fund
The third phase of one of the major support funds for musicians is now open and will support successful applicants with a monthly top-up until September 2021. Deadline: 30 September, 2021
Society of Authors Contingency Fund
Helps writers, illustrators, literary translators, scriptwriters, poets, journalists and others, whose author-related activities make up a substantial amount of their annual income. Grants range in value from £500 to £2,000. Deadline: ongoing
ArtCry grants
ArtCry is setup to provide a rapid turnaround of funding for art works responding to current events. Grants of up to £2,500 with a panel of artists, activists, creators and producers making decisions on applications within a week. Deadline: ongoing
Royal Variety Charity Financial Assistance grants
The Royal Variety Charity is uniquely positioned to provide financial assistance to anyone who serves any facet of the Entertainment Industry. Deadline: ongoing
The White Pube Writers Grant funded by Creative Debuts
£500 given out monthly to a working class writer based in the UK. This grant has been set up to support writers of all ages who are early in their careers and would benefit from this no-strings attached financial support to help them in whatever they like. Deadline: ongoing
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