Dear Gilda,

Continue pursuing your goal of being an artist because that is what brings you joy. But you also need to take control of your bills as soon as possible. The one thing you do not want is to hurt your credit score and runaway bills will do that.

Gilda you should consolidate your outstanding debt into one lump sum that you make monthly payments on. It will free you of having to keep track of a whole lot of paper work while providing comfort knowing you are gradually working down the debt owed.

Now Gilda it appears that your monthly financial needs are greater than your monthly income, which is why you are facing financial problems. So examine your options. You may need to find a second job. Something part-time, maybe 24 hours a week in-between your full-time job will help pay your bills. Also consider moving back home if you are able. Not permanently, just until you can save enough money to leave again on own your own for about a year. Your expenses will be cut dramatically while living at home.

If those two options don’t work for you, then I would advise you to simply find a new job that pays better. You need to calculate how much money per month you need to survive on then find employment where you can earn such an amount.

Ideally the job should be in the field you want to work in or as close as possible to it. But Gilda stay open to working outside of your field if the money will allow you a more comfortable lifestyle.

Gilda you can do it. Just focus on what you want and you’ll be fine.

Good luck

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Hello Gilda,

A good friend of mine managed to quit his day jobs to be his own boss and live from his passion 3 years ago. He told me last month something valuable regarding your situation: you have to assess whether your skillset in your passion is actually "monetizable in the real world" (to reuse his words).

He told me he saw too many of his artist friends crash and burn because they solely focused on their passion and neglected (or were reluctant to) take the time to apply this frame on themselves and their skills. I know it sounds like a cold, harsh thing to do but he explained he had to go through such an assessment in order to make it work.

The good news is that it seems there is almost always an "angle" on which you can make your passion work for you so it makes you money. The hard part is to figure out the angle that works for you. A lot of people cannot find it, usually because they do not even think about their passion like that.

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Gilda,
It turns out your question inspired me to interview passionate people who made it happen in their favorite field. They describe what it takes, and what it involves on a daily basis. I hope you'll enjoy reading about it. There are 3 parts, here's the 1st one.

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