Investing and the Creative

 You don't want to work, you want to bang on the drum all day. Or maybe you want to write that novel or comic.  Maybe you want to make movies, or music, or host a podcast.  Alas, life costs money, which means you probably need some sort of day job, which takes time and energy away from the aforementioned projects that you'd likely rather focus on. 

This is where dividend income can really come in handy. Money that comes in regardless of hours worked facilitates artistic projects. You can use it to cover life expenses so that you can do your thing full time or keep the job and use the money to cover the more direct costs of whatever passion it is you want to pursue and use it more as "start up capital".  

In a way you're giving yourself corporate sponsorship. You know how shows always have that bit where a voice says over a promotional image for the show, "this program is brought to you in part by" and then an ad for some product plays?  The same would apply to some extent to whatever it is you're doing. Think of these companies like patrons for your particular art.

This is another reason why it's so important to start young. If you're in high school and working your first job, get those IRA's (both Roth and traditional) up and running, of course,but also start building that portfolio of strong dividend payers.    Even if you pause during the college years to cover those costs, reinvesting those dividends will keep building that floor for you.  By graduation, you'll be moderately well on your way to the financially independent lifestyle.  That'll make it easier for you to get started on that project that has been on the back burner.

UBI has been making the news, and it is uncanny how similar the rhetoric is between those who advocate for the policy and the FI(RE) community; but who knows when, or even if, that comes to pass.  The government's numbers aren't exactly strong at the moment and pointing advocates to alternate means of accomplishing the goal hasn't worked as well as one would hope.  Even if it was implemented, I wouldn't suggest relying on that alone.  Use it to get you to where you want to be faster, sure, but don't just bank on that.

Crowdfunding is also an option, but there's no guarantee there.  There are successful Indiegogo and Patreon campaigns, of course, but the odds aren't in your favor. I've made more progress building an income floor in two years investing than I did after 8 years of having a page set up on the latter site.  Even poking prominent "I have too much money and I want to give it to you, but Republicans won't let me" figures doesn't seem to work. Contrary to what you may have heard, Bernie won't give it to ya, the Patriotic Millionaires won't give it to ya, even X won't give it to ya (shame on you if you didn't see that coming.)

So, for the aspiring writer, actor, painter etc. this is definitely something you'll want to look into. It's a more indirect way of making a living doing what you want, but it is still very much viable. It isn't like flipping a light switch, but you can definitely start building that momentum and getting the ball rolling.

Click here to start investing on E-Trade

Click here to start investing on Robinhood. This link gets both of us a free share of stock and the site allows fractional share buys, which is great for new investors or those on a tighter budget.