June 28, 2019
My husband and I had a great talk about lifestyle choices and sacrifices today.
See, we’re at a point in our lives where we are ready for a change. We have both been performing off and on for several years, and we work part-time, flexible jobs so we can train regularly and leave for performing gigs when the opportunity arises. We got married last September. We have a dream of buying property and building a circus and equestrian training facility. This started as a ten year plan, but recently we have decided we want to get started on this sooner. However, our low monthly income makes it difficult to save much money per month to put towards a down payment.
Therefore, we live pretty conservatively. We turn down a lot of dinners out and we hardly ever buy anything we don’t truly need. We have two roommates. I make tea at home instead of going to Starbucks. I mostly train on my aerial rig in our backyard to avoid a gym membership, even though the weather is often not ideal. I am still riding horses in the same breeches and boots I got in high school. I clip coupons. I have multiple side hustles.
This isn’t our only option. I have a college degree. I gave up a full-time graphic design position at a company with full benefits to pursue my dreams, because I looked around and realized there wasn’t one person in that office whose life I wanted. My husband has turned down several better paying career paths to be a performer.
Don’t get me wrong – the starving artist thing gets old. Sometimes, I want all-you-can-eat sushi so bad I can’t stand it. I want to be able to impulse purchase some new leggings and not feel guilty about it later.
(Don’t worry – we do treat ourselves to sushi every now and then!)
However, we feel that the sacrifices are worth it to do what we love and build towards the future that we want. This is a choice, or rather a series of choices, that we are making. We make decisions every day to keep contributing to our goals. Some of it seems a bit silly. Instead of ordering a pizza, we will put that $15 in our Acorns investment account and eat leftovers. But it is so rewarding to watch the numbers add up!
It helps that we know a few inspiring individuals who have built their businesses from the ground up and achieved their goals. We are trying our best to learn and grow from their experiences, but also find our own path. But there are so many paths and choices out there.
We know some people who started as starving artists like us, and either got a dream performing contract or started booking so many gigs that they have the income they need to live the life they want. That’s perhaps the most direct path, but it’s not one that happens for everyone.
Others have built their online brand so well that their skills and teachings are in demand all over the world, and they can get paid to travel. They might not be performing all the time, but they are doing some form of what they love as a full time job, and they have designed their career to support the lifestyle they desire.
Still others are struggling to have enough circus work to pay the bills (like us), and they must have other work to get by. We both have part-time jobs at a small company here in town that sells circus equipment and therefore is familiar with our goals and lifestyle. We are lucky to have found a job that is part-time enough to allow us training time, and it is flexible enough that when we do get traveling gigs, we still have a job when we get back in town. It’s still a struggle at times. We work six hours or so at our part time job and still have to find time and energy to train, side hustle, and get chores done. It’s a lot packed into every day, especially if you’re like me and have more than one discipline to train (equestrian and aerial, not to mention conditioning and flexibility).
We know other circus artists who have given up and taken a full time position outside of the circus world. Some of them say they will be back after they make some money. Or that they will still train in the evenings. Most of them don’t follow through.
Others drift somewhere in between. They take work that takes up most of their time and energy for a better paycheck, but their training suffers.
I think it’s all about priorities and sacrifices. In our current situation, we can either afford to pursue what we love or we can live a privileged lifestyle. I would love to live with just my husband in a house by ourselves and have a gym membership to the fancy new circus gym in town, but I would have to give up my training time with the horses and take on another job to do that. That’s not something I’m willing to do.
I know people who complain that they just don’t have the time and energy to train often. My answer is this: if your job isn’t taking you where you want to go, it’s time to make a change. Work less hours, get by on less money, and pursue what you love. Stop spending your money on nights out partying and spend that time in the gym. If you really want it bad enough, you have to make the sacrifices to make it happen. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to give yourself a real chance at what makes you happy?
The path we have chosen is a difficult one. I end each day exhausted, but I’m much happier than I was when I had a full time desk job in a career field that I wasn’t passionate about. That job was making me money but limiting my potential. I firmly believe that you have to put your energy where your passion lies. You can’t keep putting it off and thinking you’ll pursue your goals when the opportunity arises, because it may never happen. You have to make it happen. There is always a way – you just have to find it.
If you are feeling stuck, I challenge you to ask yourself this question right now. What needs to change in my life so that I can pursue my goals, and how do I make that happen? The answer might not be a simple one, but it’s a great place to start.
Sorry if this one turned into a bit of a ramble! I do plan on posting more in the future about my side hustles and how we design our lives around our passions. To be honest, this is an area I am still growing in.
I will say that the investment app, Acorns, has been instrumental in starting to invest towards our dream circus ranch! I was a little skeptical of using an app to invest when I first saw the ads for Acorns, but when I heard on my favorite personal finance podcast that it was just as good as a Vanguard account, I was sold. We went from saving nothing to saving a substantial amount per month as soon as I downloaded the app and signed up. Watching the money in our investments grow has motivated us to save more and more each month, and our goal is seeming like a closer reality. The best feeling!
If you are interested in finding out more about Acorns, feel free to send me a message. If you do want to sign up for an account, go ahead and follow my referral link and we will both get some cash to invest! This definitely isn’t the only way to save and invest, but it has been the easiest and best option for us, so I wanted to mention it in case it can help you too!