The musician played with Rilo Kiley and Josh Groban, but after going through her 4-month savings cushion, it's decision time
Age: 27
Location: Brooklyn, NY and Ann Arbor, MI
Occupation: Musician
Goal: Replenish her savings after blowing through her four-month rainy day fund.
There have been high points in Colette Alexander's short career as a cellist. She's played with Rilo Kiley and Rachael Yamagata, toured big arenas with Josh Groban and traveled Europe with indie star Jens Lekman. There have been lower points, too: when music didn't cover the bills, she took other jobs. When a friend's mother died, Colette stepped in, helping handle the logistics of the mother's apartment and sort through her belongings.
Soon, she was advising her friend on issues ranging from rare books to old wines, and the friend was so pleased she suggested Colette start her own small business, conducting estate sales online. "She's been encouraging me to meet with her trust and estate lawyers," Colette said. "It'd be nice because it would be something that would give me flexibility with my music work."
But what if that's too big a leap, too much time and energy to devote to a non-musical endeavor? She currently makes around $2,500 a month from her freelance work, which has to cover expenses and about $45,000 in existing debt. A year ago, she had around three to four months of living expenses in a savings account, "like any good freelancer should," she said. "But work has been slow and I chose to take some gigs for less money than usual, so I've pretty much blown through that now."
Now Colette is operating without a safety net. If things get truly bad, she can raid her retirement account, but of course she'd rather not. So, it's decision time: Should Colette sacrifice her current musical gigs to focus on her new business, or would she just be giving up a dream for another unsure bet?
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