Welcome to issue #2 of The Artist’s Money Studio newsletter. My studio is a place for financial and career guidance for people in the arts and anyone who wants to think creatively about their financial life. It’s been an energizing time in the studio and I’m excited to share what’s happening.

Latest News

Two-way budget planner

I have started to spread the word about my two-way budget planner, which lets people work on both the income and expense side of their budget in detail. I also introduced a five-step process for budgeting using the planner, which includes thinking about your best feasible earning or spending levels for each item, and then exploring different options to develop a livable, sustainable budget.

I’ve also introduced several new features to make the app even easier to use, including an Easy mode that looks more like a traditional budgeting tool but still allows the capability to explore ways to make your budget work, while hiding some of the most powerful features of the app. This Easy mode is something many clients can interact with on their own, and the Advanced mode gives professionals and their clients the opportunity to model income and expenses in as much detail as they want.

Train the Trainer presentation

I presented a talk on the planner at the Coaching Capability “Train the Trainer“ event, showing how an artist named Ginny could explore different ways to make her budget work for her, such as increasing her work hours, improving her art business’s profitability, reducing her vacation budget, or taking in a housemate. The app was extremely well received, with comments like “Impressive! I love this App”, “This can help people tremendously”, ““Like how you can build ‘best’ and then ‘target’ with things to TRY”, and “Seems very user friendly.“

Upcoming AFCPE talk

In addition, I had a proposal accepted to present a talk on responsible AI for developing financial counseling applications at the upcoming AFCPE conference, a big conference for financial counselors and coaches. I will continue to share my work on developing apps for financial professionals, showing how it can be done responsibly and safely. One of my contributions to the financial counseling and coaching community is to bring my previous professional expertise in the design and development of software systems and processes to financial applications.

Amplified Planning Externship

I completed the Amplified Planning Externship, a program designed to introduce aspiring financial professionals to the real-world practice of financial planning. This program opened my eyes to the full scope of ways I can help artists in their financial lives. I will take FINRA’s Series 65 exam in September, which will be the first step towards allowing me to provide full-scope planning, including giving advice on investments. I am excited about the ways this will enable me to expand my practice.

Thoughts of the Month

What’s the difference between financial coaching and planning? To me, coaching is about helping clients set goals for themselves and then helping them to achieve their goals. Planning is more about applying your own knowledge and expertise to the client’s situation and then sharing the results with the client to decide what to do.

For example, if a client says, “I want to buy a home someday”, a coach can help them identify why it matters to them, what kind of home would feel right, and what their true time horizon is. A planner can analyze their income trajectory and housing market data to develop a savings and investment plan that makes that goal achievable in the right time frame. From there, the coach helps them follow through with the plan as life unfolds.

Both of these roles are vital! Clients often need help in setting goals for things like business investment, spending, and saving, and they can also benefit from help in achieving these goals. So, the coaching function is vitally important. Meanwhile, financial professionals know a lot more than their clients about possible choices, strategies, and their benefits, so using their expertise to discover how different options will work out for the client provides an important service.

I believe that to be as useful as possible, a financial adviser needs to be both a planner and a coach. This is the guiding principle for my studies and for my developing practice. The two roles reinforce each other. The more I know the details of finance, the better I can help someone discover goals that are sustainable and effective. And the better I can help people discover and achieve their goals, the better practical advice I can give. As for my own personal goal, it is to help as many people as I can live their best creative and financial lives, and the more I can improve my abilities as both planner and coach, the better I can help.

That’s all for now. I hope you all keep well. If there is anyone you think would be interested in this newsletter, please forward it to them. If you have questions or topics you’d like me to explore in an upcoming issue, I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you.