One of the essays in Jerry Saltz’s book, “How to Be An Artist” is titled, “Accept That You Will Likely Be Poor”. In it, he writes that only “1% of 1% of 1% of artists become rich“. He writes that most artists value time to make art over money. He tells the story of how many artists starting out will work (in a non-art job) 5 days a week to make enough money to pay the bills. Eventually, as they realize what they really desire more than money is time to work on their art, they figure out a way to work 4 days a week, then 3. They might do freelance work, part-time work, side hustles, gig work, seasonal work, etc. He says most end up making very little money from making art.
Instead they make a life worth living.
Although I never wanted to be an artist, I learned from a young age to build a life despite being poor. I didn’t want to be poor. I wanted to be rich. I wanted things like a house instead of a slummy apartment. I wanted to have wall-to-wall carpet. I wanted a color TV, with cable. I wanted air conditioning. I wanted to more food. And toys. And books.
Somehow, despite being poor, I managed to have a pretty good life. All of my after school activities, or near all, cost nothing. I rode my bike or walked everywhere I could, using cheap public transportation only for longer distances. I used the library.
It wasn’t until I met my future wife that I added luxuries that we couldn’t afford. From fancy restaurants, to expensive haircuts, to clothes, to stuff, to homes, to kids…every penny of our paychecks was spent. The rest, we put on credit cards as we financed a life above our means.
Thankfully, living under that debt burden ended more than a decade ago. The combination of me hitting my peak earning years, a bit of good fortune at work, paying off all debt and intentionally living more frugally changed everything.
Today, I have more money than when I was a child. But I am by no means wealthy (in terms of money).
I chose something different. I was able to retire at 50, because I’m comfortable being poor. I enjoy living a low cost, low key, simple life. Most of the things I do for fun are free or require very little money.
What’s somewhat ironic is that I’ve also become an artist. And I couldn’t care less about making any money from my art. I haven’t even tried to and likely never will. It’s having the freedom to make the art that’s meaningful to me.