Comments on: The Thrifty Musician

By: Nicolé Sharpe

Nicolé Sharpe — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:58:18 +0000

Great advice… Very practical… I’ve been seeking out ‘trade agreements’ with my musician and artist friends and it’s so surprising to me to find how much goodwill you can trade on within your network.

I’ll keep on reading!

By: Chris J

Chris J — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:38:42 +0000

Lots of good advice! I especially thought the section on soundproofing your rehearsal space cost efficiently was interesting. I haven’t seen that discussed anywhere else before.

By: Dana C.

Dana C. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:39:49 +0000

Great Advice! I do agree with the point about living within your means. I will use your advice in my future spending.

By: Nita Hope

Nita Hope — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:22:33 +0000

I loved these tips and many of them I use frequently. I also do this, since I’m in school (and not for music, I gave that up years ago, I’m getting my doctorate in counseling)……if you borrow money for school, do not forget to pay off the interest on those loans straight away. I will use part of my refund to do exactly that, the rest to pay off cards that have much higher interest. I pay quarterly on Perkins loans so they won’t exist when I’m out of school too.

Also, if you can find real silk at the thrift store, it doesn’t matter what color or in what form, you can use that to polish your hair to a high sheen without spending the earth on product. Equally, if you do have a hairdresser who you’re friends with, if they go to one of those hair shows and they’ll let you go with, you can buy really excellent product at unbelievable prices…..quality shampoos, etc, for $2 a bottle.

And hang in there! Music is too important to let go of, no matter what else you’re doing. :)

Great site, thanks so much for taking the time to hand out these wonderful tips on living more responsibly!

By: Endy Daniyanto

Endy Daniyanto — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:08:01 +0000

“Make the money first. Then spend it.”

Ouch. But also what I’ve been saying to my band mates whenever the urge comes up to buy new equipment :-)

Cheers for frugal – but still stylish – musicians!

By: Dan Forshaw

Dan Forshaw — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:48:18 +0000

Fantastic & well written article – one of the best I’ve read on here, well done…I’m going to check you out on itunes, purely down to this superb article, thanks!

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:17:06 +0000

Thanks for a great article!

By: Madalyn Sklar

Madalyn Sklar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:09:33 +0000

Great tips Erika!! Thanks for sharing this.

By: Elyse Louise

Elyse Louise — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:39:46 +0000

Thank you for the great tips. The interest that builds up on college debt is something I avoid thinking about most of the time. Better to pay off the debt as quickly as possible.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:24:27 +0000

I agree with absolutely everything you said in your “Glamourous and Cheap” section. I shop exclusively at thift stores (Salvation Army has the best deals!), yard sales, I do my own hair, and make my makeup last as long as possible.

I’ve always been like this, but now that I’m a college student living on my own and without a steady job, it’s really paying off! While a friend of mine is paying $150 every other month to get her hair highlighted, I’m doing mine at home for about $4 (if I have a coupon).

These tips you listed should be read by every freelance musician out there! Everyone should remember that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to look like a million dollars!