Graduates considering different repayment approaches can use a refinancing calculator to compare possible interest rates, monthly payments, and repayment terms. This can help illustrate whether a different loan structure could reduce costs or simply extend the repayment period.

Be cautious of refinancing your federal loans. Even if you are offered a lower interest rate, you could lose access to important federal benefits and protections, such as deferment and forbearance, as well as income-driven repayment plans like PAY As You Earn or Income-Based Repayment. Run the numbers and think about your goals before making a decision that could have long-term trade-offs.

Build a Budget Around Your Real Income

Because of the inconsistencies in the creative income received, it can be challenging for creatives to budget accordingly. Instead of running the risk of running through the best of your creative finances during the better months of the year, estimate your income during the more frugal months and set up a creative budget based off of that number.

Start with fixed costs such as housing, utilities, transportation, food, insurance, and debt payments. Then add creative expenses, including art materials, software subscriptions, website fees, printing, or studio access. Separating personal and professional costs will make it easier to see where your money is going.

During your strong months, don’t spend it all—save it for your taxes and the future payments on your loans, build up your emergency fund, and put away some money for the projects that you’re working on and the equipment that you need to do your work.

Protect Your Ability to Create

This is not to say that paying off debt is not important. However, it is equally important to have funds available for creative and career development projects and to be able to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. The artists and craftspeople who make a living from their work are those who have managed to develop and maintain multiple income streams and also to have enough money available for tools, equipment, and other necessities. Remember that while your camera or other equipment may be paid for, it will eventually wear out or become obsolete, and you will need to replace it in order to continue working.

Even make small monthly deposits to have money available for future creative ventures and to avoid having to use credit cards in an emergency to pay for essential equipment, for example, to update your portfolio, for exhibitions, or for travel and other opportunities for professional growth.

Ask yourself if your planned purchase can improve your work, open up new clients, or even consistently earn money for you.

Develop More Than One Income Stream

As the famous artist and illustrator Chris Wilson has said, it is best to try and have as many income streams as possible. He works in a variety of different ways, taking on illustration commissions, creating prints, and teaching workshops, as well as licensing his work for use on things such as t-shirts. This is also true for the musician and composer. He could be performing, creating, and producing new music; teaching others to play; as well as making digital content. This can help to reduce the impact of slow periods in your business, as well as helping to provide the funds to develop new work and projects.

By earning money in multiple ways, you’ll be able to deal with times when the money’s not flowing so well. It will also give you the financial safety net you need to experiment with work that will pay less at first but have greater returns in the long run.

Define Success on Your Own Terms

Getting into and working in the art and design field can be a complex web of financial pitfalls; there is little room for error while struggling to start a creative career, and in many cases getting out of the huge amount of debt you got into as a student while studying art to try and turn it into a profitable career, which in some cases may happen quickly, but for others it can take a few years, and in the meantime they need to find other ways of managing the money they have in order to survive.

Keep track of how much you are earning from all of your creative projects, pay close attention to your debt, put away some of your money to cover essential expenses that will help you to continue to be creative, and always try to make the best financial decision for the long term. With these simple steps, the finances of art students will no longer be an obstacle to their creative ambitions.

The post How to Be an Art Student with Debt and Still Have an Art Career appeared first on The Hype Magazine.