“Being creative is not an excuse to be dumb about money.”

Do you have a lot of divergent interests? Good if you do… it probably means you’re an interesting person! But what happens when these interests take you in multiple directions? What does it mean for your money?

I spoke with the lovely and funny Nichelle Stephens. Nichelle is a great example of someone with a lot of interesting and divergent interests ranging from comedy to accounting to cupcakes. She gives us some thoughts on managing your money so you don’t spread yourself too thin. And she reminds us that personal finance doesn’t have to be your life in order to be a useful tool in your life.

Is there a common thread in your multiple professional lives?

The common thread is that I am doing what I love and I help people do what they love. I produce a weekly stand-up comedy night, Chicks and Giggles which supports women doing comedy and making people laugh. As one of the bloggers on Cupcakes Take The Cake, I have created a community where cupcake lovers and bakers can share pictures, recipes, and their news. Doing freelance publicity is where I can promote cool people doing cool things, and the small business accounting facilitates entrepreneurs financial success.

I assume that your background in accounting is really helpful when it comes to managing your other professional goals. How does managing your money allow you to pursue so many diverse interests?

Since I have so many things going on, I have to budget wisely. My background in accounting helps me to focus on the tasks that are worth my time and/or money. Sometimes I do a quick cost benefit analysis in my head to determine priority. Other times I just go with my gut!

You also keep a blog, Keeping Nickels. How did this evolve?

Well, I have been doing bookkeeping for almost two years, but I didn’t have a blog dedicated to bookkeeping and small business tips. One afternoon, I set up a wordpress blog, Keeping Nickels , in about 15 minutes and the rest is history. On the blog, I talk about how manage business expenses, get ready for tax preparation, and write about new web applications for accounting. I also relate some of the experiences of setting up Quickbooks for my clients.

What tools do you use to keep your money life organized? Do you mind sharing what has been your biggest challenge?

I used Geezeo to keep an eye on my banking account. I tried to keep a spending diary, but that takes up too much time. The best way for me to budget is to give myself a spending allowance and try my darndest to stick to it.

What recommendations would you make to other people who have to balance cash flow and creativity?

Don’t fear money. Check your balances regularly. I have a friend who got $5000 from her mom at Christmas that was supposed to be for her business, and she’s afraid to check her balance to see what is left since she’s afraid to know how much she already spent (not on her business).

When it comes to money, it seems you’ve got a healthy attitude: “wealthy [by] having the most wonder-filled friends”. Any ideas why it can be difficult to talk about money, even amongst friends?

It is really difficult in New York. Classism exists brilliantly here. You can’t always judge by what people wear, where people live, or what they do for a living to know how much money they have in the bank. I have friends that make nearly 10 times more a year than I do, and yet we are friends. Sometimes I get jealous of the stuff they have, but I know I am wealthy in my own way. I just try to not keep up with the Jones’ because that is impossible.

Final thoughts on creativity and cash?

Being creative is not an excuse to be dumb about money. Keep it simple and you can do it. Find a way to make it fun, or contact someone like me to help.

Excellent thoughts, Nichelle. If you can’t afford bookkeeping help, you can certainly afford Geezeo because our tools are free. And, you can meet interesting people in any of our Groups discuss your money or your life. Live it to the fullest!

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Further Reading

• Blogger Focus : Always The Planner (0)
• Four Ways to Legally Clear Credit Card Debt (3)
• The ABC’s of Budgeting and Finance : A-E (1)
• Is Geezeo For You? (0)
• Learn to Paper Trade – For Free! (0)

Tags: Bookkeeping, Business, Finance, Geezeo, New York City, Personal finance, small business

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 10:23 am and is filed under Budget. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.