33 Years old, no debt, freelancer in the middle of shifting careers, $ saved

[tiptop]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of finding a new source of income but I've been renting a room out and working as a freelancer for the past years and have only saved about 10k in savings, got 5k in a roth IRA which I haven't been able to contribute to since my career choice is like the stock market, quite volatile, taxes hit hard for freelancers since there's also a self employment tax. I live out in Southern California and barely go out. Coming out in the forum, I make like 1500 a month - (ready for all the critiques hahah)

I never had debt and live an optimistically frugal life. I'm very appreciative of this lifestyle, but I know to get to FI I might have to work harder or get a full time gig, which I chose not to. I'm giving myself an opportunity to hopefully get to FI with investing. Got some tips?

[LAGuy]

You already sound frugal. No need for critiques. You already know what the solution is: make more money. There's no secret to this stuff.

[tiptop]

Thanks for the replies, I'd like to hear your thoughts on pursuing a passion vs. building wealth for financial freedom.

How do you figure out how to handle your finances and pursue your passion?

So I'm a filmmaker doing freelance editing/video work to pay the bills, but making a movie seems to be such a long stretch since I spend so much time to do the freelance work it leaves little time for my own creations.

This dilemma has kept me frugal and also making me want to transfer over to greener pastures e.g. a different career.

I also didn't have much finance talk in my home as a kid, and my parents just kept drillin in me "finish school and get a job".

So I'm reaching to you guys for your advice, what advice would you provide to your frugal kid who's pursuing the commercial arts?

[tiptop]

@Malkynn, thanks for sharing your 2 cents on this as the creative field really does require you to cut your own path.

I guess the answer lies within; reflection, research and the right networking (because now a-days everyone's an expert or CEO of some startup)

I'll be working on the plan again and with progress I want to contribute some advice similar to others on this excellent form.