Save Your Dough

By Danzine, Anonymous

Had a manager bug me about what I did with the money O earned from work. “Save your money now, you are not always going to have this job.” Totally- dancing takes a toll and I don’t want to be doing this five years from now. There are not many jobs that give me the flexibility and lump sum dinero that dancing does. Fully aware that I have bills to pay and obligations to take care of, what my boss didn’t want me to forget, was my future.

Having a goal or an idea of what you want 3 months, 13 months or 6 years from now helps. Everybody wants something, whether it’s a pair of shoes, a car, Paris in the Springtime or their own business. Write that shit down and sew it to your pillow. 10% of each shift is a small amount, and grows with time. “Envelope” banking is a good start, you pick the hiding spot. Say a dancer makes a $80 a shift, that’s $8 in the envelope. At three shifts a week, four weeks a month, that’s already $100 saved. The more the envelope is fed, the hungrier it gets. My boss twlls me the first $1,000 is the hardest to save, but after that you’re flying high. When you hit mark $5,000, consider %10 of that for investments. Keep shaking what you got, and leave a little for yourself.

Danzine was a progressive program running for nearly 9 years, starting out as a 'zine and eventually including needle exchange programs, a thrift shop, and international distribution of their printed 'zine. Founded by Teresa Dulce, Danzine continues to be an inspiration in spite of its sad closure in 2003.