She lives by her mother's mantra: “Try to never spend more than half of what you’re making.”
In NerdWallet’s Money/Makers Q&A series, we talk with innovators and artists about their money moves. The lessons they learned along the way can help other career-builders succeed.
“Even now, even with the success I’ve had financially, I would say that my cost of living has only gone up about $600 a month over the past few years,” Shea Couleé Many drag queens start by crafting together gowns with hot glue, or just throwing on the best Party City has to offer. The hours performing at clubs are often long and late, with little cash to show for it. Passion for the art of illusion and gender performance is enough to keep many going.
Q: What sort of money education did you get growing up? Couleé: The majority of my money education came from my parents. My parents were the product of their parents, who had lived through the Great Depression. Even though my parents had good jobs, they were still extremely frugal people and they believed a dollar saved isn’t a dollar spent.
When I got into drag, I really did have to apply that same sensibility of just how to save a dollar. In the early parts of my career, I would always set a budget for myself for about $30 for a look. Because oftentimes I was maybe only making $60 per gig, and so I would think back to something my mom said which was, “Try to never spend more than half of what you’re making.”
My thinking was, why spend more? I’m comfortable, my space is fine, I liked where I lived. So there was no reason for me to all of a sudden spend more, because I have student loans that I have to pay off. I used the money I was making after being on the show as an opportunity to take a big chunk out of my student loans.
NerdWallet tip: While you’ll typically need good credit to qualify, refinancing private student loans can help you save money. With payment, I tend to get the 50% deposit electronically then the other 50% paid in cash from the nightclub. I keep the 50% deposit, put that into my business checking, and then the second half of the balance goes into my own personal account. As drag queens, we make tips during our performances … so I keep those all tallied up and save them for a rainy day.
I’m in a unique position where I have a following and a platform that allows me to work a lot and get a lot more money than I used to. And that allows me to invest more into my drag wardrobe, which is really important because drag is a very visual art form. Q: What is the most expensive garment you own? I would say the most expensive garment I have is this larger than life duster inspired by one Bob Mackey had made for Donna Summer. There are maybe about 100 yards of ostrich feathers in an ombre from white to light blue to cerulean at the bottom. I would say that, including labor and materials, that duster is probably worth about $2,800.
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