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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Join SoundGirls + Meyer Sound for an Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Experience

 

Meyer Sound hosts SoundGirls on Wednesday August 13th at 1 PM in Berkeley, CA!

2832 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702, United States

Tour is 2.5 to 3 Hours

Get an insider’s look at the innovation and craftsmanship behind Meyer Sound’s world-renowned loudspeakers and digital audio technology. This exclusive tour offers:

A behind-the-scenes peek at the engineering, manufacturing, and production of Meyer Sound systems
An interactive demo of Spacemap Go — Meyer Sound’s powerful spatial sound design and mixing tool
A chance to experience the full sonic impact of Meyer Sound’s newly renovated, state-of-the-art Pearson Theatre

Stick around afterward as we head over to Missouri Lounge for drinks, casual hangs, and continued conversation with fellow attendees.

Whether you’re a student, a seasoned audio pro, or just curious about spatial audio and cutting-edge sound design, this is a unique opportunity you won’t want to miss!

️ RSVP now and come geek out with us!

#SoundGirls #MeyerSound #SpacemapGo #AudioEngineering #WomenInAudio #SpatialAudio #BehindTheScenes #SoundDesign #AudioInnovation

 

Thea Gustafsson Producer, Songwriter, and Recording Artist

Thea Gustafsson currently records emotive alt-pop as Becky and the Birds, a project which released its debut album Only Music Makes Me Cry Now on November 8th, 2024. As recent as this seems, she has a rich background in audio, from her days at Stockholm’s famed Musikmakarna Songwriters Academy to a later internship with Aviici. In 2025, Gustafsson was awarded Producer of the Year at the Swedish Grammis and in April, she released the single “Should’ve known better (choices),” on which her accordionist father contributes some accompaniment.

 

What excites you most as a producer?

What really excites me is when I go into sounds, or twists in the sounds that are unexpected—like changing the key abruptly, or using an effect that comes in just every now and then. I love very petite changes that make a big difference in production. Every time I hear a production where I can hear that someone has put a lot of time into it, and it’s complex, it just makes me so happy.

What are some of your favorite subtle shifts that you can accomplish in a recording?

I like to put in small, hidden messages. It could be a voice sample that only I know where it comes from—like a phone call—then I just take one word from that phone call, for example, and use it as a snare. It’s things that no one else probably would hear or notice. It makes such a difference in the process of creating it. But then I really like to play with my own voice, see how I can pitch my voice, flex time my voice, or use it in various ways. That’s probably why I love samplers so much, because you never know what you’ll get. You know what you put into the sampler, but then, from there, it just gives you so many endless possibilities. Samplers: they’re my best friends.

What is your go to sampler?

I love the Serato sampler. When I got it, it was free, which was incredible. I also use the (Teenage Engineering) OP-1 a lot. I’ve been using (Native Instruments) Maschine quite a lot to chop up stuff, but I don’t find it to be quite as easy. It’s not a standalone. I’ve tried to, like, really love it–and I used to love it–but I don’t love it as much anymore. I like Maschine for drums. It’s easy to quantize, but it’s also kind of complex. You need to really learn the Maschine, and, to be honest, I’m not much of a nerd when it comes to, like, learning the instrument. I just want them to work, or if I don’t know how they work, I want them to be easy to just figure out somehow.

Tell us about your experience producing other artists.

I’ve had sessions with people where we come from different worlds, and I think that could be good. But so far, my best experiences have been with the people who have similar taste and sound. We have similar thoughts. When you find that, it’s just fun. I think it’s good as a producer too, or as an artist, to get out of your own head. You can learn so much [from] someone saying a sound that they want you to use, and it might be a sound that you have never thought of or that you would never use, but you learn so much from just trying to find that. Then I’ve been making a lot of samples for other producers, which has been really fun. It’s easy to sit and be like, “oh, I need to make a whole production of something,” but I’ve also found a way where I’m, creating ambiences–or creating soundscapes, in a way–and then I let someone else come in to make the drums or the bass. The process of adding bass is very boring to me. I’ve been quite forceful too, in my no’s. I’ve not been afraid to say no, which has been good for me as a producer. I used to jump into projects, but it’s easy to find yourself kind of scattered if you’ve done a lot of different things that you’re not really keen on.

How did you get started as a producer?

Actually, I went to a production and songwriting school, but I went in there as a top liner. This was in Sweden, and it’s a quite good school. It’s the school that a lot of good producers and songwriters have gone to, but I didn’t even know the concept of producing, so I picked top liner, But then as I got into that school and I started to write, and I wrote for others,  ended up always finding myself nagging at the producer, like, “Oh, you should try this. You should do this.” It was always male producers. I hadn’t seen a woman produce at that point. I didn’t really have any influencers or anyone that I could look up to, besides maybe Björk back then. It kind of grew out of frustration, because I saw these men just came into the studios and took over, and I didn’t even think they were good at what they were doing. So then, after a while, I kind of locked myself in, because I was so tired of everything. And I was like, I don’t want to be a top liner; this is not for me.

I started to produce by myself, because I had learned so much, because I had seen others produce. I remember that I wanted to do my artist project, but I couldn’t find a producer for it. I was just standing in line for these male producers. I had to wait, then they would start something, but they wouldn’t finish it. So then I was like, I’ll just do it myself. I did it out of anger, but also out of pure excitement. I immediately was just so blown away, like, “oh my god, why haven’t I done this sooner?” It’s one of the few things in life where I really get caught up in it, and I can just lose myself completely. Up to that point, I hadn’t really felt that feeling. It was so much fun to not know a lot about it either, because that gave me so much freedom and space to try things out, which made me ultra creative. Then, from there, I found my own ways of doing it. I remember a guy looking through my project, and he was like, “you can’t have the compressor first and then the EQ, that’s wrong.” And I was like, “Who says that it’s wrong?”

Do you still put the compressor before the EQ?

I actually put the EQ before the compressor most of the time. I know more common rules of what sounds good and what doesn’t sound good, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the rules of producing, and just forget about the creativity and the endless possibilities that are there if you actually put the compressor before the EQ [sometimes]. And it might be a sound that is way cooler than the compressor after the EQ.

Can you say the name of the school that you went to?

Musikmakarna. It’s a really good school. They split you up in groups, you know, so you’re either a “top liner” or a producer, which makes it weird. It’s weird when that’s your first interaction with the industry. You suddenly have to put yourself into a box. I think that limits you, like, “well, if I’m a top liner, I can’t be a producer.” I do think a lot of things have changed, though. This was quite a lot of years ago. I love the word creator; I just want to be a creator. And I think that, especially as a girl and as a woman, too, it’s easy to forget that you can do everything. I think society enforces [men] to be like, “I can do whatever I want,” but as a girl, you have to make everything perfect before you can say that you’re a producer. You have to produce a hit record before you can say that you’re a producer. I’m just trying to work around that all the time, and [as] soon as I try something, I’m like, “I’m that.”

Do you have someone who really helped you, like a mentor?

I didn’t really have anyone who I can say was, like, a mentor, but I did feel a lot of encouragement from people who were in the industry–from other women producers especially. I think there’s a lot of connection there, from female creators overall. I’ve found a lot of calm in talking to other girls who are making something creative, because it takes a lot from you to put yourself out there. It’s kind of vulnerable as a woman. So to see other girls being powerful, and being nerdy, or being deeply interested in something that doesn’t have anything to do with men, is very inspiring to me. Every woman, who’s making something for their own sake, has always been very inspiring to me.

So tell us about your process for making your latest album.

I was going through a breakup, and I’ve never been a big diary writer. My way has been to record myself when I’m playing piano and singing, so I did that a lot, and I just let whatever wanted to come out, come out. It came from this very intuitive place. So I would have long recordings, like 30 minutes that I had recorded, that I then took and sampled. I let those samples kind of lead the way for the whole album. Then I would add production to it, I would add drums or whatever it needed, which was hard, because a lot of them didn’t even have BPMs or a tempo. Some of them still don’t, which I have found, very freeing in a way, because I just had to accept that. Once I let go, I was like, oh, it can be whatever it wants to be.

What are some of your long term goals?

I really want to work with people, with big people, who are interesting and inspiring. I want to get more into hip hop, and use my samples there, and also more into the alternative scene, [producing] for others. I want to produce even more for others, and then release more albums. I’m moving to the US, which will be terrifying, and so much fun. I really also want to pave the way for female producers. I just want to be inspiring, and I want to stay inspired, too.

What made you gravitate toward music to begin with?

My dad is a musician, but he’s an accordion player, and he’s been very much into klezmer music and jazz. So I always started out as a little bit of an underdog, you know, because I was just listening to his records, which were klezmer records, all day long. Then I started playing violin when I was seven. I played in a lot of orchestras, and I was also writing songs for orchestras, which was my first way of expressing creativity and making songs. I think that has had a huge impact on the way that I produce, too, because I come from an orchestra perspective, and I’ve also always been singing in choirs. From that, I’m very used to different harmonies and different sections, which I’ve had a big use for in my production. I’ve always been in music, I’ve always been around music, and I think if I would have known that it was possible to produce earlier, I definitely would have. It was just that I didn’t even know that you could do it until school.

Your choir background definitely comes across in your album.

Yeah, I love choirs. It’s so much fun singing with other people. The beautiful thing about vocals is that it’s an instrument that is closest to us, because it comes right out of us; there’s no instrument in between. It’s just straight from our soul. I find that if I’ve been in an era where I’ve been only producing a lot and I haven’t been singing so much, I can feel how I’m disconnected from myself, almost. I really think singing connects you to you somehow. It’s just beautiful.

More on Thea Gustafsson

https://beckyandthebirds.com/

New single announcement: April 30th, 2025

https://www.instagram.com/beckyandthebirds/

Selected Interviews with Thea Gustaffson:

The Luna Collective

Clash Music Interview

How Women Made Music Review

In 2015 the Ink N Iron Festival in Nashville was, on paper, an utter failure.  No-show Headliners, abysmal attendance, and sweltering heat all plagued what had promised to be a showcase of alternative culture centered around rusty vintage vehicles and bold tattoos.  However, in my eyes, it was my most memorable concert experience.  What introvert could argue with no lines, clean portalets, and front row seats with general admission prices?  The performances were legendary.  Wanda Jackson, at a few years shy of 80, hollered with a Jack White-picked back-up band to an audience of burlesque dancers and other headliners.  And in between her rockabilly hits she dished out juicy stories of her tours with Elvis.  Although the true highlight was Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in the year before her death to pancreatic cancer, kicking off her shoes and dancing as though she was twenty years young.

What does this memory have to do with a book review?  How Women Made Music edited by Alison Fensterstock is a collection of such memories, with interviews and opinion pieces curated from Turning the Tables series on NPR.  The series was developed to even the balance of articles written by and about men.  If you look at the top 50 of Rolling Stones’ top 500 albums only a measly 18% are by bands or acts with at least 2 members who are women.  That is not even a quarter of the albums.  Turning the Tables are making their own lists, writing their own articles, doing their own interviews.  Underappreciated no more.

Even though Turning the Tables is no longer active, they cemented their legacy with a book, a highlight reel of what their several years of work created.  Included in the appendices are their ranked lists of albums and artists, inviting the reader to do their own aural research.  The lists also help bridge the gap between what made it into the book and the amazing talent that just missed the cut.  How Women Made Music is divided into arbitrary categories, grouping artists based on their stage presence and influence rather than telling a history of modern music through a feminine gaze.  Chapter headings aside, the categories take a backseat for an opportunity to showcase the intersectionality of artistry.  While American Pop Music has the largest representation, How Women Made Music makes an effort to display a spectrum: of genres, gender expression, of culture.  In transitioning Turning the Tables to a book, what I feel is the weakest aspect of How Women Made Music is how much was omitted.  To dedicate enough ink to each selection meant a smaller number of artists included in the main text.  There are genres that have deeply rooted patriarchal stereotypes like metal and mariachi that could have more pages dedicated to the feminine iconoclasts.  In addition, I felt the book did not venture far outside the United States.  In choosing NPR as source material, they could have focused on US-based charts to make their selections, and then partner later with other publications to broaden their scope, but they decided to dabble somewhat with artists of other regions.  But I digress, I am delighted in who they decided to include.  And the writing is edifying journalism paired with insightful interviews.

When writing about women, especially in an industry dominated by men, there are common tropes that journalists cling to.  This book is no exception.  With many of the articles and interviews, there is a highlight of the reaction to the competitiveness of an industry dominated by men.  The women are showcased as first, as role models for others, as leaders and mentors.  All of these fail the “Finkbeiner Test,” an unofficial metric of measuring how stagnant journalists are at writing about women.  In the basic nature of Turning the Tables, yes, the articles are going to fail the test on the basis that they seek out to write about women who influenced music.  However, by curating a massive collection of writings, NPR has provided an opportunity for future music journalists to move beyond the over-trodden path.  Turning the Tables has written about the oft-forgotten, the behind-the-scenes muses, the iconoclasts and the pioneers.  Those women who needed to be interviewed and written about in order to document their influence now have ink dedicated to them.  Now we can move on to writing and interviewing without the tired cliches.  Write about artists being influential because of their accomplishments, let them claim their superlatives without asterix.  Shake up the homogenized top lists that lack the depth to truly represent the best.  How Women Made Music is a stepping stone in that direction, a resource to give you the knowledge to do better.

Call for Presenters: SoundGirls Virtual Conference 2025

Call for Presenters: SoundGirls Virtual Conference 2025
 December 13–14, 2025 | 9 AM – 6 PM PDT | Online

Apply Here

We’re back. After a successful virtual conference in 2021, SoundGirls is bringing it online again—bigger, deeper, and louder.

We’re calling on all audio pros, educators, and innovators to share your expertise at the SoundGirls Virtual Conference 2025. Whether you’re in post-production, live sound, recording, broadcast, theater, or any corner of the audio world—we want to hear from you.

What We’re Looking For

This isn’t your typical panel parade. We’re after in-depth sessions—90 minutes to 2 hours—with time for Q&A. We’re hosting focused presentations, masterclasses, training, and practical talks that dig into real skills, insights, and stories. Panels are welcome, but every session needs a clear takeaway and direction.

Who Should Apply

If you’re working in audio—you qualify.
We welcome proposals from all humans in audio, regardless of experience level, background, or location.

You should:

  1. Be actively working in the field you’re presenting on.
  2. Be able to deliver valuable, real-world insight.
  3. Feel free to adapt a program you already teach.
  4. Want to connect, share, and help others grow.

You’ll also be able to promote your services, programs, or resources during your session.

Conference Tracks

We’ll feature non-overlapping tracks across both days, including:
Post-Production Audio & Film/TV Sound (Production Sound too)
Live Sound
Broadcast Sound
Recording Arts
Theatre Sound Design
Career Development
Sessions in Spanish
Plus a Miscellaneous track for everything else

Don’t see your discipline listed? Pitch us anyway—we’ll make room.

Compensation

Presenters will receive:

Submit Your Proposal

Deadline: September 1, 2025
Apply Here

Questions? Reach out to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

Looking forward to having you,

The SoundGirls Team

Webinar Announcement: How to Navigate the Music Industry with Ali “AMAC” McGuire

Join SoundGirls for an inspiring and insightful webinar featuring Ali “AMAC” McGuire as she shares her journey and expert advice on “How to Navigate the Music Industry.” The session will include a live Q&A, so bring your questions!

Ali “AMAC” McGuire is a dynamic speaker, mental health advocate, and educator known for her raw honesty and lived experience. With over 15 years in the music industry—earning platinum records and touring globally—Ali has faced and overcome both addiction and burnout. Now, she uses her story to empower others to break unhealthy patterns and step fully into their authentic selves.

Through her signature framework, The Amaculent Mindset, Ali helps people identify their core values, motivations, goals, and actionable paths forward. Blending music, speech, and education, this webinar promises to be an unforgettable and transformative experience.

Register for this free event here

More on Ali “AMAC” McGuire

Building a Pipeline for Formerly Incarcerated Women in Audio

SoundGirls is exploring the creation of a mentorship and freelance pipeline for women who have completed The Last Mile Audio and Video Production program while incarcerated. This initiative aims to support women reentering society by connecting them with mentors, building networks, and creating freelance job opportunities in audio.

We’re reaching out to all of you—leaders, allies, and advocates in audio—because of your work uplifting women and marginalized communities in our field. We know the challenges of reentry are steep: stigma, lack of professional networks, limited job access. A supportive, structured pathway into creative freelance work can make all the difference.

The Last Mile is a nonprofit that prepares incarcerated individuals for successful reentry through job training and education. Its Audio and Video Production program gives participants hands-on experience in the tools and techniques of the industry. Now it’s time to take that training further—into real-world support, real jobs, and real connections.

If you’re interested in helping shape this pipeline—as a mentor, collaborator, or employer—please fill out this form , and we’ll follow up to set up a meeting.

Let’s build something powerful. Together.

The Ongoing Battle With Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is a concept I’d be willing to bet the vast majority of women in audio are familiar with. That’s not to say men don’t experience it too, but in a world where women (in any line of work) are more likely to refrain from applying for jobs where they don’t meet every single one of the criteria, you can see how it’s become such an issue.

I can’t remember when I first heard the term, but I do remember a conversation about it several years ago with a highly successful radio producer. She described how, having gone through several stages of a commissioning round and having her project proposal approved, she woke up one morning with the sudden panicked realisation that now she’d have to actually make it happen. Of course she was hugely experienced and had been through this whole process many times before. But still there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind which made her doubt whether she could do it.

The moral of the story was that it doesn’t matter how experienced you are: impostor syndrome never fully goes away. That may not seem particularly comforting, but there’s a lot to be said for knowing that you’re far from alone in feeling this way.

It’s certainly been an ongoing battle for me. For example, referring to myself as an audio engineer or a sound designer still makes me feel uncomfortable, even though these are both titles I’ve held in my work and in education. When I was working in the radio production field, I struggled with calling myself a radio producer, yet that’s exactly what I was. Sounds silly, right? So why does it happen?

I think in my case, perfectionism has a lot to do with it. When I was making documentaries, or sound designing/engineering projects for clients as a freelancer, I convinced myself that unless I was working for the biggest companies in the business, I wasn’t worthy of calling myself what I actually was. Which is ridiculous, of course. And deep down I knew that. But maybe it also had something to do with comparing myself to people who had been doing it for decades, with hundreds or even thousands of credits to their name.

And now it’s the same in theatre. Yes, I’m still learning, and all of the shows I’ve worked on so far have been college productions. But the point is, what I’m doing is the same stuff I’d be doing in a professional environment.

So I’ve started asking myself: ‘How can you expect to get hired if you won’t even allow yourself to use that title?’ I figure that, even if impostor syndrome never completely disappears, I can at least try to make a few changes to my relationship with it. That way, it might be less like the school bully who makes you feel inadequate, and more like that annoying relative you have to see a couple of times a year whose advice you don’t really listen to. It’s also worth remembering that if you continue to play down your skills and accomplishments, there will usually be someone else who has no problem stepping into the void despite having no experience whatsoever.

If you ever find yourself thinking: ‘I have no real right to call myself that’, take a look back at everything you’ve achieved up to now. Chances are you’ll have forgotten how far you’ve come compared to when you started. Our brains are very good at filtering out the positive things we’ve done and focusing too much on mistakes or setbacks. It can be worth remembering this whenever impostor syndrome strikes.

Strategies and a Suggested Standard Operating Procedure for Soundcheck

Welcome to Part Two! For a monitor engineer, consistency is key in making sure musicians always have great-sounding mixes, smooth communication, and awesome performances. Let’s explore a solid method for dialing in perfect mixes and living your best life in monitor-world

Part One

Ringing It Out

Before the Band Arrives

Recall your start scene.
Use pink noise to check that all monitors are functioning, set, labelled, and positioned as intended. Do this for your cue wedge too, which ideally matches the stage monitors for consistent referencing. Confirm your talkback system works to both stage and FOH. Do a line check to make sure the patch is correct and noise-free. Confirm every input is showing up at a reasonable level and troubleshoot anything that’s not.

Zero out the mix sends.
Start with a clean slate for each performer’s mix by making sure no input channels, other than talkback from FOH and MON, are being sent to the mixes. Check that aux or bus sends are activated and outputting properly for the room. Decide on pre – or post-fader per channel or mix and be extra mindful of which ones are post-fader, as fader moves will affect the artist’s mix. This can be useful, for example you can mute problematic channels quickly and catch the nuances of solos. If the band’s rider states what is desired in their IEM mixes a good starting point is 0 dB for vocals, -10 dB for instruments, and less for everything else.

Confirm the stage plot and input list with the band or manager.
Update the stage team and FOH if anything’s changed and adjust your start scene accordingly. At festivals, a clipboard or whiteboard you can draw the stage plot, input list, and monitor mixes on can be helpful.

Add wireless and IEM channels to your software.
Once the input list is validated, add any wireless and IEM channels into your coordination software (e.g., Wireless Workbench or Wireless Systems Manager). Always have a few backup frequencies ready in case of interference.

Do a wireless frequency scan.
Conduct a scan (as discussed in Part One: Ringing It Out) to check for any RF interference in the venue. Use your system’s scanner to identify the clearest frequencies and update the wireless system accordingly making sure all transmitters are synced and ready to go. If you don’t have a dedicated RF tech, make sure to continuously monitor RF levels pre-show and during the show and be ready to swap gear or channels if needed. If interference arises after the scan, assess whether it can be addressed within the changeover time. Sometimes you may need to prioritize getting the stage workable.

Be Careful with In-Ear Monitoring (IEMs)

Soundcheck Process

Introduce yourself:
Use the talkback mic, make eye contact, and confirm the band can hear you. Use mnemonics or other memory activating techniques, like the method of Loc, or simply writing down names, to remember as best you can the band members’ names. Remembering names is a soft skill that speaks volumes, it shows respect, builds rapport, and reinforces all the hard skills you’ve worked so hard to develop over the years.

Start with vocals:
Most performers rely on vocals as their main reference. Getting this right first helps everyone feel grounded; it’s essential for communication and is often the loudest input requested in monitor mixes. That said, some bands or FOH techs may prefer to start with channel one, usually the kick drum, you can always just ask and check what works best for the team, but I would default to vocals first and then moving on to the rhythm section.

Guide the band through the check:

Some Tips on Handling Feedback Before reaching for the EQ

Always Remember

Leveraging Technology on Stage

Using a tablet like an iPad connected to the console can streamline soundcheck and save you a lot of literal steps. Just make sure you’re on the right Wi-Fi network/subnet and enter the correct IP address from your console. Additionally, some systems, such as Klang, allow musicians to control their own monitor mixes their own device. If the band is comfortable with this, it can empower performers to punch in their own preferences. Let them know you are there to assist, adjust settings, and even teach them how to use software whenever needed. Remember, making them feel confident and comfortable is the priority. Even if the band is self-mixing, check in to make sure their devices are connected properly and that they know how to use the system.

Final Touches Before the Set

When the Show Starts

By following these strategies and suggested operating procedures you’ll be able to deliver a smooth, personalized soundcheck experience that supports the performers and keeps you loving life in monitor world. Stay consistent, be proactive, communicate clearly with artists and crew. Keep on gigging and don’t forget to giggle sometimes.

I love references and cite it out when in doubt!
Check out these two fantastic articles by Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato, one of the OG SoundGirls. Her wisdom on live music mixing continues to inspire and guide generations of engineers.

While you’re at it, dive into the psychology of mixing monitors by Becky Pell—a must-read for anyone serious about understanding the human side of sound.

 

Reference links: 

1https://www.mixingmusiclive.com/blog/what-does-a-monitor-engineer-do

2https://www.mixingmusiclive.com/blog/the-sound-engineer-is-the-conduit

Additional Resources:

https://www.rationalacoustics.com/pages/smaart-home

https://opensoundmeter.com/en/

https://soundgirls.org/ringing-it-out/

https://www.prosoundweb.com/different-strokes-mixing-monitors-for-disparate-personality-types/

Save Early, Save Often

If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of them don’t directly relate to sound. That’s because sound is actually such a small part of what we do on a day to day basis. Being an incredible mixer is all well and good, but if you crumble under pressure or can’t show up on time, you won’t work for long. If you’re an A2 or monitor engineer and you can’t communicate with people, you won’t even know what people need so you can effectively do your job.

Today I’m going to wander well off the sound waves into what I consider one of the most all encompassing topics for dealing with life: Money.

Now, I’ve been writing blogs for five years at this point. I can’t tell you how many drafts of this very topic I’ve written and hated. Money is such a taboo topic that we probably know more about our best friend’s sex life than we do about their bank account, so it hasn’t been easy trying to find the best way to talk about it. However, I’ve never been known for my subtlety, so we’re just going to dive in head first.

Money is important. We can go through all the overused sayings that money can’t buy happiness and that it isn’t everything, but the fact remains that money is a major factor in our lives. Having a savings account with a few months of expenses tucked away can make all the difference when emergencies or life changes come your way.

We all have different relationships with money. Part of it is nurture: the environment we grew up in and how we saw our parents handle money, but just as important is nature: who we are and what we value in our lives. My parents taught my sister and me similar things about money, but we have different priorities and habits that have developed because we’re different people with different life experiences in different careers.

This blog won’t have all the answers for every situation, but what I really want it to do is put financial literacy on your radar and maybe show what it can do for you, given time. That way you can start to figure out how you personally relate to money and what your priorities are.

Because time is your greatest asset. Even if you start small it can make a huge difference.

So, money is important, we get that. Where do we start?

First, start to pay attention to your money. Do you know roughly how much you make in a year? Do you know how much you spend? That’s the basis of all personal finance. You don’t have to go full forensic accountant on your life, but check your bank and credit card statements and start to see what your big picture is.

Personally, I don’t have a strict budget of “I can spend $X on groceries, $Y on clothing, and $Z on social activities,” but I do track my expenses, so I know roughly what I spend in a month or over a year. I use Quicken (any similar personal finance software will do a similar thing) which imports my transaction, lets me put them into categories, and I can generate a report if I want to check on things. You can also just use a spreadsheet: it can be a basic accounting tool, or you can go nuts with formulas and formatting if you really want to go in-depth and customize.

Once you’ve taken a look at that, you’ve found your baseline and rough expectations. Do you have extra money some months that you might be able to start saving? Does your income vary wildly each month so you need to put some into savings for your slow season? (Welcome to being a freelancer. By nature of our schedules, we have to be more financially aware than our 9 to 5 counterparts.)

Did you learn that you’ve been spending more than you make and your credit cards have made up the difference? Or that you’re making just enough and working paycheck to paycheck, but if anything out of the ordinary happens you’re operating on a razor thin margin?

If you’ve hit this point and you’re looking at things thinking, “oh shit!” take a moment and breathe. It’s okay. That feeling just means you have a goal to work towards.

Now that you know where you are, it’s time to look at where you want to be. Ideally you want to have minimal debt and be making more than you spend so you’re able to save. This process looks different for everyone, and Paula Pant, who runs the site Afford Anything, covers it more completely than I can in her post about “Growing the Gap.”

TLDR: you can try to grow your income (asking for a raise, monetizing a side hustle, investing, etc) while keeping your spending the same, or decreasing your spending while you income stays consistent. Doing either of those create a “gap” between what you make and what you spend, so you’re able to put that into paying off debt, savings, or eventually investing.

Once you can start saving, your money will start to work for you. Which is a concept that’s difficult to really understand until you’ve seen it in action. You may have heard the term “compounding interest” bandied about like some magic phrase, but what does that actually look like?

It means a savings account will pay you interest, and that interest will keep adding up.

It means a business can make a profit, which you can put back into it to make it bigger and more productive.

It means a stock might pay you a dividend which can be reinvested, adding more shares to your portfolio.

Let’s look at an example savings account. A high-yield one might pay 4% interest per year:

At 25 years old, you put in $100 a month. At 55 years old, you would have put in $37,000 ($1,200 per year for 30 years), but the account balance would actually be $74,000. It’s double what you put in it, but where did the other $37,000 come from?

The interest.

So the first year you put in $1,200. The interest on that was $48.

Total of $1,248.

The next year you add $1,200, now the balance is $2,448, and interest on that is $97.

Total: $2,545.

Next year is another $1,200, the balance is $3,745, and interest on that is $149.

Total: $3,895.

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And so it continues with the interest getting just a little bit bigger year after year.

At 35 you’ve put in $13,000 and the account would be $16,000.

At 45 you’ve put in $25,000 and the account would be almost $40,000.

Time is the magic ingredient in a lot of financial success. If you give it some training (invest it, put it in savings, start a business, etc), soon it’ll start working all on its own.

One of the favorite financial tools to illustrate the benefit of compounding interest is called the “Jack and Jill” comparison. It looks at Jill, someone who started saving/investing at the beginning of her career, and Jack, who decided to wait a few years.

Let’s look at this in a couple different scenarios:

First: Jill starts investing $1,200 per year when she’s 25, stops when she’s 40, and just lets the account grow on its own from there.

Jack starts investing $1,200 per year at 40, until he’s 55.

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Both contributed the same amount: $19,200. But when they’re both 55 Jill’s account is almost $50,000, while Jack’s is only $27,000. Those extra 15 years of interest make a $23,000 difference for Jill.

In another situation, Jill starts investing $1,200 per year when she’s 25 and keeps going until she’s 55.

Jack starts investing at 40, but he puts in $2,400 per year so he can catch up.

Jack actually ends up contributing at little bit more than Jill: his $38,400 to her $37,200.

Her account is still ends up being $20,000 more than his: hers is $74,000 to his $54,000.

The moral of the story? Start early. Time is your friend, not only in compounding interest, but the sooner you start paying attention to your money, the more you learn and the better you get at managing it.

There’s a proverb that says “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Since most of the readers of this blog are fairly early in your careers, my hope is that in 20 years you can look back at this “tree” and be happy you planted it when you did.

Hypothetical scenarios are all well and good, but how do you start digging?

If you’re just starting out and all this feels completely overwhelming, take a look at Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. He’s built an empire around financial literacy, but I recommend you treat it as a good place to get your bearings, but not the gospel truth. Steps 1-3 are a good place to start and once those make sense, look around at other philosophies (like the ones below). I don’t agree with everything he recommends (doing away with credit cards and investing in mutual funds being the main points of contention), but his method can be a helpful resource to get yourself started.

For anyone who feels financially stable but doesn’t know the first thing about investing, take a look at JL Collin’s blog. He does a good job of talking about the stock market in accessible terms and is a proponent of simple, set-it-and-forget-it investing. (He also has a book that I highly recommend.) Paula Pant, who I mentioned early, is at Afford Anything, and offers another take on managing your money as well as talking about investing in property and other business instead of stocks.

If you want to do a really deep dive, Google the “FIRE movement” or “Financial Independence” and jump down that rabbit hole. (If you get easily overwhelmed, maybe save this for later. There’s a whole world of information out there, so it can be easy to feel like you just started drinking out of a firehose, but that also means there are plenty of resources to help you.)

I’m not a financial expert, but here’s my own two cents:

First, figure out where you stand. What do you have? What do you owe? Just knowing that can put you miles ahead of the crowd.

Second, open a savings account somewhere familiar (If you don’t have a checking account yet, open that first.) A “high-yield” savings account should give you 3-4% interest, so look for that. You might use the bank where you have your checking account or even the same company as your credit card. Starting somewhere you already know will make it easier to take that step, and if you want to switch banks later, you absolutely can.

Next, open an IRA. These are retirement accounts that you put your own money into and get tax benefits when you fund them. My general rule of thumb is: if you make less than $150,000 in a year, open a ROTH IRA. If you make more, open a Traditional IRA. If you’d like to learn more about those, there’s a good explanation here at DowJanes.com.

After that, use some of the links I’ve included to start looking at ways to increase your net worth. Whether that’s paying off debt, putting money into your savings account, or opening a brokerage account for investments, you’re working towards that goal.

As you’re setting financial goals, take a moment to think about what’s important to you. Imagine what your life looks like if you’ve got $100 in savings, or $1,000, or even $10,000.

Does that mean you won’t have to panic when your show closes with two weeks notice (or less) because you know you have enough to pay your bills for a few months while you look for another job?

It might look like taking on a passion project that you want to develop and love working on, even if it doesn’t pay much right now, and might grow into something later.

It could be realizing you’re in a toxic work environment and knowing you don’t have to stay in an unhealthy cycle while you look for another job.

It’s having a retirement account that’s accumulating quietly off to the side as political pundits debate if Social Security will still exist in 40 years.

Personally, having savings means I have freedom and my priorities are about making time for my family and my friends.

When I moved to the city, I made the decision to pay for an apartment that was bigger than I’d need just for myself, because it meant I had room for people to stay with me when they came to visit.

I could afford a vacation to meet my parents in London as they make the most of their retirement.

I can take time off to go visit old tour buddies in DC, Vegas, and Chicago or help my friend with her Christmas show in Pittsburgh.

The goal is to get to play as hard as I work. Sure, last year I didn’t have any vacation time from January to June because we were getting Outsiders up and running and then immediately went into Tony voting season. I didn’t mind it because I knew the expectations of the schedule and I like my job. (And that’s why I have the apartment. When I can’t get away, my friends are welcome to come to me.)

But that meant when we had subs trained, I made a point to follow through with plans and take time off to see people.

Recently, having that savings cushion (the FIRE community calls it “F-You Money,” which I do quite enjoy) meant that I made the decision to leave Outsiders this summer without a lot of extra worry. For some people, a hit show that’s going to run for at least a few years brings security and they’ll stick around for a while.

Honestly, I’m ready for the next challenge, and I planned ahead and talked to Cody (my designer) and made a plan. Part of that is getting the Outsiders tour set up. I’ve missed touring, so even just getting to go through tech and then handing it off to the crew will be a fun way to dip my toes back into that life.

Past that, there isn’t much of a plan. I’ll switch to being the sub on Outsiders and return as a sub for SIX (ah, that freelancing life!), and I’m looking forward to the change. I know I have the resources set aside so a couple months of light work isn’t a death sentence or anxiety inducing.

None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t started saving and investing while I was on the road.

And that’s what money gives you: freedom. It may not buy happiness, but it certainly does buy options. Everyone’s goals will look different, but do you and your future self a favor: get started on saving because there’s no better time than now.

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