What Plans Have You Made for Your Retirement?

compiled by Kirsten Coughlin


WHAT'S YOUR OPINION?

Each month, The Crafts Report invites readers to respond to the Public Opinion question. Responses are published in the magazine.

The question for the December 1999 issue is:

What are your best tips for running a successful crafts business?

Please respond by Oct. 1, 1999.

Send responses to:

I became a crafter when I left the corporate world of managed care to spend more time with my children. I am 50. My children are 13 and 10.

My plans for retirement will be to pay off their college loans. I will work until I am 65, teaching in a small Quaker school.

And on the weekends, I will be traveling the globe to various craft shows to supplement my income. I manage to stash away a good percentage of each show and wholesale account that I have. Hopefully, my investments will prosper well -- and I will continue to craft happily and forever.

Char Nolan
Mixed-media jewelry
Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania

A while back I started putting money away into a savings account. I squirreled money away religiously each month for years and years. I never really noticed how much interest I was getting, since it was so long ago that I opened the account.

Then one day, while talking to a fellow craft artist at a show, I realized that there were better accounts to put my money in. I had heard of mutual funds, stocks, etc., before, but I never really made an effort to look into them. Well, after talking to this crafter, I realized that I had a lot to learn. And I have a lot more money to save before I'm comfortable!

She gave me the name of a mutual fund company, and I transferred my money from my savings account into a mutual fund account. I still have a savings account, but I do not "bank" on it to take care of me as I reach my twilight years.

Catherine Seaton
via e-mail

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't really have any retirement plans -- yet. I am 28 years old and quite honestly, I have been living hand-to-mouth ever since I got out of art school.

It's not that I don't think it's a good idea to save money. Because I do. Right now, I need to concentrate on making ends meet and keeping my business running.

When I do have enough to put away, I may play the stock market. I have an uncle who knows a lot about that sort of thing, and he has offered to show me the ropes. He's done pretty well for himself, so I hope I will too.

I also intend on putting money into a savings account. Hopefully, I will train myself to put money away and not touch it until I'm 65.

I think that I will be more inclined to save once I am married and have a family.

Paul Greenwood
via e-mail

I plan to pay off my mortgage and my credit cards so the money I make after that will go toward my retirement. I've been saving here and there, but there are just too many bills to pay.

I just started working as an artist full time. Prior to this, I relied on my husband's salary. Now that I am working on a regular basis, I should be able to save more money so I can live comfortably after I retire.

Emily Shaw
Basket artist
Indianapolis, Indiana

Kirsten Coughlin is editorial assistant of The Crafts Report.

OCTOBER 1999:

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