Financing a New Flute with the Flute Center of New York

For almost all flutists, one of the biggest purchases they make will be a new flute. This is often a decision that is made when you have reached a point in your schooling or career that an upgrade to your current instrument is necessary. However, something that is rarely discussed is the financial responsibility of purchasing a new flute, the financing details you should understand before making the purchase, and the financing options available to you. As flutists, we know that buying a new instrument is an incredibly exciting time, but it is essential that we understand the financial impact that comes with making this large purchase in order to best ensure success in the future.

Financing Responsibly

For the majority of musicians, the conditions in which we will be able to purchase a new instrument is by financing it, or in other words, by taking out a loan. A similar concept to when we take out an auto loan to buy a new car. Few of us have the financial means to pay cash for a new flute, but are in need of a new instrument. So the solution will be to finance it.

Borrowing money in any capacity is a big responsibility and should only be done once you have a working knowledge of what you can afford on a monthly basis. Here are the basic steps to help you determine what you can responsibly afford:

1. Determine what your monthly household income is. This is the amount of income you make after tax.

2. Divide your monthly expenses into three categories; household expenses, wants/lifestyle expenses, and debt.

3. Add up your monthly debt expenses.

4. Calculate what percentage of your monthly income goes towards debt expenses:

The lower the percentage the better. A general rule of thumb is to keep your debt expenses below 36% of your monthly income (if you can keep it around 20%, that’s even better!). If you find that you are paying more than 36% of your monthly income towards debts, it is wise to pay off some debts before taking on any new debt. Taking on too much debt can be a heavy burden on your monthly expenses and lead up to a spiral effect of relying on credit.

If you find that a small percentage of your monthly income goes towards paying off debt, determine what monthly debt payment you would be comfortable with by plugging in different monthly amounts (like a monthly $200 debt payment etc.). Make sure that with whatever number you are comfortable paying your monthly debt payments stays below that 36% of your total monthly income. Knowing a number that you are comfortable with and can afford paying will be helpful when it comes time to choose a financing option.

Understanding Financing Details

If you have ever financed something, you know that there is a lot of terminology and fine details that are very important to your decision. Here is a breakdown of important terminology:

• Annual Percentage Rate (APR): The yearly cost of the loan (and how the lender makes money). This rate will include the interest rate and any other charges associated with the loan. The rate is expressed as a percentage.
  

• Principal: The amount of money you agree to borrow.
  

• Fixed Interest Rate: The interest rate remains the same for the duration of the loan.
  

• Variable Interest Rate: The interest rate will fluctuate (based on a benchmark rate specified in the loan agreement) throughout the duration of the loan.
  

• Loan Agreement: The legal contract between you and the lender. This agreement will include information such as, total repayment amount, APR, late charge amount, payment schedule, how to repay your loan, and what happens if you default on your loan.
  

• Loan Term: The amount of time you have to pay back your loan.
  

• Balloon Payment: A type of loan structure where the last payment is larger than the previous payments.
  

• Same-As-Cash: A financing incentive where no interest is paid on the purchase if specific terms are met.

When you are ready to finance an instrument, it is important to think about the amount of money you are borrowing. The more money you borrow, the more money you have to pay back. Creating a plan to save at least a portion of the overall purchase price will allow you to borrow less money. Consider the monthly payment you will be taking on and if you are able to afford that amount (remember, that additional monthly payment should not push your monthly debt expenses to more than 36% of your monthly income). Lastly, ensure that you are still able to save and contribute to a retirement plan with the additional monthly debt payment.

Financing Options Available from the Flute Center of New York

The Flute Center of New York (FCNY) is the largest seller of new and used flutes in North America. They offer multiple financing options to flutists to make purchasing a new instrument the most affordable.

United Midwest Savings Bank

There are multiple options available to flutist through United Midwest Savings Bank (UMSB). Currently FCNY and UMSB are offering a holiday special of same-as-cash financing for flutes paid in full within 6-month, 12-month, and 24-month. This offer is only available through January 2023. Outside of the holiday special, UMSB offers same-as-cash for all instruments paid in full within 6-months with auto-pay. UMSB has competitive interest rates as low as 12.99%. This is a great option for flutists to purchase a new instrument and save money.

*Remember to read the loan agreement. If the instrument is not paid off in full within the agreed upon time, interest will be charged. Interest accrues for the lifetime of the loan.

Noteworthy Federal Credit Union

Noteworthy offers for traditional financing options such as 3-5 year terms at a fixed interest rate. Noteworthy has competitive rates starting at 7%. This is a great option for flutists who are looking for a low monthly payment.

Installment Payments with Shop Pay in partnership with Affirm

With Shop Pay, buyers are able to split up the total balance into equal installments. Shop Pay offers 0% interest with installments of 4 equal bi-weekly payments. Split payments of more that 4 bi-weekly installments can incur an APR of up to 36%.

The Flute Center of New York works hard to ensure the affordability of their instruments for all flutists by offering these different financing options. For more information on purchasing and financing a flute through the Flute Center, contact them here.

When you are ready to purchase a new instrument remember to run your numbers, consider the monthly payment, and understand the loan agreement.

This post was sponsored by The Flute Center of New York. As always, all opinions and ideas are entirely my own.

Creating Intention with Your Spending

We live in a spending obsessed society. Everywhere we turn we are being sold to, advertised to, and pressured to spend money. According to one statistic, Americans spend at least $18,000 a year on non-essential items. This begs the question, are our purchases worth it?

The pressure to spend in our society is ever increasing. Take one minute to scroll through almost any social media platform and you’ll encounter at least five ads or posts to buy something. This has only been compounded by the rise of social media influencers pushing brands and products on their followers (or really anyone who will listen). It’s a constant noise of buy this thing and your life will get better in this way. As a female in her, *cough*, late twenties, the pressure I feel to “keep up” high. While I almost always keep scrolling when I see an ad for a thing that will make my life better, there is often a voice in the back of my head that says, “I mean, I might need that though…”. Do I actually need it, of course not, but the thought is still there. And sometimes, I do buy the thing. Recently, I saw a Tik Tok of a girl who explained how to correctly fill in your eyebrows. Something that I am not ashamed to admit, I have been trying to figure out. She mentioned three products that you need, and you better believe that the next time I was at Target, I bought those three products. Did I need those products? No. And the only person who has noticed the difference in my eyebrows has been me.

So if spending money isn’t out of necessity, then why do we do it? Well, one reason is that spending brings a sense of joy. Even if it’s fleeting joy, we get joy from buying new things. I was super excited to go home and try out these new eyebrow enhancing products. It’s thrilling to get new things. Think back to when you were a kid and you got a gift. You were over the moon. The idea of having a new toy to play with was almost too amazing to handle. The only difference between being a kid getting a new present and now, is we pay for our new gift. But the excitement is still there (even if it’s to a lesser degree). Another reason is that spending can bring a sense of fulfillment. Having more things can seem like the solution when we feel as though there is a gap in our life. Mental health plays a huge role in this. From personal experience with my own struggles with mental health, I remember frequent trips to Target buying anything because it made me feel better. It didn’t matter if that feeling was brief. All that mattered was that the feeling happened.

This issue with this type of spending isn’t that the item is not a necessity. We’re allowed to spend money on things that we don’t need. But the issue is that we usually don’t even want the things we buy. A quick glance around the room I’m currently in, I have spotted three things that make me shrug my shoulders and ask, “why did I buy that?” Take a look around the room you’re in, spot anything that makes you ask the same question?

So what happens after we buy the thing? I like to call this the aftermath. After the initial joy, excitement, fulfillment has worn off, we are often left with regret, frustration, and disappointment. Sometimes those feelings happen even earlier in the process of spending. I have many memories of being at the checkout, scanning an item, seeing the price, and feeling regret. I haven’t even bought the thing yet and I’m already regretting it! The next thought that runs through my head is, “well it’s too late now, so you might as well swipe your card.” And I do. The simplicity of the swipe means that I don’t necessarily have to see my bank account balance go down. So that’s a problem for future me. But, spending shouldn’t always lead to the aftermath. Yes, there will be purchases that we have to make but don’t want to. But the goal is to eliminate the aftermath feelings. And we do that by bringing intention into our spending.

Spending shouldn’t be random or mindless. Notice that I didn’t say impulsive (more on that later). Spending money should be the outcome of reflection and the identification of what is most important to you. Figuring out what is most important to you comes from creating financial goals. Having a clear idea of what you want your life to look like and by extension what you want to spend your money on can curb the randomness of buying things. Take a look at your bank account or credit card statement. Do you have a clear memory of all the purchases you’ve made in the past month? Your bank statements should be a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. If you looked at my bank statement you’d realize that I’m a runner and I enjoy eating out. Both of those things, running and eating out, are important to me.

Impulsive spending can be another factor that leads to the aftermath. However, impulsive spending isn’t always a bad thing to a certain extent. My fiancé and I go grocery shopping every Sunday. Usually when we’re standing in line at Trader Joes we get confronted by the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. And every so often, we lose that confrontation and buy the treat. Was that purchase necessary? No. Does that purchase fulfill a financial goal? No. So, one would think that we regret that purchase. But that would also be wrong. Enjoying those chocolates on the drive home from the grocery story definitely makes the whole experience a little better. An impulsive buy like isn’t the end of the world. Now impulsively buying 10 packs of chocolate peanut butter cups, or a bunch of new clothes, or a stack of new music might lead to the aftermath. Creating space in your budget for small impulsive buys relieves the aftermath feelings. And if you are an impulsive spender, then finding ways to eliminate temptation might be the way to go. I’m an impulsive Target shopper. So, when I need something from Target I eliminate temptation by purchasing the item through the app then doing drive up pick up. The sales associate brings the item to my car and I never go into the store. Could I walk into the store and buy the item just like everyone else? Sure. But ordering through the app eliminates the temptation and the need for self control. It’s an easy option for me.

Intentional spending will bring more joy, excitement, and fulfillment that lasts longer to your purchases. Reflection and the identification of what is important to you leads to intentional spending. When you buy something that you truly want, the aftermath doesn’t happen. You can then start creating a life with things that are actually important to you, rather than surrounding yourself with stuff.

Do you feel like your spending is a little of out control? Not sure if there are places for you to cut your spending in your monthly expenses? Schedule a free 30 minute call with me!

Dissecting the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle

For the majority of my life after college I lived paycheck to paycheck. It always seemed that I just had enough money for rent and bills, or during the really bad months, I turned to my savings to cover those last few expenses. I felt like I was walking a money tightrope and could fall off at any moment. I was embarrassed, frustrated, and anxious.

The paycheck to paycheck cycle is when your entire paycheck goes to paying your living expenses with very little, if anything, left over. When you are in this cycle, some months your paycheck may not cover all of your monthly expenses, which leads to a heavy reliance on credit cards or savings. Ultimately leading to a bigger hole that you’re in. Living paycheck to paycheck can also mean that individuals have very minimal savings or are depleting their savings very rapidly to cover monthly expenses.

One of the main reasons why getting out of this cycle is so difficult is because there is very little “wiggle room”. If all of your income is going towards paying your bills, then it can be very difficult to see any opportunities to pay off debt or save money. For some individuals, they may find that there is nowhere in their budget to cut expenses. If your only monthly expenses are your living expenses, then it can be tough to try and cut back anywhere. There is no room to try something new with your money management because you’re doing a financial balancing act. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can be incredibly unclear what the problem is that is causing this cycle, and how to solve it.

Factors That Can Contribute to the Cycle

Living paycheck and paycheck can seem never ending. For many people, I find that there are usually 3 factors that are contributing to this cycle.

1. Not knowing the numbers

Mental budgeting is a sure way to get caught in the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Mental budgeting is when you have a rough idea of how much you make in a month, and as expenses come in, you have a general idea of how much money is left over. The issue with mental budgeting is that it is highly inaccurate. How many times have you opened your bank account and been surprised by the low amount in it? That is due to mental budgeting. There is no way you can keep track of all your monthly expenses in your head.

It is crucial to know down to the penny what your monthly income and expenses are when you are living paycheck to paycheck. Often just writing down these numbers can give you a sense of control and power. 2. Inability to see the problem area

What is causing the paycheck to paycheck cycle? Often it comes down to either a spending issue or income issue. If you are mental budgeting, you may not realize how much you’re actually spending in a month. So, when you get to the end of the month you don’t know where your money went and once again it is a struggle to pay those last few bills.

Alternatively, you could know your numbers forward and backward, and because of that you know there is no place for you to cut back with your spending. This means the issue lies with your income. Perhaps the cost of living in your area is outpacing the income rate of your job. No amount of cutting expenses will help, the only solution is to increase your income. 3. Too much debt

There is a responsible amount of debt you can take on and an irresponsible amount of debt you can take on. If your debt payments are causing you to barely be able to afford your living expenses, you’ve taken on too much debt for the amount of money you make. When you take on debt, always be sure you are able to continue to save and set money aside for retirement at the same rate you were before you took on the debt

It’s important to note that these are not the only factors that contribute to the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Beyond these there are other external factors that cause individuals to live paycheck to paycheck. These include income disparities, the rising cost of living and stagnant minimum wage, and systemic socioeconomic oppression.

Preventing the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle

The paycheck to paycheck cycle doesn’t have to be forever. If you are just entering the workforce or are just starting to get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle, here are some ways to prevent falling (back) into this cycle:

Build up savings

Establishing your emergency fund is the best way to do this. This will give you a cushion in case your income varies unexpectedly or you lose your job. Pay off debt

Each time you pay off a debt, you get an immediate pay raise…because you’re no longer making payments towards that debt. As you pay off debts, you’ll notice the amount of money you have left over at the end of the month increases. Build good financial habits

Keep your monthly expenses below your monthly income, don’t take on more debt than you can handle, and as a musician, continue to grow your business.

Ask for help

There is no shame living paycheck to paycheck. If you feel like you are being crushed under a financial rock, it is time to ask for help. There are ways to get out of this cycle and sometimes you need support to do so.

If you are ready to stop living the paycheck to paycheck cycle but are unsure how to break it, then check out the Music, Money, Mastery Program!