I just had the opportunity to talk with a provider whom I'd seen over a year ago and who is now retired.  After the "how ya doin's" we got on the topic of money. I suspected that she had done fairly well and she told me of the house that she was aboe to put over half down on.  

She went on to tell me of her first year of her 4 year career in which she went ga ga over the sudden income.  She squandered all that she made and became determined to turn that around.  So for the next three years she socked away half of every client donation.

The topic shifted to a mutual friend, also retired, who had chosen a route different than hers.  Where the provider I was speaking with had preferred local gents and aimed her business at the more blue collar guys, the friend had invested heavily in ad banners and participated in national board discussions and had become quite well known and highly sought.  She choose to see the more well to do clients and go out of town a lot and asked at least for fees near the top of the field. And, at least according to my phone buddy, made a huge sum of money in the last two years.

That friend is now struggling financially and apparently has nothing to show for her efforts for the last three years. Neither lady does drugs and both seem to lead realtively middle class lives with no flashy cars and no high end estates, no funding of extended family and not much difference in current spending habbits.

This got me wondering about how much does the relatively short average career in escorting leave most in the biz with at retirement time?  More specifically, do you ladies tend to save for the non-working years ahead, or is the trend to spend what you get?

And I'm relatively new...

When I first started in "the biz" about a year ago, I worked just enough to meet expense, and not enough to splurge on anything big (e.g., no fancy vacations, no new furniture, no stereo equipment, no outdoor gear).  I "retired" last August, and didn't "unretire" until this January.  During the 6 months from August to January, I accumulated about $8K of debt (OUCH!  Debt makes me very, very uncomfortable) in addition to student loans (which I consider to be an investment, much like a mortgage).

My goal now is to pay off the $8K, become financially stable, and put aside a nice nest egg, which I will use to relocate and/or establish myself when I finish my degree.  I do not have many clothes, and do not spend much on anything except the regular bills (and gas; I drive a truck and it does guzzle...). I do have a few luxury items I would like to get:  1) lasik, 2) couches reupholstered, 3) a particular painting I've been in love with for months.

I am close to another woman "in the biz" and her goals/attitudes are almost the same as mine.  The big difference is that she's starting a business, while I'm trying to finish a degree.  

If I had any advice at all to give to somebody who was newer than I am, it would be this:  Don't count your money before it's in your hand.  I get stood up/last minute cancelled maybe 30% of the time, and this has remained constant (and a constant aggravation...please excuse the digression into complaining...).

Okay... gotta go make myself beautiful.  

Love to all.
Anne

This is what I do:
First off, I live on the means of my paycheck (I work during the day in an office.)I don't drive a fancy car, nor live in a fancy house.
Second, I invest money in a 401(k), I have 3 Roth IRA Mutal funds, a vacation club, and 2 savings accounts.
I save almost every dime from escorting.
My goal, to retire early and move to Arizona.
Save, save, save, so I can relax and enjoy my life.
Shaye

It is a well established economic fact that as peoples income rises, their spending will tend to rise to meet (or even exceed) their increse in income. This describes the common situation where even though someones income tends to increase through their life they often feel they never get ahead.

Ladies who suddenly start making a lot more money can fall into this trap if they start spending the money. They buy or lease an expensive car, go out to expensive restaurants all the time, own 500 pairs of shoes, etc. The best way to head this off is to do as some suggested, take a portion of income right off the top and save it, so you dont get used to seeing it (or spending it). The money will pile up and you wont even miss it because you never got used to spending it. This is a good thing for all of us to do, but especially for providers, who like professional athletes, tend to have a short working career relative to their lifespan, and find it difficult to maintain that level of income when their providing days are over. If they dont get used to the lifestyle that their artificially high incomes provide, they wont miss it, plus they will have a big nest egg later.

To any providers that are wanting to try to save money, I would encourage you to go to the local bookstore and purchase The Motley Fool's Guide to Personal Finance and look at their other books. These are good for everyone, especially the beginning investors.

Also check out their website www.fool.com.

Fool on!

Subtract your age from 100.  The number you get is the percentage of your retirement savings that you should invest in stock.  Put the rest in mostly in bonds.

Don't try to get rich quick.  Always diversify, so you don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Stanley's "The Millionaire Next Door" is a good read that emphasizes the importance of saving money, particularly during the "high-earning" years.

From the Judaic Talmud (approx. 1200 BC-500 AD), the rule of thumb would be to put one-third in land, a third in stock (business) and a third in bonds. Actually, this rather simple formula would have served the typical investor fairly well during the recent stock market crash (I think we can now safely call it a crash). Stocks have obviously tanked since March, 2000, but both bonds and real estate have done well. A "talmudic" portfolio would be either even or slightly ahead, despite the stock market crash.

To be able to participate fully in the above markets, it's important to declare and pay taxes on all of your income. That way you can legitimately buy a home, etc. without worries from the IRS. The long-term appreciation in financial assets will be worth far more than any money you think you might be saving now by not paying taxes.

At the more advanced level, "Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk" by Roger C. Gibson is excellent. As noted above, 401K's, IRA's etc. are easier to invest in than ever, and should be used where possible.

Another good source of information is The Truth About Money by Rick Edelman. I hate to call it Personal Finance 101 because there's a lot of information in it. Where it excells is in explaining just about every conceivable aspect of personal finance in terms anyone can understand.

I save a lot of my earnings but also spend a lot.  I want to enjoy life as well as look out for my future!

My great extravagance in life is travelling (it was before I began escorting and has always been my main outgoing from my earnings) but I don't consider money spent on that to be money wasted as I would money spent only on clothes/clubbing/cars etc.  

I left my full time day job a few months ago so I could travel more and since have spent about half my time travelling on holiday and less than half working.  I have wonderful memories from my travels that will last me a lifetime and have had exepriences that have enriched my life.  I also have more money in the bank than I could ever have imagined!  I consider myself very lucky to be in this position and if I stopped escorting tomorrow I'd be a lot better off financially than before and have had a great time getting here!

Carrie x

I save a lot, but I've never regretted any of the money I've spent to have adventures, mostly in other countries.  The idea is to move outside your comfort zone and explore territory that is new and uncharted for you.  Those kinds of experiences stay with you forever.