Tag - investing

Investing 101 For Cam Models (The Basics)

As a cam girl, you need to know a few very important things. One of those things is that managing your money can help you make more of it. Smart investing can change the trajectory of your life – for real! So, please don’t skip this article. I wanted to revisit this to share some updated information with you on investing in general and making your cam earnings last. Please keep reading and ask if you have questions. I’ve covered lots of money related posts here too (both on saving and earning). You’ll find what you need to here.

Investing Options For Models

Investing Your Webcam Money

I’ll kick things off by sharing the first rule of investing: you’re never too young to invest. Investing can seem awfully intimidating with all that financial jargon but once you break it down it’s pretty simple to understand.

Most cam girls invest to make a little money on the side, or bulk up their savings for retirement, or to beat inflation. Now, I’m not talking about making spur of the moment investments on Robinhood via $GME. I’m talking about smart investing.

If you’re already setting aside money in a savings account you’re ahead of the game, but unfortunately, that money is just sitting there earning less than 1% when it could be making you more money.

Retirement

The first thing you should look into is investing your retirement savings. This is more than just naming your saving account “retirement funds.”

You need to put your money into a retirement fund like a 401(k) or an IRA. There are three main types of IRAs: Traditional, Roth, and Rollover. Each has its own advantage.

Investing 101

Traditional IRA

In a traditional IRA you make contributions to your account with money you might be able to deduct on your tax return. Potentially your earnings can grow tax-deferred until you withdraw them for retirement.

A lot of retirees find themselves in a lower tax bracket than they were while they were working so the tax-deferral means your money might be taxed at a lower rate.

Roth IRA

With a Roth IRA you make contributions with money you’ve already paid taxes on. If you meet certain conditions (your bank will be able to go into detail about the conditions you need to meet) you could have tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

Rollover IRA

Finally a Rollover IRA is a Traditional IRA intended for money that has rolled over from a retirement plan. This means you would take money from an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k) or a 403(b) and move it into an IRA.

So why would you need an IRA? For starters your savings have the potential to grow or compound faster than they would in a taxable account.

Even if you have a 401(k) from an employer you will still need up to 85% of your pre-retirement income in retirement and that 401(k) may not cut it.

An IRA will help you supplement your current savings, take advantage of tax-deferred or tax-free growth, and help you gain access to a wider range of investment choices.

Do Your Research

If you use your IRA to dabble in investments that are out of the mainstream (meaning you go off the beaten path from the typical offerings of banks and mutual funds) you’re going to want to do some serious research beforehand.

For example, some people buy coins with their IRA. Lots of people buy gold and silver coins because they’ve been measurements of value for thousands of years.

Gold, Silver & Coins

Coins tend to be stable when stock markets crash or inflation soars but that’s not to say the price of gold and silver doesn’t fluctuate, because they do. A lot of mainstream IRA custodians such as banks and mutual funds don’t offer coins as an IRA option.

IRS regulations require storage be overseen by a custodian but custodians don’t have to offer this service. The same holds true for precious metal bullions like gold or silver bars.

IRAs allow for metals such as gold, silver, palladium, and platinum to be purchased with an IRA but many financial advisors say it doesn’t perform over time and probably isn’t worth the hassle of getting it appraised and valued every year.

Stay In Your Lane Gif

Newbie…Please Stick To Funds

If you’re a first time investor your safest bet is to invest in mutual funds. Professional investors collect groups of securities and you can invest in these funds without picking every individual stock or bond yourself. This lets you diversify your portfolio without worrying about which stock to pick.

Many Baskets

Which leads us to the most important rule of investing: diversifying. You never want to put all your eggs in one basket.

That’s the quickest way to lead to financial disaster. Always diversify your investments because you never know what stocks will fall and what stocks will rise.

Avoid “Hot” Stocks

Try not to jump on the stock of the moment, otherwise known as hot stocks. There’s always a stock that’s generating buzz but it’s better to research the company that’s being buzzed about than to jump on the stock of the moment and buy a ton of it.

If you do play the stock game don’t let the morning news dictate whether you should buy or sell. Active investing (buying and selling stocks strategically and frequently) doesn’t work for most people and it’s not always a sound investment.

Check Your Emotions At The Door

Don’t get wrapped up in a stock for sentimental purposes. If a stock performed well in its past performances but the security is falling, you have to be willing to let go.

Securities are only as a good as how they’re currently performing, so be prepared to let go of a stock that may have been good for awhile but has turned bad.

It’s also bad to get caught up in checking the stock ticker all day as markets and stocks go up and down every day. And never invest money you need fast access to. Experts suggest you should never invest money you’ll need within five years because if the market goes down you won’t recoup those costs.

Conclusion: Get Help, But Do Something…

Securities, IRAs, and investing can be overwhelming and risky so it’s always best to consult a professional. There are tons of great resources out there that will help you invest your money wisely.

If you want to learn more about investing contact a financial planner or a wealth adviser or even an automated online investing platform. Feel free to reach out to me for more information if you need to know more. Important Note: I’m happy to share personal experiences, but non of it should be misconstrued as financial advice. 

Banking Advice For Webcam Models

I’ve covered lots of topics over the years. There is so much to discuss when it comes to camming, but one of the most important things just might be related to gettin’ paid and savin’ money. For that, I’ve decided to share what I know about banking and the typical cam models options.

Banking advice

Bank Options & Advice For Cam Girls

Cam modeling is one of those jobs that people consider to be a way to get easy money, but I promise you, it isn’t an easy job. It does, however, have the potential to get you some big bank if you’re good at what you do and take it seriously.

So, what happens when that money starts rolling in? While cam modeling is definitely a legit job, sometimes banking can get a touch tricky. If you’re a cam girl, or someone thinking about starting a career as a cam model, here are some banking tips to make the money management easier.

Consider Your Cam Modeling as a Business

Working as a cam model is essentially running your own business. Sure, it isn’t like you’re a brick and mortar store, but you’re still offering a service and a product (yourself and anything else you decide to sell). Unfortunately, even though you are doing something that is legal and on the up-and-up, banking can be a bit of an issue.

You see, not everyone is going to be ok with dealing with “sex money,” even if it isn’t due to illegal activities. Trust me on this, people are so judgmental, it can be infuriating. And it gets really frustrating when you’re trying to deal with a bank.

If you’re starting to receive money from your cam model work, here are some tips to make sure the process goes smoothly.

  1. Choose the right bank.

It may seem crazy, but you are probably going to want to take a look at the bank you’re currently using to see if they’re adult-friendly. Not all banks out there are going to be accepting of a check or payment from an adult-oriented industry and that can cause you some serious problems.

Suntrust

If your bank is not accepting of adult industry payments and they found out where your money is coming from, they absolutely have the right to freeze your account and you will not have access to any of the funds in your account, whether they are involved in your work or not. Now, they can’t keep that money, but it can sure cause you an annoying disruption, especially if you need that money for camming supplies, rent, car payments, groceries, etc.

If you’re looking at banks, these bigger financial institutions are notoriously against the adult industry:

  • JP Morgan Chase
  • Bank of America
  • American Express
  • PayPal
  • Square

I don’t know if it is strictly morality reasons, you’ll often see in the banks’ terms and conditions that they have a “morality clause”, or they are more worried about fraud and chargebacks, which is entirely a legit worry.

The adult industry is the industry with the highest percentage of people demanding refunds for the payments they made. Imagine a guy with a wife is sending you money for a show and his wife finds out. The husband will then say, “I didn’t charge that, that was fraud” and now claiming he never made the purchase, will demand a refund.

This is also why I totally recommend setting up a business account strictly for your cam modeling services only. If you have another job or another stream of income, keep that separate so if the bank gets weird on you, it shouldn’t affect your other money and you’ll still have access to some bit of money when you need it.

Also, consider using Wells Fargo and Citi Bank. Both of those banks have thus far remained open to the adult industry, however, read those terms and conditions thoroughly before you go with them, it could change at any time.

  1. Be vague with the bank.

No matter what bank you decide to go with, I would really recommend you stay vague with them. Luckily, most cam modeling sites understand the difficulties that are presented by being in the adult industry, so they don’t blast what you’re doing all over your checks and deposits. You definitely shouldn’t either.

IDK Emojis

If you are working as an independent cam model, I would definitely recommend that you create a company for yourself, which you can find information on by a web search, and for the love of all that is good (bad) and pure (impure), do not create a company name with the words “cam,” “sex,” “desires,” “adult,” or anything else that just screams “sex industry.”

Pretty much just assume that you’ll get caught and you’ll have a huge hassle on your hands.

  1. Don’t accept shady payment methods.

As a successful cam model, you’re probably going to have fans all over the world. That’s great and all, but if you want to avoid another banking problem, don’t accept payments from foreign countries, especially those in Africa, the Middle East, or Mexico. Those are total red flags to banks and you’re going to get some questions.

payment options

I would also highly recommend that you don’t accept shady payment methods like Western Union or MoneyGram wire transfers. Con artists use these methods to commit crimes every single day and for some reason, they don’t much care. I suspect that it is because they benefit whether the transfer is legit or not.

  1. Hire a CPA.

I wouldn’t be responsible if I didn’t recommend that you keep this business legal. This means you absolutely must pay your taxes.

I know, I know, that sucks. But, if you think dealing with the bank is difficult, wait until you’re dealing with the IRS. The Feds are no joke, my friends.

A CPA can help you get all the work-related things organized and file your takes properly. Just make sure you keep your receipts from anything you purchase for work and be honest about what you make. Once they show you how to file and what you should be keeping for your financial records, you can probably file taxes yourself in the future.

Oh, and if you’re smart and you don’t want to get hit with a huge tax bill in April, save about 30% of your income. Typically, you’re not going to have taxes taken out of your work checks and you are responsible for that.

The CPA will probably have you send in quarterly payments because that’s what the IRS likes, but I’ve sent a lump sum at tax time and never got a complaint from them. (I did, however, grumble because that lump sum was high and I should have sent in quarterly payments, which are much more doable)

Hopefully, this banking advice for cam models will help you to get started. Just make sure you keep things on the down-low, find an adult-friendly bank, use common sense when accepting payments, and PAY THOSE TAXES!

Pay taxes

Please do not copy my site!

Thanks,

Sarah