I know well the feeling of insecurity as you slowly creep from 1 student to 2 students. Then 4 and then 5.

Suzuki violin teachers operate in this beautiful, and also challenging, industry where we build 15 year relationships. One child can stay with you from age 3-18. We must be extremely intentional about who we bring students into our studio and to make sure that our culture and expectations fit their needs. We can’t just take on 35 students at once. We don’t always know the rate at which our monthly income will increase.

One tool that has made this feel easier has been consistently keeping our living expenses under $1500 a month.

I think every young person should consider using this tool. Until you are 30, keep your living expenses under $1500 a month (or $18,000 a year) so that can invest in your studio, invest in your education, and have a safety net you can fall back on.

You want to make sure that you don’t need to make questionable teaching decisions in order to pay your bills.

The lower risk your monthly lifestyle is, the more freedom you have in your teaching studio.

Depending on your region and your interests, your budget might break down differently. But these are a few decisions we made in order to keep ourselves under $1500.

Car

Though I did live in Ithaca without a car in graduate school, having a car brings peace of mind and security when trying to get to lessons and rehearsals on time. We used to have car payments on a new vehicle, but sold it at 2 years/30,000 miles and own two used cars.

If I were doing it again, I would save up $10,000 to buy a car in cash that is under 10 years old. I don’t think I’ll buy a new car or finance a car again.

Because the car is paid in cash, our only monthly transportation expenses are gas (minimal because we live in town) and insurance (cheap because the cars are older and owned).

Housing

We split a one bedroom apartment for $600 each a month. We choose to live in town which increases our rent quite a bit, but the low cost of gas and ability to walk downtown increases our quality of life.

We are planning to buy a multi-unit home within the next two years so that I have the option of teaching at home and we can rent the other space out. This also wouldn’t be possible on my income without a low monthly living expense.

Food

Food is a heavy investment for us because we believe in really high quality ingredients. We each spend $100 a week, or $400 a month, on organic, local food. For that reason we don’t eat out more than once a week (with the exception of personal budget).

Personal Budget

This is where our discretionary spending lives. We each have $250 a month to spend however we wish. This could go to food, travel, or a cup of coffee. We can spend on anything we want, but we must limit it to $250. The money rolls over month to month, but you can’t buy something until you have saved for it. For example, I could save for 12 months in a row and buy a new camera but I’m not allowed to buy the camera until I’ve done the saving.

---

This clarity in our personal finances brings me a sense of relief and security. I know that we only need to each make $18,000 per year to cover our expenses. Anything additional goes into our savings and our big projects. The $1500 limit also keeps us from inflating our lifestyle as our income increases.

I hope this gives you something to consider. Musicians don’t need to be poor, but they do need to be careful and intentional in how they build wealth.