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Personal finance for cultural heritage workers
Are you GLAM employed and want to get your financial life in order?
As a GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) or cultural heritage worker, your own sustainability is vital to the cultural heritage you strive to preserve. Job satisfaction is about more than money, but a solid financial footing allows you to effectively participate in change that will benefit your colleagues, your collections, and these respective fields at large. (Shout out to unions!)
GLAM Money helps you focus on what is within your control so you can continue working in your chosen field.
GLAM workers face specific (if not unique) challenges when it comes to earning and long-term financial stability. As workers in these professional communities are faced with layoffs, furloughs, jobs being eliminated, project and grant funding vanishing and more, financial literacy is more important than ever.
Read about the GLAM Money zine below.
If you are seeking assistance, please check out the Resources.
Wait... What is GLAM?
Wait... What is GLAM?
The acronym GLAM refers to galleries, libraries, archives, and museums, institutions in the cultural heritage sector dedicated to maintaining the material and immaterial records of societies, cultures, and the natural world. These institutions use various means such as collecting artifacts and records, preserving and disseminating knowledge, engaging the public via exhibition and educational or community programming, and other activities to fulfill their missions.
The cultural heritage sector is broader than GLAM however; it includes any initiative focused on preserving the legacy of a society. Examples include community-based programs like artist-run spaces, grassroots projects, and programs that promote the preservation and study of traditions or languages specific to a group.
GLAM Money Zine
GLAM Money Zine
Issue #1: Gorgeous Money for GLAMorous People - Be Above Vulgar Economy
Issue #1 is an introduction to personal finance topics, and advocates for cultural heritage workers to think about money skills as tools or resources for curating their life. This issue covers identifying your personal values, tracking spending and net worth, creating a debt-payoff plan, and an introduction to saving and investing.
About the subtitle: "We will be above vulgar economy" was a phrase used by Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra in 1808 regarding an upcoming social engagement and planned expenses. Later, around 1863, Karl Marx used "vulgar economy" to describe the superficial and exploitive nature of capitalism in his writings, which were collected after his death and published as Theories of Surplus Value.
I use “vulgar economy” here to refer to a careless approach towards money; one that is haphazard in personal money management, engages in thoughtless spending and dismisses the benefits of financial stability. Let us be above vulgar economy.
How to get a copy:
Physical and digital copies of GLAM Money #1 are available at my Buy Me a Coffee page (go to Shop). I'm selling the zine to help offset printing and shipping costs. Donations are also welcome to support these expenses.
Digital copies: $4 - Immediate download.
Physical copies: $8 - After you order you'll be prompted to share your mailing address. Your zine will be mailed within about 2-3 weeks of ordering.
Alternatives:
Alternative 1! Are you under-employed or experiencing financial struggles right now? Send me an email and I'll send you digital copy of the zine for free. No need to go into detail.
Alternative 2! Make a donation of any amount to a non-profit or mutual aid fund. Send me a copy of the receipt and I'll send you a digital copy of the zine for free. (Donations to GLAM-based initiatives are encouraged but I'm also a sucker for no-kill animal shelters and pet adoption centers.)
Alternative 3! Find me at a conference or other gathering. This may be challenging since travel budgets have been cut across the board, but if we meet in person, I'm happy to give you zine if I have one on hand or I'll email you a digital copy later if I don't.
Email info [at] glam-money [dot] com for a copy.
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