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Debt. This word fuels much of our modern conversation. Whether we are talking about how our nation leads in consumer debt or the current housing market, debt is a hot topic. Articles on student debt cover our social media pages, and express how difficult any career is for our generation due to our exorbitant student debt. Our profession is unique in that opera is an expensive and time-consuming career path. Graduate school, ongoing lessons/coachings, and extensive forms of training build great operatic artists; however, all of these endeavors take time and cost money making debt a constant reality.

Recently, we ran an anonymous survey about debt. There were 80 participants consisting of artists and singers. 91.3% of participants claimed they were still paying off debt. Out of those indebted participants, 53.8% found their student debt to be the most stressful form of debt and 67.5% believed their debt hindered their ability to build a successful operatic career. So how exactly do we, the most indebted generation, build an effective operatic career? Luckily, there are many motivational stories and resources to help us through this journey. Here are ways you can start to work on your debt:

1. Gather Information

In the survey, 42.5% of participants said they had a specific plan to pay off debt. You can easily type "debt repayment plan" into Google and find a variety of good resources.

Dave Ramsey has a free podcast called The Dave Ramsey Show where he talks through individual debt situations. He has an old-school approach to paying off debt, and it has worked for many people. Many participants also mentioned finding other popular personal finance gurus like Suze Orman and Ramit Sethi helpful. A great book we have found extremely useful is The Spender’s Guide to Debt-Free Living by Anna Newell Jones. It is thorough, easy to read, and practical. In addition, a few survey participants were fans of the blog The Finance Kitchen.

2. Create a Plan

Once you have done research on the plan that works best for you, do the math and figure out how much debt you owe. This could mean putting pencil to paper and actually listing your debt. Mint.com offers a free service to add up and track your debt if you prefer something paperless. Then you can assess how you want to attack your debt. 

Everyone has a different situation when it comes to debt, and you need to do what works best for you. If it is hard to follow one specific plan, try merging a few plans together. The key to conquering debt is not just building good habits, but maintaining them. Just like singing, the road to becoming debt-free is a marathon, not a sprint. For example, you can take a portion of each of your paychecks and put it into high-yield savings accounts. If you have money set aside, you are less likely to into more debt if something comes up. You should also check the status of your debt each month and write a note to yourself about how much you still owe. This way you can keep careful track of your progress.

Consider looking into whether a debt snowball or debt avalanche is best for you. In a debt snowball, you pay the smallest debt off first while making minimum payments to your other creditors. In a debt avalanche, you pay minimum payments to all your creditors, with any leftover money going towards your debt with the highest interest rate. Unbury.me will help you figure out if a debt avalanche or debt snowball is more advantageous.

Many participants in the survey mentioned debt consolidation and income-based repayment plans. These are available on a case-by-case basis depending on what kind of a debt you have. Discuss debt consolidation options with your bank. More information on income-based repayment plans can be found here or through your lender.

3. Keep a Record 

Now that you have a plan and have done the math, it is time to look at ways to track your progress. There are tons of helpful websites and apps to do this:

• YNAB (You Need a Budget) and Every Dollar are great budgeting apps. You can link them to your bank account and monitor your spending. 
• QuickBooks Self Employed is great self-employment tax software. You can also keep track of profit and loss, and even use the available app is available that will track your tax deduction miles automatically. 
• CreditKarma was a popular choice for many of the participants in my survey. CreditKarma and similar sites produce a credit report so you can more effectively track your debt. 

4. Get Active

One of the biggest aspects of an operatic career is the volatile nature of our income. We need to become master savers. High-yield savings accounts are an easy way to save money. Additionally, there are in-bank programs, like PNC's Virtual Wallet, that promote effective spending and saving. 

Paying off debt and building an opera career at the same time can feel like an impossible task. However, the key is to take the process one step at a time. Celebrate small victories in your process. In our survey almost all of the participants expressed frustration about debt, and many felt hopeless about the situation. But many also expressed the great strides they have made in their debt payoff, and how they were making it work for them. Using the tools listed above, you'll be able to take the steps you need to tackle your debt.