Blog

27Feb 2017 by Galen
Streamer Taxes- The 1040

Streamer Taxes- The 1040

Taxes
One of the most frustrating things all Americans have to do each year is file their taxes. Shoot, I’m someone who has spent more time than is sane studying taxes and I hate actually going through the process. Unfortunately, as someone earning income from streaming your taxes are going to be more complex than if you just worked for someone else. If you want some tips on your taxes check out our tax basics article and our business class article. Today we’re looking at the basic tax form, the IRS 1040. Overview The 1040 is the form you file for an individual (as opposed to business) tax return. As a streamer, this is the form that you’ll be filling out. If you use something like TurboTax to do it yourself…
Read More
20Feb 2017 by Galen
Business Lessons from Gaming Part 2

Business Lessons from Gaming Part 2

Running a Business
This is a continuation of last week's post on business lessons that you learned from gaming- even if you didn't realize what you did. Let's hop in to the list! Play to your strengths Personally, I prefer improving upon strengths and outsourcing work you’re weak at to others. That’s not always possible with limited resources but if the opportunity presents itself, play to your strengths. Why would a mage go to the gym when it would do more to practice reading spellbooks? Similarly, would you really say a druid should focus on their gunsmithing? No! As I said in the section on training and upgrades, your strengths are what got you to where you are today. They’ll probably be what pushes you higher in the future. Since you earlier took…
Read More
13Feb 2017 by Galen
Business Lessons From Gaming

Business Lessons From Gaming

Running a Business
So, did you know that you already know the basics of running a business and managing your money? There are a ton of specifics, to be sure, but if you’re a gamer you absolutely have your foundation in place. You might not remember the training but you’ve been training for this your whole life! I think you’ll be surprised how many business lessons immediately cross over from gaming. Disclaimer: I’ve played a lot of Blizzard games so they’re going to feature heavily on this list. Part 2 of the list is here. First, examine your surroundings (scouting is good) What resources are available to you and how much is available? Who are you competing with? What strengths do you want to play towards and what weaknesses do you need to…
Read More
06Feb 2017 by Galen

Out this week

Uncategorized
Hi everyone, This week is a break week for PPF- well at least for posting. I'm taking a major licensure exam on Friday so I need to be fully focused. Content returns next week!
Read More
30Jan 2017 by Galen
How Streamers Should Use Extra Money

How Streamers Should Use Extra Money

Personal Finances, Running a Business, Taxes
Ok, so you followed some good advice (hopefully ours with reverse budgeting) and you’ve built up a solid emergency fund. Maybe you’re someone just looking to go full time so you built up enough to give yourself a the runway you need. Or you’re a full time streamer who recognizes that you income is totally based on you so you need to have a buffer in place for illness, unavailability, or just slow times. You've gotten to the point where you have some extra money (yes, it can happen!) so what do you do next with your earnings? Goals The first thing to consider is your goals. Hard to know what to do with your money if you don’t know what it is you want to do! Do you want…
Read More
23Jan 2017 by Galen
Conferences for Streamers

Conferences for Streamers

Running a Business
Last week we talked about how to network with other streamers. That brings the natural question, where can I do this in person? Yeah, it’s great to talk with someone in their chat or through Discord but you can make a much deeper connection over a drink or conversation face to face. So today, we’re going to talk about some cool conferences you could go to in 2017 (or plan ahead for 2018). Keep in mind that anything you spend to go to these is a business expense so you can write it off! That has to be one of the major perks of doing what you love as a job- you get to go to stuff you’d want to go to anyways but do it with before tax dollars.…
Read More
16Jan 2017 by Galen
Why Streamers Should Network

Why Streamers Should Network

Running a Business
So, are you networking with other streamers and your viewers? Are you doing it methodically but genuinely? Networking can be a huge boom to your stream which means it makes all of the dollars and cents in the world to do! A strong network is the foundation of a strong business. While I’m relatively new to the world of streaming (and therefore networking as a streamer) I do have a ton of experience networking for work. If you have any ideas you want to add to this article, please let me know. You’ll be helping me and the readers! Aight, so what’s networking? That’s a simple one. Networking is just talking to people. That’s it. Nothing super fancy, you don’t need a suit and tie or fancy-ass business cards. All…
Read More
09Jan 2017 by Galen
Use Reverse Budgeting

Use Reverse Budgeting

Personal Finances, Running a Business
Do you end up feeling like you’re out of money at the end of each month? Are you ever concerned that one major setback might force you to stop streaming? Traditional budgeting works just fine but it focuses too much on the present and not enough on the future. Let’s talk about reverse budgeting. What isn’t reverse budgeting? What is reverse budgeting not? Negative titles are hard… This is pretty simple. Reverse budgeting isn’t your standard budgeting advice. In a traditional budget (which I still think is really useful) you track and categorize all of your expenses. That way, you can see what you’re spending and match it to your income. It’s a big focus on each category- did I spend too much on eating out this month? Too much…
Read More
02Jan 2017 by Galen
Student Loans for Streamers: Basics

Student Loans for Streamers: Basics

Personal Finances
Are you worried that your student loan payments are holding you back from full time streaming? Does your side income mean you have to pay more in student loans? We’re going to go in to the details of different student loan plans to help ease your mind. We also have some tips on ways your streaming might impact your loan repayments. The Ugly Stuff The statistics on student loan debt in the United States are… pretty horrifying. Skip this paragraph if you don’t want the gory stats. American households carry a staggering 1.385 trillion dollars of student loan debt as of October 2016, putting it behind only mortgages as the largest type of household debt. This number grows by over $2,700 per second and if you’re interested in watching it…
Read More