Investing for Sex Workers

I’m not a sex worker, but some of my closest friends are. After many conversations, I’ve come to realize there’s a gap in financial education for workers in the adult industry. Strippers, full-service SWs, sugar babies, pornstars, used-panty sellers and camgirls typically have different investing needs than people with 9-5 office jobs, but here’s the deal- mainstream stock market education often makes certain assumptions about the livelihoods of the people reading their guides. In fact, while researching investing questions from SWers, I came across so many people who suggested they quit sex work instead of answering! Are you kidding me? If someone’s life passion is stripping, or if someone does cam to survive, why judge their livelihood when you can simply help them with their investment questions? That’s why I’ve decided to make this guide.

While not all of the following will apply to every SW, here are some key differences that need to be addressed in investment education:

• Often paid in cash.
• Often do not have access to a 401k or company stock provided by their employer.
• Often operate at night, and are asleep during typical market hours.
• Income is often unstable and not guaranteed, as opposed to a salaried worker.
• Typically will have several income streams.
• Often won’t have access to other employer benefits such as healthcare, dental, or bonuses.
• Often work independently, freelance, or in contracted positions.
• Have different tax needs than salaried or hourly workers.
• Must plan for the future and beef up hardcore for retirement in the event that work dries up or an injury occurs.

Because of this, I believe SWs are in need of investment opportunity education the most out of anyone, despite being left out of mainstream investing conversations! Financial stability is important for anyone, but it’s especially important for those who work independently. That being said, here’s a guide to investing, specifically aimed at sex workers. My goal is to make your income much more stable, and provide more income stream ideas for you.

Cash does nothing for you

Here’s the thing about cash- it cannot grow. If you keep all of your pay in cash, you’re missing out on the opportunity to grow that thang. Even worse, if you let your cash collect dust in a tin in your closet, it will depreciate in value due to inflation. That’s right, you’re losing money over time when you keep all your coin in cash.

That’s why it’s important to invest whatever cash you don’t immediately need to use. Let’s talk about it.

Hands-off investing in the stock market

Because many SWs are either asleep during market hours or working during market hours, I believe it’s best to utilize a brokerage platform that’s as hands-off as possible. Allow me to introduce Wealthfront. Trust me, I’m not sponsored, but I’ve been using this platform for over a year now, and I love it. It does have a couple drawbacks, but it’s perfect for someone who has never invested before, and doesn’t know where to begin. If you use my affiliate code, you’ll get up to $5,000 managed for free. After you’ve hit $5,000, the fee is 0.25% annually, which really isn’t too bad.

Here’s how Weathfront works- you start with a minimum investment of $500 and take a short quiz about how much investment risk you’re willing to take on. I’m at the maximum risk level 10 because I’m an absolute madman. Once you’re assigned a risk score, Wealthfront will invest your money for you and trade on your behalf using an algorithmic analysis of the stock market. It’s perfect for those who don’t have the time, energy, or knowledge to maintain their own investments. You can withdraw your money at any time, but I recommend keeping your money in Wealthfront for as long as possible and continually reinvesting when you can to see maximum growth. If you can, try to invest $100 every week or every shift, and watch your account grow.

I use Wealthfront on top of other investment accounts. I love it, because I never have to check it, and I can also tell the platform what I don’t want it to invest in. It’s a hands-off, no brainpower required platform.

Another option if you have a large sum of money to invest, is to seek out a CWA (Chartered Wealth Manager). This will cost you money but they will make you money. Do not talk to a financial advisor, the title means nothing. Well, it’s up to you, but I don’t think you should waste your time unless you know of one personally.

Hands-on investing in the stock market

Maybe you’d like to have some more control over your investments than just using Wealthfront. I have used many brokerage accounts, and have invested in many stocks and mutual funds. I’d like to share some of that knowledge with you- but before we begin, let’s talk about how to invest.

My favorite investment platform and the one I’d recommend specifically to SWs is Robinhood. If you click this link, you can get a free stock on me when you sign up- no strings attached. Robinhood is great because there are no fees and the interface is easy to use for the beginner investor. I’m not sponsored, I’m just really horny for this specific brokerage platform, and think anyone should at least take advantage of the free stock. It’s literally free money!

Here are my specific investment picks for SWs. Before you invest in anything, you have to promise me that you’ll play the long game. Try not to touch what you’ve already invested for at least a year, unless you have an emergency. Growth, at least for these picks, comes from long term investment. I would also like to make the disclaimer that while I do believe these are good investments, do your research and fully understand the companies you invest in before you sink your money into them! That being said, the best time to invest is RIGHT NOW.

1. Dividend Stocks. Did you know you can get paid to own shares in a company? Some of my favorite dividend stocks are MSFT (Microsoft), SBUX (Starbucks), and AAPL (Apple). These are well known companies with great annual returns, and I highly recommend them.
2. Mutual Funds. Mutual Funds are great because they’ll instantly give your portfolio diversity, because it’s like owning many stocks at the same time. Some of my favorite mutual funds are FBALX and VOO. You can read more about them here.
3. Dividend ETFs. ETFs, or Exchange Traded Funds, are a type of stock that have many companies rolled into one symbol. These will also pay you great dividends. Like mutual funds, these have the advantage of giving your portfolio some diversity. My #1 favorite is SPY, which is an ETF that mirrors the top 500 companies on the stock market. If you’d like to reach more, here’s a comprehensive guide by the Motley Fool. It’s pretty wordy, so if you’re a beginner investor it might be a difficult read.
4. Bonds. Full transparency, I don’t own a single bond. I don’t really feel the need to, if we’re being honest. However, bonds might work for you! Basically, you buy a bond, get interest paid to you, and after a specified length of time, you will get your initial investment back in full. It’s kind of the exact opposite of getting a loan from the bank- instead of owing money, someone else owes you. You can read more about bonds here, because again, I’m not a bond investor.
5. Bitcoin. I don’t really suggest you invest in bitcoin, but I have to mention it. I invested in bitcoin this year and I sort of like it, I’ve made a bit of money. Invest in bitcoin only if you’re educated on it and believe in it. Bitcoin’s symbol is BTC, and it’s available on Robinhood if you’d like to dip your toes in this hot investment.

If you’re still confused about what you’d like to invest in, that’s okay! I’m going to be writing many, many more articles on how to pick investments. For now, go with your gut. Invest in large companies you believe in.

Hands-on investing elsewhere

Okay, so you’ve made a shit load of money and want to up your investment game. Maybe you have some free time and would like to make the most of it. I envy you. Here are a couple other ways you can make some money.

1. Real estate. Would you like to own your own home? Would you like to become a landlord? How about never paying rent again? Owning property puts you on a path to financial security. If you’d like to own property down the line, you must declare your income for taxes starting now. I know it’s painful, but you will be denied a mortgage if you do not. Talk to a CPA about your options for tax deductions.
2. Create your own business. Do you have a hobby you can turn into a side hustle using Etsy? Are you artistic and can upload your designs on to Redbubble? Have an idea for a product or service? I’ll write more about side hustles and business ideas in the future, but think about what you love to do when you’re not working- maybe you can monetize it!
3. Invest your time into teaching others the tricks of your trade. When Racks to Riches started her blog and app, she used her industry knowledge to educate others and make some money at the same time by identifying the needs of the adult entertainment community.
4. Become a franchise owner or buy someone else’s business. Or, start your own club!
5. Invest in yourself. Go to college, get a degree. Buy books and improve yourself. Learn a skill. You only have this one life to live- so why not max yourself out?

Bottom Line

I know there’s a lot in this guide, but it’s only touched the surface. The decision to become financially secure will become one of the best decisions of your life if you start right now. If you’d like to know more, comment below with whatever questions you might have, I’d love to answer them.