If there's one piece of advice I could tell my younger self it is this: Write down a "plan" and the steps to follow it. I never did that. There's a photo of me dressed as a gypsy when I was 9 years old. Cursed foresight! My life has unfolded like that photo predicted. I zig-zagged through the past 30 years of my like, the way Tron does on the grid in his light cycle. I never had the foresight to find a peer group, find a mentor, draw up a plan with steps to achieve a singular goal. Instead, I just foolishly tried 'this' or 'that.' The curse of the creative brain, or unrealized potential.

If you are young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't give up your dream of being a writer and musician.

There are many ways you can earn income in this gig economy. I'm researching that for myself right now. Getting back into freelance writing. I used to do it in my 20s and was able to pay rent. But, life got in the way and I gave it up. I miss it.

So, the good news is: you are not screwed. That is good ol distorted thinking at play, because you are frustrated and thinking in circles.

I joined a dislocated workers program because i need a mentor. That mentor is in the form of a career counselor. I don't know how old you are or what your connections are. Maybe try to find an editor who you trust and ask them to help you create a 'plan' you can follow to really bulk up your freelance writing career. And, make music on the side. I am not in a band, but I used to be involved in a drum circle that performed a lot for a few years. So, now I still drum alone, for practice (not where I live), or go to a drum circle when I can afford to pay for it (the free one I belonged to disbanded a long time ago).

The resources are out there for you. You just need someone to guide you to them. That's where the idea of a mentor comes into play.

Join a writers group for feedback from your peers.
Keep writing every day to 'practice.' If you don't exercise your voice, you'll lose it. Do you think musicians never practice? Of course they do.
Cut back on shopping luxuries.
Go thrift shopping for clothes and socks and shoes.
Stay away from grocery co-ops and shop at the cheap grocery store for produce.
Get rid of any excess in your life.