Realism from the trenches

Here's a nice dose of realism for those of us who've perhaps seen a few too many memes about following our dreams, chasing our hearts, and running barefoot in a field of daises rather than pay bills.
First, to get you in the frame of mind, we have this:

There's no arguing with this. We've all been there. We don't want to go. We don't want another job. We don't want to pay bills. We wouldn't like it. 

Then there's Alan Watts on "What Do You Desire if Money Were No Object"

"[If you go after the money] You'll be doing things you don't like doing in order to go on to live a life doing things you don't like doing. Which is stupid!" - Alan Watts.

So there's definitely that corner. We've all heard it. We've all internalized it. We've argued with parents and spouses about it. We've felt guilty about it.

Now here's the other corner that says you took time following those dreams, and maybe just didn't make the money that you know you could have made by doing that day job.

That's the quandary.
Here's the deal. Here's an article from filmmaker Joe Swanberg in Filmmaker Magazine "On the Financial Life of an Independent Filmmaker." Swanberg is -- in many people's minds -- a successful indie filmmaker. He's been at it for years -- he has a multi-season web series, quite a few features that premiered at SXSW.  Recently, he has progressed to films staring name actors like Anna Kendrick and others. The super under the title of the article reads "Transparency benefits everybody." And transparent he is. One pull quote from the article,

"From the outside, you seem like a huge success. But the idea that even with all that success you’re just getting to neutral is intense." - Esther B. Robinson, Filmmaker Magazine, July 25, 2014.

Here's how he has been able to make it work:
Happy Christmas Director Joe Swanberg on the Financial Life of the Independent Filmmaker | Filmmaker Magazine

Another great, helpful article for those twittering on the edge of "Keep my day job or lose it?" is this gem from author/agent Mandy Hubbard. 
In the article, Hubbard addresses what many aspiring authors wonder: How much could I get paid for this?
Her answer, in short: Don't quit your day job.

Many YA novel advances are in the 2,000 range and that check might be divided into thirds. Even if you get an amazing mega-money book deal, while you will be able to quit the day job, you're not going to be rich. However, you'll be earning a living doing what you love, which was the point in the first place.

The trick is that getting where you want to be is hard work. If you're still at it after all these years, you know that. In fact you've probably been around long enough to meet a few of your heroes, get to know how life might be on the other side. I've seen my heroes driving around in beat up trucks, living in modest houses, and wearing that same t-shirt over and over again. They do this for a reason. A) Yes, it's easier to just pick up that same t-shirt off the floor and put it on rather than look for something clean but B) They're not rich. Even if they are making good money, they're either putting it back in for the next film or using it to pay the bills. It ain't easy.

So if you're doing ok keeping the writing going and keeping some kind of day job, go ahead and do it. You'll be able to afford to keep at it for the long haul -- which was the goal in the first place, right?
Good luck.