Finish my Masters or take a break year before post-bac? I am currently a graduate student in communications, with my B.A. in English and Creative Writing. I have been utterly dissatisfied with my graduate experience and have spent most (read: all) of this past year focusing more on my music (teaching private lessons, working with marching bands, and personal practice) than on my graduate studies. I am certain that I want to return for a second bachelor's degree in music education and follow that path. 

However, I'm stuck with a conundrum here. I can finish the second year of my Masters and enter post-bac with both degrees, or I could take the next year to work and save up some money to help pay for my second bachelor's. (To give some figures, I currently make about $10,000 a year, which is enough to live but not have any savings. Working locally I could make anywhere from $25-30,000 a year, and the extra $15-20,000 would go directly into savings for the post-bac program. 

I'm concerned how much backlash or academic penalty there may be after dropping out of a Masters program, though. Does anybody have a similar or comparable experience that they can share? I just want to take the right path here. 

Thank you so much!
Don't stay in a graduate program you're not happy with. It isn't worth it if you can instead work toward something you're passionate about and can make more money while doing it and likely won't be judged heavily for doing, especially if you haven't even spent much time in the past year on graduate studies. At the very least, if you have a good advisor, discuss your options with them. They may be surprised to see you but will likely not encourage you to stay in the program if you aren't dedicated to finishing it.