Frugaling

Save more, live well, give generously

How I Earn A Living As An Actress

By 33 Comments

Share This:

How I Make Living as an Actress Money
Photo: Stefanie

This is a guest article from Stefanie! She’s trying to find ways to stretch her budget in one of the most expensive cities out there, New York City. A graduate of New York University’s drama and psychology programs at the height of the financial crisis, Stefanie discovered the world of financial planning out of necessity. Thanks for sharing your insight, Stefanie!

A couple weeks ago I shared some of the joy and the hardship that comes from my career as an actress. Today, I want to share how I earn a “living.” And by that I mean, quite literally, how I afford to live when I’m not working in “the business,” or when I’m being grossly underpaid, or when I don’t know how long it will be until I book my next gig.

In order to keep my days free for auditions and my schedule open for performance opportunities, I avoid jobs in the traditional 9-5 realm and focus on what many in the personal finance world call “side hustles.” My so-called “hustles” have ranged from being a trade show hostess at Comic Con to administering the musical theatre department at the New York Film Academy.

But my goal today isn’t to indulge you in crazy stories from my various gigs (maybe another time), but to share how I built and maintain an arsenal of side hustle options for whenever I need an income boost.

The conventional route of applying for jobs has never earned me enough to get by. Instead, my personal and life skills have served me most in making a living. Here are my top 5 recommendations to anyone trying to do the same.

1. Be a Nice Person

I could have also called this point “networking,” but there’s something inherently impersonal and limiting about that word to me. I’ve found that when you do your best to be a good person to everyone you come in contact with – in business or your personal life – opportunities follow.

In my five short years with the professional world, I’ve gotten countless jobs – in the industry and on the side – from relationships I have built with people personally and professionally. You never know where opportunities will come from. Be good, do good, and watch it come back to you.

2. Add Value

My biggest source of freelance writing work comes from people who have found or read my blog, not from the applications and proposals I send out. I do my best to contribute value in every facet of my life – online, among friends, or in a professional setting.  When people see that I have some level of expertise to offer, I automatically become a resource which may lead to a future job opportunity.

3. Talk About It

I got my job at New York Film Academy two weeks after talking to friends about my unemployment benefits running out. I wasn’t asking around for jobs (though I don’t think that’s a bad idea as you’ll see in my next point). Quite simply, I talked openly about what was going on in my life.

Rather than being embarrassed or ashamed of unemployment or tight finances, being forthcoming can put you at the front of someone’s mind when an extra income opportunity arises.  I get texts from friends all the time about babysitting gigs – my sittercity profile never saw that much action.

4. Ask

I have gotten side hustles from Facebook statuses – no joke! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there or simply ask what’s out there, as you’ll never know what you might find. 

5. Deliver

For goodness sake, when you get an opportunity (income, volunteer, or otherwise), work hard and put in the effort. Be prompt and professional, no matter how casual the setting. If you overdeliver, you’re practically guaranteed a future gig or recommendation.

What tactics have you used or found most valuable when looking for work or extra income opportunities?  How do you make your living?

How Much Could A Lifestyle Downgrade Save You?

By 9 Comments

Share This:

Flip Phone Old Lifestyle Downgrade
Photo: RobotSkirts/Flickr

Before I flipped out and got all frugal on everyone, I was taking out as many student loans as the good ol’ US of A would lend me. At times, I was engaging in some questionable personal finance practices – balance transfers (aka, robbing Peter to pay Paul). I felt pretty helpless, but people around me kept saying encouraging remarks, as the bulk of my loans were for school.

Unfortunately, the investment and loan damage that’s incurred to graduate from university programs varies tremendously. Some programs are a wonderful investment of time and money – they’ll most certainly add up to a great job, benefits, and an easy retirement. Others are a bit more vague. Something just doesn’t sit right when people say one kind of debt is better than others.

In an effort to reduce as many extra costs as I can, I’ve frequently thought about a lifestyle downgrade. What is it, you may ask? Essentially, it’s about getting rid of as many of necessarily technological advances as you can and pocketing the difference in money to pay off debt. With around $30,000 in debt left to pay off, I recognize that every little bit can help. Moreover, the bulk of this $30,000 currently gets taxed at an abysmal, life-suffocating 6.8 percent, courtesy of the federal government. It’s easy to imagine selling some unnecessary creature comforts and design elements to close this gap.

There Are Assets At Your Fingertips

Man Typing On Keyboard Assets Lifestyle Downgrade
Photo: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Many articles about personal finance stress removing your daily coffee at Starbucks or packing a lunch. These tips will certainly lead to better budgeting when you’re seriously starved for cash, but there’s more that can be done. Usually, it takes no more than a simple glance at the device you’re using to read this article. Are you using the latest technology? Is that an iPhone 5 in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Personally, I have a number of assets that are slowly depreciating – losing their resale value every day I own them. About a year ago I bought a white iPhone 5 and a couple years before that, I purchased a Macbook Air. The iPhone 5 was purchased on contract and cost the traditional $199 upfront, but these devices are worth WAY more than that on eBay. The Macbook Air was purchased for over $1,000. Unfortunately, the computer has depreciated quite a bit over time. But how much could I sell these items to restructure my life, spending habits, and pay off the burgeoning amount of student loan debt I have?

Choose Your Medium Wisely

When it comes to selling used goods there are three major options: eBay, Craigslist, or your local pawn store. Pawning your old accessories can be the worst option. Because there is a middleman to the transaction between buyer and seller, you’ll likely lose a lot of value. To their credit, a pawn store needs to make a profit, too – there are margins to any business. For the purposes of making the most you can off of your tech and accessories, let’s rule this out.

Next, we should consider Craigslist. In case you’ve been living under a rock for about a decade (and you will be soon by selling off all these newer technologies), Craigslist is the ultimate local classifieds and it’s completely free to buy and sell online. This method will net you the largest profit as there won’t be any commissions skimmed in the process (unlike with pawn stores and eBay). The one risk is that you’re dealing face-to-face with other people, and they may not necessarily be interested in dealing fairly once you meet in person. Similarly, you’ll likely have to spend more time responding to personal emails and arranging meetings to finally sell the item.

The last (but not least) option is eBay. The auction site has become a behemoth in the tech world. It’s by far the easiest and most populated area for buying and selling goods. As a buyer, it can be a wonderful way to find used goods at deep discounts, but as a seller, eBay is a little less friendly. For starters, eBay takes a cut every time you make a sale. Then, like the mafia, they have created one payment process that they own: PayPal. You’ll suffer another payment cut there, too. eBay ranks somewhere in between a pawn store and Craigslist for the money you’ll make, but it’s a safe platform and guarantees a sale within a certain, set period of time.

Reap Your Rewards And Pay Off Debt

Chromebook Lifestyle Downgrade
Acer C720 Chromebook

In the end, the goal is to sell off the unnecessarily advanced, profit off the difference of a lifestyle downgrade, and pay off some debt. If I were to sell my Macbook Air and iPhone 5, I’d probably net about $1,000 off the entire transaction. By selling these goods, I could buy a cheap, affordable computer and buy an older, used smartphone.

Using the same methods outlined before, I would recommend looking on Craigslist and eBay for used laptops and smartphones. The Galaxy Nexus – once the hottest phone on the market – now is a bargain at $60 used, off contract. That would take my net profit down to around $960. As a graduate student and heavy researcher, I would absolutely still need a computer for day-to-day work. The most affordable computers on the market are Chromebooks. I could easily buy a used Chromebook for around $125. After buying both downgraded accessories, I would net about $835 for loan debt.

With all lifestyle downgrades there will be sacrifices. Google Chromebooks are not fully-featured laptops and there are a number of restrictions you’ll bump up against. Older model smartphones may have worsening battery life and poor reception at times.

The question then becomes, is the sacrifice and debt payment worth your inconvenience and potential discomfort?

Where Does Happiness Come From?

By 6 Comments

Share This:

Are you one possession away from being unhappy and unfulfilled? What if you got off that rat race and realized you control your own happiness?

I’m sick of long weeks that merge into each other like an endless procession of parades. I’m sick of being in debt. There seems to be no end. Despite being sick of these aspects, I feel happy. I truly feel happier than I’ve ever been before. How can this be? I’m more stressed, tired, and busy than ever before. How can I simultaneously be as happy as I’ve ever been? It makes me wonder: Where does happiness come from?

Something tells me that the clothes you are wearing (or not) could be burned, torn, thrown away, etc. and you’d still be okay. Maybe they’re expensive, priceless, or valuable by some other standard, but you’d probably recover to realize what you still have. But it got me thinking, is there a time when happiness could ever truly disappear? Are you one possession away from sadness?

As I pondered this philosophical question with financial ramifications, I was struck by my own loves. For instance, I love reading. It gives me great joy to sink into a good book and forget about everything else for a little while. Frankly, I wish I had more time to do it. But what would happen if somebody took away my Kindle and I couldn’t read those great books?

Honestly, that would make me sad, but I would be happy because I could use my computer to read. What if that was taken away, lost, stolen? Again, I would be losing something that’s important and aids in the reading process, but I could just read a paper newspaper or magazine. Continue down this path of recognizing alternatives and things that will replace other things; it’s a test of your imagination, but eventually, nothing more can be taken from you. Eventually, all of these possessions, books, tools, etc. could disappear – away forever. This activity that I love could be gone or taken from me. But you know what? I could still be happy. I could write, imagine, and create stories in my mind if I absolutely had to (I’m fortunate I don’t need to, though).

Oftentimes, we put value into vapid pieces of detritus material that only offer temporary satisfaction, consolation, and a brief existence. A new pair of jeans would certainly make me happier, but for how long? By placing and expecting happiness to come from what I own can only lead to dissatisfaction later in life.

Nowadays, I can realize that my happiness comes from within. Without books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, computer, papers, etc. I may be temporarily upset, saddened, or otherwise pissed off, but I can still be happy. Life is too short to worry about what you may lose – or what you must have. Everyone loses everything every time over time. The narrator in the novel, Fight Club, really says it best:

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

At the end of these ideas and questions is a hard conclusion: Happiness cannot be linked to the transient things on Earth, and must start from within. Suddenly, those jeans seem a lot less appetizing…

What makes you happy? What makes you happy to take on the day?

Being Frugal Should Not Be A Race To The Bottom

By 5 Comments

Share This:

How can you maximize your money
and minimize the environmental impact?

Living within your means – at times – necessitates the cheapest, lowest cost product. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the fairest on the environment. Some of the most affordable products come from half-a-world away in distance, and the people are subjected to abject poverty (i.e., parts of China, India, and Haiti). The labor conditions are grotesque for many and the poverty is encouraged by continued international spending. In fairness, this is an economic slant that I’m coming from, and it’s called: “Race to the bottom.” (Wikipedia)

India Slums Class Frugal Race To The Bottom
Photo: ToGa Wanderings

Race to the bottom theorizes that the globalization and efficiency of markets can have a negative impact on the worker conditions, living wages, and much more. Essentially, when we are frugaling by buying the cheapest product, there’s an indirect consequence that includes wage suppression and continued poverty. To make the cheapest products, there must be consequences. Shipping the cheapest toys, clothing, and cleaning products burns countless amounts of fossil fuels. Between the Earth-destroying consequences and poor worker conditions, frugal spenders should try to go beyond this – when possible.

The consequences of inaction or continued spending decisions that are only aimed at the cheapest version can be harmful, externally and internally. Every day you can make little decisions for yourself and those around you. There are choices we can make that benefit everyone.

Coffee

Waking up to a fair-trade, organic coffee is a perfect example of putting good in and getting good out. Think fair trade is too expensive? Check out Target’s Archer Farms Brand for $6 a pound. That’s cheaper than Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and a wealth of other popular brand names – not to mention it tastes great! The soap and detergents you use can be harmful, rough on your skin, and non-biodegradable.

Soap

Buying a gentler, biodegradable soap/detergent will keep your clothes in healthy shape and longer, while caring for the waste water that ensues. Some of the cheapest vegetables and fruits are the most pesticide-laden commodities in the marketplace. Those pesticides pollute the farms and waterways in production, and you invariably digest some of them.

Vegetables

Organic and pesticide-free can be expensive, but you can try to stay away from the worst polluters (e.g., bell peppers, apples, and cucumbers – see more here). Cows that are given growth hormones and antibiotics are harming our ability to fight infection and causing serious medical complications.

Milk

The cheapest milks and cheeses on the market are often from these ill fed animals. Look for the cheapest breads, and you’ll find bleached, enriched products that likely contain high fructose corn syrup. These breads have been stripped of their intended nutrients and injected with fake, man-made sugar syrups. I, for one, aim to do better.

Best Of

Recent Posts

Follow