The New York Times has a project page set up to gather the stories that make up "the human side of the global recession". We just watched a video of a young Philadelphia artist who tells a bit about his financial reality - by working two different jobs at the museum for 36 hours a week he can bring home $1000 a month. He breaks that down to $475 for rent, $75 for utilities, $200 to savings, $50 - 75 for food and the rest goes to supplies, photo processing and his payday treat of a cup of coffee and a "saccharine sweet" apple fritter. A simple existence that allows him to make his art, he's got his survival strategies down...
...like baking his own bread and utilizing art supplies that are being discarded by the museum.
There is a place on the Times project page for readers to share their own strategies for survival and they are both eye-opening and inspiring. Tina in Philadelphia makes her own laundry detergent (5 cents a load!), Hannah in Eugene attends a "neighbor dinner" every Monday, Dianne in NYC budgets her daily spending to $20 a day and Jay in Tucson is working less and spending more time with his daughters. He writes "I've been told I will never regret this time spent. I cant imagine I will."
As we read through the survival strategies, it struck us that they were also like tips for a happier life - the overall feeling is hopeful and positive. Living more simply works for lots of people; riding bikes, getting rid of cable tv, cooking more at home - these choices often make for a more relaxed, more enjoyable homelife along with saving money and making do.
What are your best survival strategies ?
Image: Video by Jigar Mehta for the New York Times
posted originally from: AT:Chicago
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I watched the video, the young man sounds happy with his life and seems to have his budget worked out, but some things made me wonder....
I lived in Philly a few years ago and shared a 2 bed/1 bath. In a fairly typical brick rowhouse, our winter utilities ran about $350-450 a month for electric/gas/water (heat on at about 60 degrees or less). I'd love to know how he gets $75/month for utilities.
Does he have a telephone? Basic land line ~$20, pay as you go cell ~$20, regular cell plan $40
Does the art museum provide health insurance? If not, that's another $100-150 for a healthy young person although a smoker would be higher premiums.
What about laundry? Even 1 load/week at a laundromat in Philly would be about $3-5, so $12-20 a month before washing powder.
Anything budgeted for transportation? Even though Philly is very walkable, $10-15 a month for buses/subway is likely (for example, a bus for when you have heavy groceries or subway when it is snowing heavy).
And while $50-75 a month for food is possible, his cabinet full of ramen ain't looking good for a healthy diet- yes, I eat ramen now and probably more than my fair share of processed junk (frozen dinners, canned soup etc), but there's gotta be a breaking point....somewhere before scurvy I hope :) I just hope he isn't harming his health to save $20-30.
I'm not picking on him, in fact, if those things are covered in his budget (possibly in the $175 or so for "other"), I'm ready to congratulate him and be impressed.
working on the floor like that is likely not good for his physical body in the long term either.
My guess? He has no health insurance. He walks or rides a bike wherever he has to go. He's probably not the cleanest smelling dude either. Maybe he goes over to his parents' house every now and then to do laundry and eat a balanced meal?
I see stuff like this all the time - people have to live in the moment because any other way is unattainable for them.
Laundry is simple: Bath tub and a good washboard. Old fashioned, but it is tried and tested for over 100 years, and hasn't caught on fire or broken transmission yet (this has happened to the dryer and washer in my building, respectively.)
However, living in a similar income and apartment price, I wonder how he limits it so well. I make $1000/month, spend $400 on rent, $50 for internet, and probably $100-150 on food. Looking at it, we could take some tips from him. Pay day coffee treats only. I know I'm not the only one guilty of grabbing a latte and a wrap at the coffee shop on the corner every time I wake up late and run to work without breakfast.
I definitely see that food costs would not be easy to keep low. I bake my own bread, and cook a fair bit, but organic produce and lots of yummy fruits are not cheap. Neither is delicious cheese.
I also am surprised that he keeps his art costs so low. When painting often, it is easy to spend $500 a month on paint supplies, especially for artists lacking the space to stretch their own canvases. Mind you, I tend to paint impasto oils, so a tube of paint doesn't go far.
Very informative www.storyofstuff.com