Thu 15 Oct 2009 – 18.56
Imagine that one day you’re working at a successful magazine, making $50,000 per year, and living the life in New York City. A twentysomething fantasy for many. But then suddenly you’re laid off. Now, with the market for journalism shrunk to a caricature of its former self, you’re forced to scrape by with freelance gigs and unemployment checks in search of a job that may or may not exist. Stinks, doesn’t it.
This isn’t fiction, it’s the story of Amanda Ernst, a twentysomething former magazine writer and editor of FishbowlNY, a blog about advertising, media, and journalism. Amanda recently went under the microscope and talked about her adventures on NBC’s Today Show, even disclosing figures to help align her struggle with viewers who may be suffering the same drama in their lives. Read the chronicle of events from her point of view on FBNY. (for her efforts, Amanda was blog-slapped, lightly, by Gawker) The result, in this case, is positive: Amanda survived, and is doing alright, although it definitely didn’t happen automatically.
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Amanda Ernst discusses losing her job and coping with the financial strain
The thesis is fairly well-known: if your income suddenly drops (especially from getting laid off/fired) you need to restructure your life accordingly. Drop the expensive gym membership, cut back on lattes, quit buying fancy clothes, and of course keep track of all your spending so you know where every penny ends up. I’ve discussed personal finance at length, and even recorded a podcast episode about the cost of living.
But the struggle for employment and the fight against idleness stress more than the wallet, they tug at the very fabric of our existences. At least, they should for most of us twentysomethings, who are trying to establish ourselves in the world, trying to make sense of our careers and relationships, as well as finances. I suppose it’s like Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs — after we satisfy our ability to eat and sleep, we start looking for more, and that usually means we need a satisfying work life.
This is the topic constantly discussed on the Chief Happiness Officer blog, which I highly recommend. For a more academic, but heartily interesting, perspective on work and life, check out the new book from Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. And if you’re one of these Internet bloggy people, try this post from Serena Renner, a co-worker of Amanda, no less.
The great sea of the economy may be swollen and unsteady, but it will calm in time. But no matter the condition, twentysomethings will look out onto the horizon and wonder what awaits. Our careers, and our lives, are in constant motion, with waves and tides that will surely shake us loose when we least expect it. But isn’t that part of the fun.
For an amusing diversion from the often-depressing existence of twentysomething unemployment (or perhaps, non-employment), check out this article which outlines in most pityous detail, the plight of the upper class, who are struggle to pay all those private school tuitions, and whatnot, in this sour economy. Lifestyles of the Rich and Needy »
Perhaps a solution to it all is to work a different job literally every day. I know that folks change jobs more frequently in this, our new century, but this is taking things to the extreme.
posted by Scott in careers,coffee,education,health & fitness,life,real estate.
Half of Everything Goes to Rent
Tue 21 Apr 2009 – 20.08
It has long been known that twentysomethings in New York, especially those who are straight out of school and into their first job, will spent half of their wages on rent alone. That’s half to rent, and half to everything else. Turns out this practice is no longer just for the young lot. A new study reveals that a higher percentage than ever, 27%, are crossing that tragic 50% barrier.
That percentage is up 13% since 2002, with 82,159 more NYC residents throwing more than half their income into the ravenous rent hole, as compared to seven years ago.
The numbers are quite troubling, but also a bit stoic. If you’re interested in the figures, Gothamist tells the story, as do a number of other news sources.
When I was looking for my first apartment I learned of a magic formula, relating to rent and income: Your annual income must be 40x your monthly rent burden. So if you make $40,000 per year, you shouldn’t be paying more than $1000/month. Trouble is, $1000 isn’t what it used to be. In fact, that price point almost guarantees you’ll have to live in the outer boroughs and suffer the tragic commute. Even when living with roommates, an apartment in Manhattan will cost each tenant can easily cost $1500 for something that might generally be considered puny and ridiculously small.
The 40x rule comes into play when signing on to a lease, especially through a proper leasing agent. If you do not reach that magical threshold, you’ll have to find a guarantor to back you up on the lease — usually a parent with deep pockets. I’ve heard rumours that some agents require this person to earn 100x the month rent, which is pretty absurd by anyone standards. Hell, my parents don’t make $100,000/year. But the 40x rule kinda makes sense as a guideline; doing the math in reverse reveals that figure to be approximately half of you take-home pay. But this is half of overall pay, leaving an even tinier slice for … everything else!
Considering the rising cost of healthcare, food, fuel, utilities, New Yorkers are getting squeezed even harder. It’s more of a struggle than ever to afford those $14 martinis.
Since moving to Jersey City, my rent has gone down quite a bit, but so has my income. In fact, my income these days comes largely from unemployment, but I’m still not quite up to that 40x mark. Times are tough, my friends.
What percentage are you paying?
posted by Scott in careers,health & fitness,life,personal finance,real estate.
New Blog for Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes
Wed 23 Apr 2008 – 13.51
Hey, remember when I talked with Kristen Fischer about her book, Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes: An after-college guide to life? Well, now the book has a blog, where you can keep track of the latest news and reactions, and get in touch with Kristen and the others working behind the scenes. Check it out!
•• RRR blog »
posted by Scott in careers,education,health & fitness,life,personal finance,podcasts,real estate.
How to Soundproof an Apartment
Thu 28 Jun 2007 – 19.31
Just this morning, in fact, I was awoken prematurely by the sound of my roommate clanging around with pots and pans! Literally. Who does that?
I’ve always wanted to soundproof a room or apartment, and luckily for us, Wired Magazine has an article with tips and tricks on how to do it while saving a bit of cash.
Hang some high-density fiberglass baffles on your walls and ceiling. They’ll improve the acoustics of the room and absorb some of the noise that would otherwise leak out.
Defilly worth a read if you’re a musician or just obsessed with vacuuming at odd hours.
posted by Scott in real estate.
Tue 29 May 2007 – 11.37
Back to real estate! From WikiHow comes some advice on how to clean an apartment as you prepare to move out. Often times, landlords will find any excuse to keep your security deposit and chalk it up to ‘cleaning costs’. While cleaning may seem common sense, we could always use another tip; and I’m sure you, dear reader, know at least one twenty-something who could learn a lesson or two from Mr. Clean.
In fact, browsing the lists and bullet points, this seems really thorough, almost to the point of paranoia. I suppose it depends on your relationship with your landlord. Oy, let’s not get started on that.
posted by Scott in personal finance,real estate.
Thu 12 Apr 2007 – 13.31
From The New York Times comes a cool little web-based calculator to determine whether it’s better economically to rent or to buy. Most people would say it’s a no brainer – buy, but depending on the rates and the growth and all that, it may not be the case. There was an article a while back in the Times saying how real estate in New York and San Fran was in fact overpriced and it was mathematically better to rent.
Unfortunately, the sad truth is that most New Yorkers can’t afford to buy so they don’t have a choice.
posted by Scott in personal finance,real estate.
Wed 07 Feb 2007 – 9.37
Now, I know we as twenty-somethings have money problems, but thank the gods I don’t have to live on $12,000. Considering this is approximately minimum wage, it’s really scary to think of how many folks are making a living on this chump change.
But apparently, someone did it. A woman called Donna Freedman decided to change her life and took a vow of poverty. Something about college and divorce, read the article.
In a related story, OSA Watch has a post which includes some tips on how exactly to live on $12k a year. Common sense really for saving money, but I suppose depending on where you live, it’s possible.
By the way, I pay $13,200 a year in rent. New York, people. New York.
posted by Scott in personal finance,real estate.
HOW TO: Move To New York City Sane And Not Broke
Sun 07 Jan 2007 – 0.22
A bit of wishful thinking from someone over at Wired magazine. Common sense, really, with a bit of pie-in-the-sky idealism (eg, “find a job”). Still, worth a read if you are thinking about it.
posted by Scott in personal finance,real estate.
Mon 27 Nov 2006 – 22.50
I’m afraid this post is yet another in a series of excuses. It’s been a while since our last proper episode, and even since I’ve posted any articles, so I ask you the readers/listeners to simply bear with me.
My move to Brooklyn has all but settled, and life here is becoming routine. While I am may be farther away from my cohorts geographically, I am still in contact with them and no doubt they will appear again on this podcast. Actually, I spent a fair share of the long holiday weekend with Mike, Charlie, Pete, Laura and the rest, but sadly, no recorder was done. Joaquin continues to elude.
Strangely, I haven’t seen anything that seems newsworthy. At least not specifcally to twentysomethings. We’ll see how the future unfolds.
So in conclusion, stay with us! We’ll be back before you know it with more hard-hitting conversations about life as a twentysomething.
posted by Scott in life,real estate.
Mon 21 Aug 2006 – 14.28
In line with yesterday’s episode about apartment hunting, Jessica sent me an interesting article about the very same topic. Although not New York-centric, general tips are always good…
posted by Scott in personal finance,real estate.