Profile

I am thirty six years old and I’m unemployed. I’ve picked up a day here and there doing some theater maintenance work this month, while trying to get an unemployment claim straightened out. I am also volunteering again at my friend’s company as stage manager/production manager for a digital performance of Dracula that we did the last weekend of August.

Spending & Saving

My word. How have people been doing this since March and not gone completely insane? I’ve been unemployed for two months and I think I’m losing my mind.

I have applied for like 100 jobs this past month, in an attempt to not drop back down to ring one on the career ladder. I’ve been looking heavily into event management and especially digital event management. I had a few interviews, that I think all went well, but haven’t heard back from any of them. So…? I have no doubt the competition is fierce these days.

Can I also pause here for one moment and give a shout out to Cleveland Play House? I applied for one of their digital SM positions for the fall, and they sent me a response that didn’t feel like a form letter (even if it was), confirming they’d received my application and that it would be reviewed shortly.

It made me feel more human again, so thanks, CPH.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my dream position would be right now and it would be a digital event coordinator/producer/manager. I like putting events together and I would really love the flexibility to do it from wherever I want, so maybe pigs will fly and I actually could buy a house before the end of 2020.

I’m leaning into my plan to keep applying for actual jobs I would want and would possibly want to stick with in the long run through the end of September.

At the end of September, I will give up and get literally any job I can find and ride out the pause and return to stage managing (hopefully) at the end of it.

At least, that’s the plan. 2020 has laughed at all my plans, so this might all fall apart too.

I’m also toying with putting accounting on hold and getting a project management certification and/or a digital event management certification. The last one feels a little questionable – like how long will this certification really matter for?

I only hesitate because they are expensive. They would cost the same amount as a semester of tuition at the county college. I am still waiting to see if my Union Plus college application works out through my brother’s union for the accounting classes.

Speaking of, I paid for tuition for accounting classes this month, but dropped them this week in an effort to see if I could make the Union Plus thing work out. A slight delay in finishing the program seems worth it to possibly save like $5,000. I should see the tuition refund on my credit card next month.

Overall, I need to get a little more of a grip on my spending while I have almost no income coming in, but the biggest spend (tuition) came out of a savings account where I had most of it saved up.

My cousin and I decided to go to Lake Placid next month for a few days. We rented a cabin in the woods and plan to do a bunch of hiking, and if it seems decently socially distanced, check out the Olympic sites up there. The Lake Placid expense is for the AirBnB – I’m estimating the whole thing will come in around $1,000 at the end, maybe even less.

Stage managing was a little high because I actually wound up as producer of this last show too and I know the company is totally tapped so I didn’t actually submit all of my receipts for things I bought for the show. Also, $50 of that is a stipend for an ASM because I really wanted one and knew we couldn’t actually afford one.

Gifts actually included a few checks I sent last month (so. many. cousins. graduating), and some Christmas shopping I did, so overall, that should mean a slightly lower gift amount in December?

My expenses this month:

• School – $1464.94
• Lake Placid Trip – $367.48
• Food – $352.06
• Stage Managing – $153.29
• Gifts – $119.31
• Gas – $83.30
• Entertainment – $57.40
• Utilities – $42.96
• Eyeglasses – $33.95
• Toiletries – $16.92
• Miscellaneous – $8.52

Total Spending in August: $2,700.13

Hustling

My income this month was from stagehand work, brokeGIRLrich, refunds, and UserTesting.

• Stagehand – $452.34
• brokeGIRLrich – $216.09
• Insurance Refunds – $101.18
• UserTesting – $10.00
• Utility Refunds – $2.98

Income This Month: $782.59

I am honestly a little overwhelmed by net worth statement this month. Despite it being a terrible income month, and despite me starting to wonder whether or not I can pay my day to day bills (without touching savings), and despite wondering if I’ll ever be hired anywhere ever again – my net worth went up $6,000.

Honestly, I have too many thoughts on this for this post, so it’ll be its own post next month.

Most Popular Post of the Month: Doin’It By the Decade: The Wealthy Barber Review

My Favorite Post to Write This Month: A Little Rant About Muggle Job Applications 

Goals

• Do two things to build up my stage management skills. 
• Max out my Roth IRA. 
• Max out my HSA. I can’t max it out due to university health care..
• Set aside $1,000 for my new car account.
• Invest $2,000.
• Read more – not counting textbooks I have to read. I’ve been rereading Harry Potter this month. And rewatching familiar television shows. I’m not sure I’m in the best place mentally these days.
• Learn to make macaroons.