bills, bills, bills #23
A week in the life and wallet of a sound designer building a tiny house for their dad
Bills, Bills, Bills is a monthly series of anonymous money diaries from theatre workers curated and edited by Jenna Clark Embrey.
The full archive is available here. We accept diarist submissions on a rolling basis.
Editor’s Note
March was a doozy so I’ll keep this month’s note brief. I love this month’s column for so many reasons — Animals! Acronyms I had to google! Remote freelance work at odd hours! This is also not the first diary that showcases the brutality of tech week: the complexity and expense of meal planning, the late night commutes that are a recipe for danger. I always want to say, “There has got to be a better way!” but we all know that ‘better way’ involves more money. A longer and less gruesome tech process seems great in theory, but then new complications arise for out-of-town productions: increased housing budgets, more time away from family and pets and plants (which also leads to additional costs). And, of course, this is all in a hypothetical world in which there is more money to be allocated towards these expenses, which there isn’t, unless we are also making less theater—and then people are making less money for a different reason, thus locking us into the nonprofit theater ouroboros of oy vey. But let’s set all that aside for now and just root for this sound designer and the building of the tiny house.
This month’s columnist opted to donate their honorarium to an animal rescue organization in their area.
Job/Position: Freelance sound designer. I also freelance as tech support for a company that makes sound design-adjacent software.
Location: A major city that is not New York
Age: 45
Yearly Income: As a sound designer, I am paid per project. Fees range from $2,500 - $8,000 and I average around 20 shows a year — though I plan to cut back dramatically in the coming year, hope to stay closer to 10 shows. For my design work, I made $78,000 before taxes in 2022.
For my freelance tech support work, I am paid hourly ($72/hr) and hours vary by week based on their needs and my schedule. This work is done on my personal computer from wherever I happen to be. It’s all through email and Slack. It’s paid twice a month. I made $30,000 before taxes in 2022. This year my hours have gone up considerably and they gave us a pay raise. So I expect to be closer to $60,000 this year, but since it’s freelance, that can always change, no hours are guaranteed.
I also hold some leadership roles in an adjacent organization, and receive stipends for my work that comes out to about $9,500.
Checking: $371.14
Debt:
Student Loan: $1,500. I only needed loans for grad school and a family member paid a little over a third of them as a graduation gift, leaving me much less to pay off over the years. I have a very low interest rate so I am in no rush.
Mortgage: $266,220 ($1,168.46 per month). I refinanced during the pandemic for a lower interest rate and it saved me over $400 a month. A family member gave me the down payment nine years ago that allowed me to buy.
Property Tax: $5,800 a year paid in two installments
Credit Card Debt: $4,000 or so, varies
Goodleap: $4,200. This is a home improvement loan I took out to install a gas line and electrical in my backyard for a fire pit last year. Paid off over half of it already.
SBA Loan from pandemic: $25,000. Used to consolidate other debt and get through the pandemic. It has a very low interest rate, so it’s a lower priority to pay off. And it’s considered a business loan not personal debt, which matters when it comes to credit scores.
Savings:
$4,600 in my normal bank account for small emergencies. I move any extra money from my checking over there, embracing the philosophy “If I don’t see it, I won’t spend it.”
$19,995 in a separate Qapital account. This is used to pay property tax and income taxes, as well as big emergencies. I also use it to save for big vacations and I have one planned for this winter. This account automatically transfers money from my checking to savings in small amounts based on “rules.” It takes around 20% of my income each year, though I can easily transfer it back if/when I need it.
I also have stocks, which are worth around $100,000 depending on the market. A family member bought me a few when I was born and they are just doing what they do. I ignore them. They will be there when I retire. I hope.
I have a pension plan through my union, and I am vested, as well as a few 401K accounts, that are worth maybe $4,000. There’s a Roth IRA around somewhere, it’s maybe worth $1,500. It took a hit when the economy crashed in 2008 and I kinda ignore it. I should be better about that.
Acorns Investment App: $5,630. This auto-transfers small amounts. I set it up during COVID and don’t pay much attention to it.
Monthly Bills:
Mortgage: $1,168.46
Student Loan: $52
SBA Loan: $129
Credit Card: $100 (though I always pay more, typically $500 - $1000 a month to get it down faster whenever I can)
Factor Meals: $115 a week so $460 a month. Eight meals a week because I can’t cook. Also I suck at portion control.
Gas Bill: About $20
Electric/Water/Trash: $50 (pay $150-ish every 3 months)
Solar Panels: $70.43
Netflix: $15.50. My mom uses my password but doesn’t send me $ for it, she used to but has forgotten the past five or six years. I don’t mind.
Hulu: $14.99
AT&T Cell Phone Plan: $89.46 (comes with free HBO Max)
Spectrum Internet: $75
Goodleap: $90 (though I pay $200 - $300 a month)
Pet Insurance: $25.29
Spotify: $10
Chewy: $90
IATSE PAC fund donation: $10 a month
Total: approximately $2,470.13 minimum
Annual Expenses:
AAA Home Insurance: $811. I typically pay in two chunks, although I can pay in up to nine installments.
AAA Car Insurance: $1,854 (paid in nine installments)
AAA Membership: $40 (I guess that’s not large)
Medical Insurance: $0. Covered by my employers through the union. I make more than enough to cover the costs fully.
Amazon Prime: $139
Union Dues: varies depending on how many contracts, but last year was around $1,500 (paid quarterly)
Total Annual Expenses: $4,344
Tuesday
First Day of Tech (8 out of 10)
Editor’s Note: Not sure what 8 out of 10 means? Context from Lauren in the footnotes!1
My day starts at 8 AM, because I want to have time to drive over to the wholesale produce store that’s 10 minutes from my house. They have an amazing selection of veggies for my pets. And they cost about half of what I’d pay at the grocery store down the street from my house. Got seven days worth of veggies: $27.98
Came home and fed all the animals.
Ate a yogurt for breakfast and grabbed one of my Factor meals to throw in my bags for lunch. I then drove the 17 miles to work. I was in a rush when I filled up on gas on Sunday so I only got three-fourths of a tank and will probably need to fill up before the end of this tech week. The theater pays for parking at a nearby lot, so that’s covered.
Tech is tech: long days in a dark room. But the designer run blew me away and I am excited to see it come to life.
On a 10-minute break from tech, I walked over to the Starbucks that’s next door to the theater. Got a chai latte for $4.95. I have the Starbucks card, so it pulls off of that. I need the walk as much as I need the tea/sugar.
One of the other designers asks me to join her for dinner, she got to pick the restaurant. We went to a fantastic Korean spot a few blocks from the theater. Dinner came to $14.98 — not bad for this neighborhood!
Tech finished at 10 PM and the production meeting was thankfully short.
Drove the 17 miles home after tech and found my Factor delivery waiting on the doorstep. I decided that starting next week I need to go down to only six meals a week, rather than eight as I always have at least one meal left over. That will drop my weekly cost to $91 instead of $115.
Total Spent: $47.91
Wednesday
Tech: 10 out of 12
I woke up at 6 to do some freelance tech support work this morning. It’s hard to do on a long tech day but it’s also hard to turn down that shift — and the money that comes with it. Around 10 I feed my critters and do a circle of my garden. I am new to growing plants and every day I discover a new bloom or leaf or vine that brings me so much joy. I am growing tomatoes and strawberries and peppers. I take joy in picking a cherry tomato and eating it right off the vine.
I transferred $3,800 out of my Qapital vacation savings account today to pay for a plane ticket overseas. I am traveling with a friend and she bought them on her credit card, so I am sending her my half today. The vacation isn’t until December, but she was excited and wanted to get the tickets ASAP. We both agreed to splurge on business class, since it’s such a long flight.
Acorn investment app transferred $5 from my bank account this morning. They do this weekly.
At 9, I got a call from the contractor that I hired to build an ADU (Editor’s Note: Accessory Dwelling Unit…think of a tiny house in the backyard of a bigger house). I applied for a HELOC (Editor’s Note: Home Equity Line of Credit, this lets you borrow against your home's value to access cash as needed) two weeks ago, and though I am (mostly) confident it will close, it certainly won’t by the time he shows up on Friday for the first payment. I don’t want to delay, as my father is ill and planning to move out here in late summer. He will be in my spare bedroom until the ADU is built so I want to start that permitting process! So do I put that first payment on my credit card (yay airline points, but boo interest if the HELOC takes more than a month) or do I move a HUGE chunk of my big emergency savings to my checking and write a check? No interest, but also, much less of a safety net, which always worries me. And the loan officer will want to see that I have cash on hand as they process the credit line. The HELOC can replenish the savings, or pay off the credit card, so it’s not a long term thing (fingers crossed) I am leaning towards the credit card.
The good news is the appraisal on my house for the HELOC came today and was much higher than I expected (despite my absolute disaster of an overgrown front yard). I emailed the loan officer since the appraisal states that I do not have a garage — but I do and it is the reason I want the HELOC. She responded saying that my appraisal was so high compared to what I want to borrow, she doesn’t care about my garage.
I bought the house for $390,000 nine years ago. I owe around $266,000 on the mortgage. It appraised at $815,000 today and I am asking to have a $150,000 line of credit. The ADU will cost $100,000 to build and I wanted wiggle room. It’s completely amazing to me that this house is worth twice what I bought it for nine years ago. Once I have a permitted ADU, my house’s value will climb to a million dollars. A number I can barely comprehend.
I ate a Factor meal as an early lunch, got an update from my dad on his doctor’s appointment, and drove the 17 miles into tech!
On a 10-minute break, took a walk over to Starbucks for my guilty pleasure chai. I grabbed a bag of chips too, so the total was $6.90. I had to refill my Starbucks card so $25 was pulled from my bank account for the card and Qapital app has a “guilty pleasure” rule that kicks in when I refill my card. So it will pull $5 and put it into my vacation savings account.
Had a meeting over dinner and wished I had remembered to pack another meal from Factor. Headed out alone to a place nearby that I knew was quick when the meeting was over. Dinner was $23.29
It’s been a long day so I made another trip for a chai on a break: $4.95.
Tech ends at midnight and the production meeting goes to 12:30 AM.
After tech, I drove the 17 miles home (30 minutes at that time of night). I called a friend to help stay awake on the drive and once I get home, I crawl into my bed. My mind is worrying about a bunch of things, so I read and use a sleep app, but I don’t fall asleep until after 2 AM.
Total Spent: $3,835.14 (plus the $25 to my Starbucks app)
Total Saved/Invested $10: (Qapital and Acorns)
Thursday
Tech: 8 out of 10
Woke up early (7:30 AM) to work on new cues for tech, putting me at only 5 hours of sleep. Paired with the 4.5 hours from yesterday, I am feeling a little ragged. I worked on cues from bed for a bit and then paid some bills before dragging myself to the shower.
My freelance tech support direct deposit showed up today: $3,529.22 after taxes (we are paid every two weeks). And a payment from one of my leadership positions also showed up: $716.37 after taxes. Those are paid quarterly.
Factor took their weekly payment automatically: $91. Since it’s the first of the month, I paid my mortgage of $1,168. The gas company was $28.37, a little higher than normal because I got some quality time with my fire pit last month. The DWP bill was $121.67. I sent $100 to my student loans and I sent $200 to my SBA loan.
Goodleap will autopay $89 on the 10th, but I sent them another $200 today. My credit card got $800. I know Qapital will take 15% of the deposits today, 10% to my “taxes” savings and 5% to my emergencies savings account. Finally, I moved $500 into my Chase savings.
Now that I have moved the deposits around, making it hard for me to go a shopping spree, I drag myself through the feeding rituals for the critters. Breakfast feels like a hurdle I cannot tackle, so I make some tea and head to tech with my new cues.
Tech goes well, the new cues work and I can relax a little. I regret not throwing a meal in my bag, as I am really hungry. Made my run over to Starbucks for my chai on a break, $4.95. At least I am consistent.
Headed to dinner with my fellow designer again. She picks the best places: another Korean place, a hidden gem. Dinner was $21.05.
Tech ended at 10, and I was in the car by 10:45 headed home. I really should do laundry but tomorrow is another early morning for freelance so I think I’ll do it later.
Total Deposited: $4,245.60
Total Spent: $2,735.04
Total Saved: $1,136.84 (Qapital and Chase savings)
Friday
Tech: 8 out of 10
Today starts at 6 AM with freelance work. I fed my critters and had some yogurt for breakfast. I got a load of laundry going while I worked as well. At 10 AM, I was done with tech support and I had an appointment with my contractor and his architect to come to look at my garage and take measurements to get the ball rolling on the ADU. This also means I had to make my first payment of $8,465. This covers the architect, drawings, and the permits for the project. Once the HELOC goes through, I’ll pull $8,400 from it and pay my credit card back down. I’m grateful for the high credit limit which gives me a lot of flexibility. The next payment isn’t due until the permits are approved and that takes, on average, three months.
I had a Factor meal and headed into tech. I stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way in as there was a “crafty table” that various people had contributed to and I wanted to add a few snacks to share. $7.27 on snacks.
Grabbed my usual Starbucks on a break: $4.65.
Tech was fairly painless. The show is in good shape so I wanted a place I could get a beer with dinner tonight. Headed to a local chain restaurant and had a beer with my dinner: $24.65.
Qapital pulled $45.67 from my checking and moved it to savings based on my rules and Acorns took $8.75.
We got a run thru in after dinner and tech wrapped up at 10 PM. The contractor sent me a first pass of the drawing for my ADU while I was in tech notes so I looked them over. I spent the 30-minute drive really thinking them through. By the time I get home, I have a plan for the architect but I’m pretty tired so I decide to tackle the email tomorrow. I stop by the 7-11 around the corner from my house because I’m hungry and there’s no food in my house besides the Factor meals. And those are too much food right now. I grab some Pringles: $5.99. Gotta be healthier one of these days.
I’m home by 11:10. Changed my sheets now that I’ve done laundry and crawl into bed around 11:30 and set my alarm for tomorrow. I have nothing in the morning so maybe I’ll get a little more sleep tonight!
Total Spent: $42.86
Total Saved: $54.42 (Acorns and Qapital)
Credit Card Debt Added: $8,465
Saturday
Tech: 8 out of 10
I got to sleep in a little today. Then I joined a 10 AM zoom class on Financial Wellness, offered by the Entertainment Community Fund through my union. Enjoyed listening to it and may grab a few of the books she mentioned. After the critters were fed, I had a Factor meal for lunch and headed into tech. I forgot to make tea, so my Starbucks starts early with a chai. I got a venti this time, so it was $5.25 and a refill on the Starbucks card, so $25 to it and $5 to Qapital. My autopay for my solar panels happened today: $70.43.
Tech went well this afternoon and I spent a lot of it emailing with the architect who sent me a few more drawings. I sent them on to my dad and sister who approved them so the architect will start the permitting process Monday. My sister is in charge of all things style and fashion so she’s always included in decor discussions! We agreed that I would build the ADU and she would get it furnished and decorated.
I wandered over to a pizza place for dinner. Had a drink with dinner and remembered it’s a Saturday so no happy hour. Dinner: $38.28.
The run this evening was smooth and we ended early. I was home by 10:45! I spent some time trying to track a return to Amazon that hasn’t shown up in my account yet, but the Amazon bot says it probably won’t for another week. So I’ll check again then!
Total Spent: $113.96 (plus $25 moved onto my Starbucks card)
Total Saved: $5
Sunday
Tech: 8 out of 10 (but our call was pushed back 90 minutes)
Tech is starting late today so I slept in and had a slow morning. I finished my book last night so I downloaded another one from Apple: $9.99.
I put in an hour of freelance tech support work, then I ate a Factor meal for lunch and headed out.
Gas was low so I stopped to fill it up: $55.53. Got a car wash on the way there: $11.
Tech ended early for dinner so I spent an hour working on cues for my next show and then headed out with fellow designers to one of the Korean places we hit earlier in the week. Dinner was $18.10.
The final dress went well and we ended early. Headed home ready for a day off. Well, off from that show.
Total Spent: $94.62
Monday
Tech: Day Off
Today I started freelance work at 6 AM. I am on with them until 2 PM. I had some yogurt for breakfast and realized I am out of milk for my tea, which is very sad. I had a Factor meal for lunch while I worked.
My Chase account autosaves $25 a month, so that was debited today and moved to the Chase savings account.
When I was done working, I head out to get some pet supplies: $40.74. This will last 2-3 weeks.
Then I head over to the wholesale produce place again. Stock up on veggies for next week. If I don’t go today, I’ll end up just going to the grocery store and being annoyed that I’m paying so much. I also picked up two fancy boxes of chocolates as my two neighbors mowed my front yard this week while I was in tech. I’m very grateful that they help me take care of my yard. I’ve offered to pay them but they insist they are just being neighbors so I bring them cookies or chocolate or something every once in a while. $67.96 ($36 of that is chocolate) for eight days of veggies.
I have two production meetings via Zoom, back to back. I head home and brace myself for three hours of Zoom meetings. Once I got home I realized I forgot milk… sigh. I spend a little time building cues for my next show before the meetings start.
The meetings wrap up and I don’t have the energy to go to the store. I’ve got some Factor meals but I’m not feeling it. So I order Mexican food from DoorDash and take 30 minutes to relax before jumping into building cues again. Dinner is $26.
I spent the evening building cues and reading my book. That sums up my week!
Total Spent: $134.70
Total Saved: $25
Weekly Total:
Spent: $7,029.23
Saved: $1,231.26
Deposited: $4,245.60
Explanatory comma from Lauren for all the non-theatre professional readers: "8 out of 10" and "10 out of 12" refer to the union-mandated span of day for actors during technical rehearsals. Here's how that works in practice: actors are called to start rehearsal at 11am and released at 11pm, with a two-hour dinner break — thus working 10 out of 12 hours.
However, the span of day is longer for stage management, production management, crew, and designers, as it doesn't encompass prep, pre-rehearsal work time for designers, clean-up, or post-rehearsal production meetings. It's common for these workers to clock 16-18 hour days during tech.
Since the COVID shutdown, there’s been a tremendous amount of advocacy around eliminating 10 out of 12s and six-day work weeks. I've seen some theatres make a big show of doing away with 10 out of 12s — only to adopt 9 out of 11s and act like they're champions of the labor movement. This is the definition of doing the bare minimum!
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