bills, bills, bills #3

A week in the life and wallet of a Theatre Studies PhD student

Editor’s Note: For years, it’s been commonplace for theatre training programs, undergraduate institutions, and parents to advise young theatre makers to pursue academia as a more reliable alternative to professional theatre work. Thanks to the consistent undervaluing of humanities and arts, the academia track for theatre practitioners is often as underpaid and unlivable as the low theatre wages that they were trying to avoid. In this month’s issue of Bills, Bills, Bills, we take a look at one such student. 

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Occupation: PhD student in Theatre Studies. During the academic year, I’m a TA which funds my tuition and also provides my income for those nine months. I work seasonal positions during the summer. This year, I’m working a full-time office job in events strategy through a specialized internship program at my university.

Age: Late twenties

Location: A major university town in the Midwest

Yearly Income: Around $24,000

• Academic Year Income: Bi-weekly paycheck of around $900 after taxes and insurance deductions for the majority of September through May. The last few paychecks in February through May are closer to $850 each because they pre-deduct my insurance premiums for the summer.

• Summer Income: This year my office job is paying $15/hr before taxes. I haven’t gotten my first paycheck yet but I believe it’ll be similar to my school year paychecks.

Estimated Monthly Income: $1800

Savings: I don’t have a savings account. I contribute $10/month to an independent IRA through an app, which my dad matches. As of the time of this writing, I have of course lost the password to that app, but I believe the account is at around $1,000 currently.

Checking: $750.80

Debt: $31,350 in total. I owe around $25,000 in private loan debt from undergrad (currently in deferral), $5000 in credit card debt, $1000 owed to my partner’s dad because he loaned us money to leave a bad lease situation, and $350 in medical debt.

Monthly Bills:

• Rent: My partner and I split the $1510 rent on a three bedroom house. The house is owned by my partner’s parent, who purchased it as part of a 1031 exchange, and generously set the rent well below market value to match the rent my partner and I paid on our old 2-bedroom apartment. My dad also supports me with $500 per month towards my rent, so that leaves me responsible for $255. I feel very thankful for all of this support; we would not be able to afford even a much smaller house in our area without the low rent and familial help. 

• Utilities: My utilities are electricity, gas, and internet, all of which I split with my partner. My share of the total each month is around $150.

• Medical debt repayment: $25

• Credit card payment: $150 on average

• Monthly subscriptions: $32 total

  • Student discount on combined Hulu/Spotify: $5

  • Google Drive storage: $2

  • New York Magazine digital: $1

  • New York Times crossword: $5

  • Patreon (for the Sleep With Me podcast and Fundie Fridays YouTube channel): $6.50

  • Disney+: split w/ partner, my share is $5

  • HBO Max: split w/ partner, my share is $7.50

  • My mom pays for a Netflix account that she and I share, and my dad pays for an Amazon Prime account that he and I share.

  • Cell phone: $0, as I am still on my family plan and my dad pays for this. 

• Pets: We have two cats who are technically my partner’s, so they pay for their care. We also have some fish and I spend about $5 per month on fish food and supplies.

Average Total Monthly Bills: $617

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Tuesday

Today is Day 4 at my summer office job. My partner, who is also a grad student in the same program as me, works on a farm during the summer and they’ve already left the house by the time I wake up. They’ve already fed our two cats (although to hear the cats tell it this morning, they’ve never eaten before in their lives) but I make the rounds to feed our three fish tanks. I have coffee and also pack some Greek yogurt and maple syrup to take for breakfast. I take the bus to work, which is free with my student pass (although I pay $750 per semester in something called “segregated fees” that goes towards “student services, activities, programs, and facilities” such as the student bus passes...so...is it really free?). 

I forgot to pack a lunch today, so I decide to get Chipotle since the other option would involve a $5 bikeshare ride. I try to pre-order a veggie burrito on the app for pickup, but the app keeps crashing, so I head out to order in person like the olden days. It costs $8.37.

Later in the afternoon I am in desperate need of a caffeine fix, so I head to Starbucks, which is dangerously around the corner from my office. Today I’m going for my new favorite: an iced venti latte with toasted vanilla syrup and sweet vanilla cold foam. I order for pickup on the app and it costs $7.70, I also grab some $2 candy while I’m out.

I head home after work and make some frozen Trader Joe’s shrimp tempura with rice and steamed broccoli for dinner.

Daily Total: $18.07

Wednesday

Breakfast is coffee and banana bread that I made a few days ago. My partner and I both have today off, so we make sandwiches at home together for lunch. We head to the vet to pick up one of our cats’ prescription food. It’s around $50, which my partner pays for.

In the evening, we resume (and eventually finish) the new season of Stranger Things, and my partner makes us some soup for dinner with some frozen rotisserie chicken leftovers and some veggies from the fridge. We take some Trader Joe’s strawberry cheesecake up to bed and watch YouTube before falling asleep.

Daily Total: $0

Thursday

I oversleep like CRAZY — I must have accidentally fallen back asleep after turning off my alarm — but thankfully my partner is starting their work shift late today and comes in to get me up when they realize how late it is. I quickly get dressed and bike to work — no time for coffee, breakfast, or lunch prep at home.

I take advantage of a Starbucks gift card my best friend sent me when I complained about anticipating going bankrupt from Starbucks this summer. I get my venti latte with all the trappings and a plain bagel with cream cheese. I settle in at work, spread my cream cheese all over my bagel, and take a bite — and something is WRONG. This cream cheese is VERY, VERY SOUR. It’s totally inedible. No bagel for me this morning, I guess. I run back out to 7/11 since it’s the closest (and cheapest) thing to my office and get a cinnamon bun for $1.89. I consider getting some Claritin since my allergies are really acting up today, but it’s $10 and we have a huge bottle of the Costco generic version at home, so I decide to just power through without it today.

In the early afternoon I’m still craving my lost bagel. I biked to work today and it’s a slow day in the office — I’m actually the only one here — so I bike to get a bagel. It’s a poor imitation of a NYC bagel, but it’ll do. I get my usual: plain bagel, toasted, with cream cheese and red onion. It costs $6.33.

I leave work and stop at the grocery store for a couple of ingredients for the veggie burgers I want to make for dinner tonight. They’d probably be cheaper if I stopped at the Trader Joe’s that’s about halfway home, but it’s slightly out of my way and I just don’t feel like it! My goat cheese crumbles and hamburger buns cost a total of $8.18. I also stop at Walgreens to pick up some over-the-counter meds for a total of $10.99.

Before dinner, my partner and I do some work on the chicken coop we’re building! Then I make the veggie burgers, my partner makes some corn and broccoli fritters, and we pop everything on the grill. By the time everything is ready, it’s getting dark and buggy out, so we head inside to eat while we watch The Staircase. After dinner, I make us both some overnight oats to have for breakfast tomorrow. We head up to bed with some Costco ice cream bars. 

Daily Total: $27.39

Friday

I have coffee at home and then bring overnight oats to work for breakfast. I just don’t feel like using the energy to bring lunch from home. I feel guilty about buying lunch out again, so I hem and haw about what the cheapest option might be. I eventually head to the nearby grocery store and get some microwave mac and cheese and tomato soup for a total of $5.28.

I head home immediately after work. My partner is going out of town tomorrow for a week, so we make a nice dinner of this amazing french onion soup one-pot pasta from TikTok to celebrate our last night together for a few days. We also have some wine that’s been sitting in our basement for a while. Dessert is Costco ice cream bars in bed. 

Daily total: $5.28

Saturday

My partner and I make coffee and toast at home for breakfast, and then they head out for their trip. They’ll take public transportation and then a bus for several hours to get to the closest major airport.

This weekend I’m calling upon my costuming skills to make a friend’s wedding dress. My friend is reimbursing me for materials, but this is the one time in my life where I firmly refused to accept any extra payment. I’m just so excited that she’s trusting me to take on such a big responsibility for her! 

After working on the dress for several hours, I decide to run to Trader Joe’s for some groceries. I end up spending $39.64. For dinner, I’m feeling lazy, so a box of Annie’s mac n’ cheese it is! I pair the mac n’ cheese with the finest Trader Joe’s boxed white wine, and settle in to watch the Spring Awakening reunion documentary and feel some feelings. I attempt to watch the new season of Love Island through a VPN on my phone and then streaming my phone to the TV. I somehow accidentally end up paying $4.99 for an ITV+ subscription. While I’m aimlessly browsing Twitter on my phone, I see that someone I follow posted a picture of themselves watching a live stream of Circle Jerk a few hours earlier. I’ve been meaning to see it, so I do a quick google to see when their live stream schedule is. I see that there’s one starting in literally 10 minutes, so I buy a $4.99 ticket and settle in.

Daily total: $49.62

Sunday

Today is a very lowkey day at home. I make coffee and have cereal and then work on the wedding dress for most of the day. Lunch is some Trader Joe’s frozen pastry bites, and dinner is another box of mac and cheese. I close out the day with a Costco ice cream bar and some television.

Daily total: $0

Monday

Back to work! I bring some coffee and toast from home, and it’s supposed to rain today, so I decide to take the bus instead of biking. I get Chipotle for lunch again ($9.92) and then I leave work a little early because there was a huge storm and I’ve heard reports of power outages in my neighborhood, so I want to check on the cats and make sure everything’s okay. Thankfully my power is on and the cats are sleeping peacefully. I make some Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi in the air fryer for dinner.

Daily total: $9.92

Total Weekly Spending: $110.28 

Author’s note: This weekly total feels pretty low to me. I didn’t pay any major bills — rent, utilities, or credit card, nor did I do a major grocery store run.