bills, bills, bills #32
A week in the life and wallet of a West Coast devo leader
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
Happy New Year! Or is it? In November, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated and set aside the Department of Labor’s final regulation increasing the salary threshold for over-time exempt workers. This means that, nationwide, there is no clear salary threshold for these workers—the court also struck down the July 1, 2024 threshold increase.
In the words of Pete Campbell, I would describe this as, “Not great, Bob!”. This means that all workers should pay close attention to the salaries listed on job postings, and if you are currently in a salaried position exempt from overtime, keep an eye (and possibly record) when you are working more than 40 hours a week. You’ll see a salary threshold noted in this month’s column; this diary was kept in the summer of 2024. We’ll feature more on the salary threshold regulations as the story develops (i.e., I call my brother, a lawyer, and have him break it down for us.)
Job/Position: I work as an events director in the development office of a LORT theatre. I’m in a senior position on a small development team. My job involves planning all of our donor events as well as some events for the staff, board, and general public. Some of our biggest hits include opening nights, an annual gala, a big awards dinner, a national new play festival, and many miscellaneous dinners, receptions, and meetings. I don’t do much front-line fundraising, but I do frequently interface with the board and I am responsible for a small portfolio of in-kind donors who help underwrite our events.
Age: 30
Location: West Coast, USA
Yearly Income: My salary is $66,560 (the exact threshold for an exempt worker in my area, of course) which comes out to $982.55 per week in my paycheck. I also have a non-theater freelance side hustle (or two). It varies, but so far in 2024, I’ve made $4,395 at my side hustles.
Debt:
Student Loans: $56,655 in private loans for my bachelor’s degree and $22,924 in federal loans for my master’s degree.
Credit Cards: $3,900 on a zero-interest balance transfer card that I need to deal with by December. $352.79 on my daily-driver credit card that I try to keep paid off.
Car: $0. Bought new in 2016 and paid off in 2022! I plan to keep it until at least its 10th birthday, then I’ll think about going electric.
Savings: I have about $10,000 in various retirement accounts from past jobs. I don’t currently contribute anything to my savings.
Checking: $1,252.47
Monthly Expenses:
Rent: $2,015 for a one-bedroom apartment
Utilities: Usually around $120 for everything
Wifi: $65
Car Insurance: $163
Student Loan Payments: $815 for my private loans, $169 for my federal loans
Credit Card: $55 minimum payment for my zero-balance card, but I try to pay more
Photoshop and Lightroom: $21.34. I had canceled this for most of the last year, but I started doing more headshots again recently and I’m trying to grow that side hustle.
Spotify: $11.79
Insurance: About $87 a month for medical, dental and vision through work, deducted from my paycheck.
Phone: $0. I’m still on my parents’ plan and they foot the bill. I use their Amazon account, too. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Large Yearly Expenses:
Car Registration: $300ish
Cat Vet Check-up and Flea Medicine: $400ish
Some Additional Context:
My parents are awesome and they cover my phone bill and Venmo me some gas money every once in a while—but even more importantly, I know I could drop everything, quit my job, and move in with them (they live about three hours away) if things ever got really dire, so the emotional value of that safety net is incredibly valuable.
My student loan payments are particularly high because I paid for my bachelor’s degree with private loans. When I started college as a first-generation student at age 17, my parents and I didn’t really understand the difference between private and federal loans, and my debt continued to balloon with interest after graduation as I paid the minimums and then paused while attending grad school. In 2021, I consolidated and refinanced, so I’m actually making progress on the debt now, which feels great! If I could do it all again, I’m sure I’d make different choices about my loans and education, but it is what it is, and I just deal with it and make my payments. I hope to increase my income significantly in the next year and make more progress on my debt.
I live in an area with an extremely high cost of living. My $2,015 rent for a one-bedroom apartment (10 minutes from work in an amazing, walkable neighborhood) is actually far under market value, so I’m hesitant to move until I find another housing opportunity that will save me enough money to be truly worth the expense and difficulty of moving—and allow me to keep my peace and my cat. My lease is up in December and I’ll probably start looking for new options about a month before then.
Sunday
It’s a pretty laid-back day at home. I’m trying to get my house in order so I feel prepared for a very busy work week ahead. I get groceries from Trader Joe’s ($71.39) that should cover me for the week and treat myself to an iced latte ($8.00) from my favorite coffee shop. I also finally bite the bullet and order a new phone case ($18.24) on Amazon since mine has been disintegrating for months. My D&D session is canceled—I run a campaign for some friends, but aligning the schedules of six women in their thirties is rough—so I take advantage of the free time and do some cleaning at home, set up the upcoming week in my planner, and try to avoid the Sunday scaries.
Total Spent: $97.63
Monday
I bought iced coffee and creamer with my groceries yesterday—still a bit of splurge compared to making it, but it tastes way better and is still cheaper than buying it at a coffee shop. However, I forgot to make ice last night and I can’t bring myself to start the week with an iceless coffee, so I get Starbucks ($0—a gift card from long ago) on the way to work.
I spend the day at work prepping for two big events we’re having this week (an awards dinner at the theatre on Wednesday, and an offsite opening night of our summer production on Friday) but I actually feel pretty prepared and the stress is low. At home, I make dinner and FaceTime a friend for a few hours to talk about a cool Shakespeare intensive she attended, and plan a trip we’re taking in a few weeks. I reserve the Airbnb for our trip ($492.20) and will have my two friends reimburse me later for their thirds. I give into my sweet tooth and get a snack from the vending machine at my apartment ($1.60). My Adobe subscription also renews today ($21.34).
Total Spent (excluding friends’ portions of the Airbnb): $186.94
Tuesday
I have a few meetings in the morning, then continue to prep for the big awards dinner we’re hosting on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite events I do in my job, since it’s on the stage and makes me feel like I’m actually doing theatre. My background is in directing, and working in development feels like a bit of a personal compromise for me. Freelancing just doesn’t feel like it’s in the cards for me at this stage of my life—I need a steady paycheck, health insurance, and to pay off my student loans.
We have a rehearsal in the afternoon that goes well, and I leave work by 5:30pm, feeling good about tomorrow! In the evening, I take a Pilates class that totally kicks my ass ($0, but part of an 8-class introductory package I bought for $79 a few weeks ago). At home, I discover that one of my favorite artists is touring near me in a couple months and I buy a ticket ($60.50).
Total Spent: $60.50
Wednesday
The first of two big event days this week! It’ll be a long day—I get to work at 9:00am to receive the delivery of tables and chairs to the stage door. I spend the rest of the day periodically checking in on the dinner set-up, setting tables, and making last-minute changes to the script as we learn of additions and cancellations to the guest list. The event itself is long, starting with a board meeting, then a cocktail reception, and finally the awards dinner, but everything goes well! I’m home by 10:30pm and go right to bed. I have some income today—a freelance client sends me $250, half of my fee for my upcoming work. It’s also payday, so I get my weekly direct deposit of $982.55. My private student loan payment also hits my bank account today ($814.11).
Total Spent: $814.11
Total Income: $1,232.55
Thursday
Now on the other side of our awards dinner, I turn my attention toward the opening night of our off-site outdoor production tomorrow night. Most of the prep for that event is done, so I just have a few more tasks, and I spend the majority of the day trying to catch up on emails and things I put off until after Wednesday’s event. I leave the office a little early to deliver eight cases of wine to our after-party venue. It’s about thirty minutes to the venue, but rush hour by the time I head back, so I don’t get home until about 7:30pm.
A friend is visiting in a couple weeks and I Venmo her for a concert ticket ($49). I don’t usually buy two concert tickets in a week, but ‘tis the season, I guess! Oh yeah—today is also the opening night of a theatre festival that I founded in the state I used to live in. I’ve passed the baton since moving to my current state, but I’m still involved as a sort of consultant, so I try to be available for questions from the current staff as the festival kicks off. I don’t hear much, so I assume things are going well!
Total Spent: $49.00
Friday
It’s opening night! I head into the office a little late, around 11:00am, and do some final prep for the event—printing signs, downloading our playlist, and building a cute gift basket to leave in the hotel room of the couple generously underwriting the production. I get down to the venue around 2:00pm and drop off the gift basket, then have some time to kill before the rest of my team arrives, so I get a coffee and a water bottle from the hotel cafe ($17.57—yes, really). At least it’s a really good coffee.
The opening night festivities kick off with a complimentary pre-show bar. None of our bartenders were available for the shift, so I’m bartending—other duties as assigned, right? I’m not great at it but hey, everyone gets a glass of wine in the end. Once the show starts, I head over to our after-party venue to set up. The show ends, the audience descends upon the venue, and we have a great celebration at a beautiful indoor-outdoor restaurant—twinkling lights, live music, the works! I’m the last to leave, right around midnight, and I treat myself to Taco Bell on the way home ($12.91). I’m in bed by 1:00am, exhausted and glad this week is over.
Total Spent: $30.48
Saturday
I wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:30am to get on the road. My parents recently moved to a town about three hours from me, and just moved into their new house on Thursday, so I’m taking a long weekend to go see them and help them move in. I leave by 7:30am after getting gas ($42.62) and grabbing an energy drink and a protein bar from the gas station ($6.65). My grocery calculations from last Sunday were almost too good—I have no food left at home. I arrive around 10:30am and we get right to work, making a Home Depot trip, painting the dining room, and beginning demolition of the kitchen. Their POD with all their belongings hasn’t been delivered yet, so we’re trying to make good use of the currently empty house. Later, we head to a nearby town and get ramen for dinner ($0—Dad’s treat). My mom and I are big yappers, so we finally get to bed around 11:30pm, and the exhaustion hits me hard—I fall asleep as soon as I hit the air mattress.
Total Spent: $49.27
Total Spent Weekly: $1,287.93
Total Earned Weekly: $1,232.55
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