bills, bills, bills #4

A look into the life and wallet of an agent’s assistant in NYC

Editor’s Note: This month’s Bills, Bills, Bills is a great example of two common financial situations. First, our contributor — an early-twenties agent assistant — was able to save up a significant amount of money during the pandemic by working remotely and living outside of New York. That savings then helped support them as they made the move to the city, where a salary that is below the living wage of $46,102 means that they are living paycheck to paycheck each month, even with some help from their parents (#thatsnotalivingwage). This kind of family support can lead to benefits for years to come: with even the smallest amount of financial help from family, young theater workers are able to focus on their underpaid work, going to shows, networking, and generally being present in their artistic lives, which in turn leads to raises and promotions. And one final note: while this week’s column is not sponsored by Olive Garden, we are open to the possibility. Call us, OG! 

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Job/Position: I work as an assistant at a major talent agency in New York City. My duties include managing both of my bosses’ schedules; keeping all client related information up-to-date; coordinating meetings for clients with potential employers and collaborators; scouting new talent and remaining in-the-know about the landscape of New York theatre and the American theatre at large; tracking, chasing, and maintaining records of all client payments; processing contracts; creating payment worksheets for all contracts so accounting knows how to distribute money; creating and negotiating designer contracts and simple play licenses; coordinating and booking travel for my bosses; tracking reviews and putting together press kits and newsletters for recent openings; and so much more! Though I do a lot, my bosses truly are some of the kindest people I’ve ever worked for so they make it all worthwhile. And I’m not just saying that, I really mean it! I also do a lot of freelance work and script reading. 

Age: 24

Yearly Income: $41,600 before taxes / $29,094 after taxes and deductions. I'm paid bi-weekly and my post-tax paycheck falls anywhere from $1,100 to $1,300 after deductions. So far this year I’ve made somewhere around $1,500 from freelance work. 

Debt: I’m currently without debt because my tuition was fully covered with scholarships. That said, my parents helped me with rent throughout college after I moved off-campus. I would be in a significantly different financial situation had I not had the privilege of their help paying rent through school. I also only recently got a credit card because I had a big fear of accumulating debt, but I realized that I kind of can’t exist in the world without a credit card, so I had to cave. But I pay off my bill every month, so I don’t have major credit card debt. 

In the Bank:

Personal Savings: $7,324.62

401K: $353.26

Roth IRA: $15,333.49. I started my individual brokerage account about two years ago, and have been moving money into my Roth IRA since I began my full-time job and also max out my contributions. I was able to save a lot of money during the last couple years because I was working remotely but living outside of NYC where my rent was only $500, and I also didn’t go out very much. I moved to NYC with $13,000 in savings.

Individual Brokerage: $5,712.10. I get some great financial advice from one of my siblings who works in finance, and I also opened this brokerage account with an initial gift from my grandparents.

Checking: $2,804.67

Monthly Bills:

Rent: $825 for a room in a 4-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn
Utilities: $85
Nutritionist: $105
Therapy: $300
Yoga: $120
Hulu: $6.99
Netflix: $19.99
Spotify: $9.99
Metrocard: $127 (reimbursed by my employer)
Freshly: About $210
Green Chef: About $270

Total: $2099. I am basically living paycheck-to-paycheck in NYC. I’m thankful that my parents are helping me out with an extra $200 a month while I get on my feet. (That gift will end at the end of this year.)

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Sunday

This Sunday I woke up and went to church. I’m queer, non-binary, and from the south, so me and religion have a complicated story, but, long story short, I’ve found peace with it. It was my first time at church in a couple of months and it was hot so the church kept their doors open which led to pigeons flying around in the church throughout the service - that was…wild! Afterwards, I stopped at a bodega to grab a protein bar ($3.11) before yoga. Later I met a friend for lunch at a cute Thai restaurant close by. I had delicious Pad See Ew and covered my friend, which she Venmoed me for later ($43.11). I went over to her place to help her get ready for a date, and then I bopped back home to chill out for a bit. I was getting hungry again, so I DoorDashed Chipotle ($18.15). To my dismay, I got the wrong order, but they refunded me, so I re-ordered it. I spent the rest of the night reading Jazz by Toni Morrison and watching my apartment’s current obsession, TLC’s magnum opus Sister Wives. 

Total Spent: $47.65 (With friend’s Venmo)

Monday

My first purchase of the day was during my work break: I popped down to CVS to grab a soda and a Lunchable to have with my lunch (Lunchables count as charcuterie don’t fight me over this) and the total was $7.67. I use a meal delivery service called Freshly for my lunches, so that’s what I normally bring, but it’s never enough to fill me up, so I usually supplement with cheese and crackers or something. I had to go get a haircut, so I headed over to the curly hair salon near my work. May I just say, NYC hair salon prices are OUTRAGEOUS! I used to pay $40 max for a haircut in the state where I’m from, but my haircut cost me $151.33! Which, to be fair, I’m willing to pay to be beautiful, but I’m certainly not jazzed about forking over that much cash for my vanity! After work, I met up with a friend for Indian food at a place in our neighborhood. I covered for her, and she Venmoed me for her portion later. ($69.88). I also paid my credit card payment that night because adulthood sucks! ($205.74).

Total Spent: $407.62 (with friend’s Venmo)

Tuesday

Tuesday was relatively calm at work again. I was able to read a client script, go walk the park with a friend during my lunch hour, and secure a PO Box because I need some kind of stable address in NYC ($212 on my credit card). Prior to all of that, I grabbed breakfast on the way to work. As a southern transplant, I have found most of NYC to have a dearth of good biscuits to my chagrin, but I was able to find one suitable enough for my refined palate (99% of what I eat is Taco Bell so please know that me having a refined palate is a big giant lie) ($8.92). I left the office early to go to a client’s reading and feedback session. The reading ended around 7:30, and I was able to head home! I rarely get to have nights at home because I often go see shows or go to readings or have networking dinners, but I’ve tried to take a little bit of a pause from that this month for a mental health break. Normally I do spend a good bit of money on theatre tickets, but this week (and this month generally) has been light on that. Anyway, on my way home, it truly took every bone in my body not to order takeout, but I managed to resist my addiction to Taco Bell. I’m trying to be healthier and more budget conscious with food, so I cooked dinner at home. In addition to Freshly, I started ordering Green Chef (which is kind of like HelloFresh) for my dinners, and I got my first box Tuesday to use for dinner. The food was surprisingly delicious, and I was able to pack the leftovers for my lunch the next day. I paused my Freshly meals for the following week because I had some extra meals and didn’t want to clutter my freezer. But next week’s Green Chef box fee was taken out of my account ($90.93).

Total Spent: $311.85

Wednesday

For breakfast, I ate the food provided at the office, and for lunch had my leftovers from the night before. I went for a walk during my break, and stopped for a carbonated beverage on the way back up to the office ($2.98). 

Because it’s Amazon Prime Day today, bookshop.org is combating Jeff Bezos and offering free shipping, and so I spent $16.20 for a copy of Sula, as I’m currently working my way through Toni Morrison’s oeuvre. I have dinner with an industry friend who wanted to pick my brain about agents and they kindly covered my dinner. It was a fairly light day of spending!

Total Spent: $19.18

Thursday

Today I intended to wake up and go to yoga, but that absolutely did not happen. In fact, I woke up at 3 am and canceled my class reservation so I wasn’t fined for not showing. Now THAT’S commitment (to not going). I woke up, got ready, headed to work, and grabbed some breakfast on the way in ($8.92). Since I didn’t go to yoga, I walked a chunk of my commute because I felt like I needed some movement. I brought lunch with me and ate it after I went for a walk during my lunch hour.  I bought a Sprite Zero and a cup of ice from the bodega because I needed something bubbly STAT ($3.91). Cooked dinner at home!

Total Spent: $12.83

Friday

I grabbed a snack in the early afternoon while waiting for my friend to get off work and spent a few hours reading in Central Park ($3.90). There was some calendar confusion for an opening night I was planning on attending, so I pivoted and decided to go to a different show this evening…thus I spent $70 on a ticket to POTUS. My friend and I also treated ourselves to a fine dining experience at the Times Square Olive Garden beforehand where I spent $37.47 on dinner. Where I’m from, Olive Garden is reserved for special occasions because all we have are chain restaurants, so the nearly $40 was worth it for the experience (this is me justifying spending $37.47 on extremely mediocre Italian in a city known for good Italian food). After that, we zipped home, and rested up after a long week!

Total Spent: $111.37

Saturday

Saturdays are always chill days where my roommate and I get breakfast and rot on our couch until we have no other choice but to get up. So we ordered breakfast ($26), and, against my better judgment, I also ordered Pinkberry afterwards because I wanted something sweet ($18.38). I’m REALLY trying to stop using DoorDash so much because it literally depletes all of my money. When I lived in my home state, I used to grocery shop and meal prep and saved a lot of money doing it. But after moving to NYC, all of those habits have flown out the window because grocery shopping, cooking in a small apartment, and storing food in a small fridge is just difficult. Nonetheless, it’s definitely something I’m working on. I had to get ready around 3:00 to head uptown for a dinner party before going to a client’s show. Once there, we had a lovely evening of wine and cheese and homemade bolognese (certainly better than Olive Garden). I chipped in on the grocery cost since my friend was kind enough to cook for us all ($17). I popped over to the client show and went back to the dinner party after since it was a short show. After many discussions of pop divas and contemporary theatre, I, tuckered out from a lovely day, headed home to rest my head. And thus ended my week in New York City! 

Total Spent: $61.38

Total for the Week: $971.35