bills, bills, bills #5
A look into the life and wallet of a theatre administrator in the Midwest
Editor’s Note: For our fifth installment of Bills, Bills, Bills, we are taking a look at our first full-time arts admin workers. Administrators in theatre often occupy a unique position: while these roles come with a certain amount of theoretical stability and benefits, the majority of these positions are underpaid, causing long-term financial hardship. This month’s columnist speaks to the heart of that: spending years “just getting by” often relies on putting a few hundred bucks a month on a credit card — and that debt climbs year after year. The plight of the millennial nonprofit worker has been well-documented elsewhere, but in short, there is a generation of arts workers who have skirted by on unlivable wages in their twenties, after being fed the American myth that higher salaries would arrive in our thirties, easing the burden of very real financial debt. For most, those higher-paying positions have not materialized and middle management wages have stagnated at levels that make it impossible to become financially solvent, save for retirement, buy a home, or start a family. This month’s columnist has a role that would be split into at least four or five positions at a larger nonprofit. It’s not a stretch to see that the organization absolutely relies on their wide range of skills and responsibilities, and that this role is deserving of twice this salary.
This month’s contributor has requested that their honorarium be donated to the National Network of Abortion Funds.
Occupation: Manager of Operations at a small arts nonprofit. My responsibilities run the gamut from handling contracts and invoices, to calendars and databasing and managing season planning dates, venues, and artists. My role also intersects with a great deal of fundraising, marketing, and audience services projects.
Age: Early 30s
Location: A large city in the Midwest
Yearly Income: $45,000 before taxes. In terms of paychecks, I am paid $1,303.46 twice a month for a total of $2,606.92 (after taxes). My spouse works for a non-arts nonprofit and they receive a bi-weekly paycheck of $1,799.16. This means that combined we are bringing in roughly $6,205.24 per month. We both have health, vision, and dental insurance through our employers.
Debt: We received around $20,000 after the death of a close relative. $5,000 of that went towards medical debt and another $5,000 went towards credit card debt. Our remaining combined debts are as follows:
Credit card: $58,402.90. This is the combined debt of my spouse and I, which is the result of working for many years at jobs that didn’t quite pay enough to live on. For “fun,” I looked up my 2015 tax return: I made $19,398 that year.
Loan: $20,813.48. This is a personal loan from Upstart.
Medical: $734.60. In 2020 I became really ill and after months of testing, I was finally diagnosed with a rare condition. I’ve had a lot of tests, appointments, and procedures over the past few years, but I’m doing a lot better now.
Savings: $8,618.32
Checking: $2,310.02
Monthly Bills:
Rent: $1540.00 for our 2-bed, 2-bath apartment. That rent includes a parking space ($100/monthly) and pet rent ($40/monthly). This is our second year in this apartment and our landlord did not raise rent this year.
Utilities:
Gas: This varies wildly, but in 2022 we’ve paid an average of $118 a month. We have central air/heat.
Internet: $50
Electric: This also varies, but we budget $200 each month
Credit card payment: $1,507.00
Medical debt repayment: $54.67
Loan payment: $414.72
Additional monthly bills:
Pet insurance: $115. We have three pets, including one elderly cat.
Car Payment: $250. We are currently repaying my mother-in-law for her old Ford Focus.
Therapy: $140
Medication: $100
Gym: $99
Monthly subscriptions:
Spotify: $15. We pay for the family plan and that includes my parents.
Hulu: $7
Cell phone: $0. We are on a family plan and my mother-in-law pays for this. She, my wife, my brother-in-law, and I are all on the same plan.
Other television: $0. My parents pay for Netflix. My mother-in-law pays for HBO and we also use her cable log-in.
Monday
I wake up and get ready to go to an 8:00am barre class. Working out is good for my mental health and I’ve found that fitness classes are the only thing that really hold me accountable. As I’m pulling clothes together, I realize my go-to workout top is…in tough shape. I pull it on and decide to order another one online ($23.17). I grab a water bottle, a protein bar, and I stumble out the door and onto public transit. This costs me $2.50. I used to have an unlimited monthly pass ($100 at the time), but since the pandemic I’m not commuting into work or running around as much.
After the class, I’m back on the train (another $2.50) and head back home. My wife is making breakfast when I get back, and she makes me a fried egg on half of a bagel.
I work from home and my desk is in our sunroom. We live in a 2-bedroom apartment and the second bedroom is set up for my wife’s office and some storage. Occasionally, I will head into the office for meetings or rehearsals, but the space is a short walk away. I am onsite for performances, but our season hasn’t started yet.
I have two meetings today and both are actually about pay equity in theatre! Between these meetings I make myself a plate of deli turkey, slices of swiss cheese, and some Wheat Thins to snack on. I almost never order lunch.
It’s the first of the month, and a bunch of bills hit our account:
Rent: $1,540.00
Car payment: $250
Power: $178.42
Gas: $58.25
Note to self: I should probably see if I can spread these bills out over the course of the month so our cash-flow isn’t so wrecked at the top of the month.
My wife gets McDonald’s for lunch while she’s at on-site at work ($7.08).
In the evening I head to a friend’s apartment. He just moved and needs help rearranging and decorating his space. I’m running late, so I decide to drive over. Before I leave, I order us some snacks and seltzer to arrive at his apartment ($30.22, which includes tip.) I know it’s frivolous, but I’m running late and still struggling with entering stores in the pandemic. I pay $6.37 for parking and get home around 10:30pm.
Daily Total: $2,098.51 (yikes)
Tuesday
My wife always gets up before me and has already fed the two cats and the dog by the time I wake up. She’s going into the office early today, so I’m responsible for dog walks. Normally, this is fine, but my dog is an anxious princess and it takes us several tries to get down the stairs from our third floor walk up so she can pee. This dog is the worst and sometimes I hate her but also I love her so much and I’d probably die for her (pet owners, I know you get it.)
I pour myself a bowl of Smartfood popcorn (leftover from last night’s snacks) to munch on during some back-to-back meetings.
My wife replenishes her Starbucks app ($15).
After work I take a nap. I have chronic fatigue as part of a disabling health condition and I’m often exhausted. By the time I wake up, my wife is gaming with her online friends and I’m too tired to make dinner. My wife orders us Thai for delivery. The total is $44.51, which includes the delivery fee and tip. I settle in with some noodles to watch an old season of Love Island. After a while my wife joins me on the couch and we go to bed around midnight.
Daily Total: $59.51
Wednesday
I wake up late, but I don’t have any meetings to rush to. One of my favorite things about my job is the flexibility — as long as I communicate and get my work done, the exact working hours don’t really matter. I shower and have my leftover noodles for a late breakfast.
My wife heads to the DMV to get a new license ($6) and stops by a local coffee shop to do some work ($11).
I head to a friend’s apartment in the evening. Another friend is visiting from Milwaukee and I’m excited to catch up with her. Before I leave, I take a rapid test as a precaution. This costs me $0; my dad is over 70 and gets free COVID tests from his pharmacy. I saw him a few weeks ago and he gave us a few. I am told that I don’t need to bring anything over, which feels wrong to my deeply Midwestern heart. But I head over on the train ($2.50), hang out for awhile, and take the train back home again (another $2.50)
Daily Total: $22
Thursday
My morning kicks off with three back-to-back meetings, so breakfast is cereal at my desk. The workday is pretty uneventful.
We’re out of some things, so my wife places an order from Target that she picks up on her drive home from work. We spend $59.79 for toilet paper, a case of seltzer, Clorox wipes, parchment paper, and aluminum foil. We also received a $15 gift card to Target as part of a promotion.
The rest of the evening is pretty low key. My wife and I are both free, so we settle in to catch up on Only Murders in the Building while we do face masks and eat nachos that I made with the tortilla chips. Our dog tries to convince us that nachos are for puppies, but alas, they are not.
Daily total: $59.79
Friday
I’m up early for a barre class again, but this time I drive over to it. This class is at 7:00am — an hour earlier than Mondays. Driving means I can leave a little later than when I take the train, and it’s early enough that I don’t usually hit rush hour traffic yet. I park on the street close to the barre studio. Luckily, paid street parking doesn’t begin until 8:00am, and my class is only 50 minutes long. After the class I get home and hand off the car to my wife so she can go to work.
Work goes by pretty uneventfully, and when my wife comes home, we throw in a frozen pizza, make a salad kit, and settle in for a movie night. For a treat, I run to the local liquor store to get a pack of craft beer ($15.70).
My wife really wants to show me all of the Lord of the Rings movies, which I’ve never seen. In exchange, she agrees to watch sad period dramas with me. Tonight is The Hours and I cry the whole time.
Daily total: $15.70
Saturday
The past couple of weekends have been busy with plans, but today I, blissfully, have nothing I have to do. My wife wants to run errands and I agree to come along. (Conquering the fear of stores! My therapist will be so proud!) I return a jumpsuit to Nordstrom Rack, grab some anchored hooks from a local hardware shop ($2.17), and pick up some pet supplies ($72.78).
We grab drive-through lunch from Taco Bell ($21.22) because we decide we need a lil treat after all of our accomplished errands. Sometimes you just crave an enormous Baha Blast, ya know?
On the way home we also decide to pick up some groceries because we’re running low on a lot of basics ($92.63).
Later, we make dinner from those groceries and some things we had in the freezer. My wife plays video games with her online friends while I curl up in a recliner and finish a book.
Daily Total: $188.80
Sunday
I sleep in and wake up around 11:00am to my cat pawing at my face. In addition to the dog, we also have two cats! It’s a casualty of having a partner in animal welfare.
My grandmother’s birthday is coming up on Wednesday and I always send her flowers. What else do you get for a woman who needs nothing and lives in a small apartment? I had pre-ordered the flowers for delivery, but I’m actually charged today ($55.12).
I get a seasonal subscription box with skincare, homegoods, etc. I pay annually and today the charge goes through ($247.94).
I spend the rest of the day cleaning, doing laundry, and re-setting our house for the upcoming week.
Daily Total: $303.06
Weekly Total: $2747.37
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