Poor and Post-Grad

Throughout college I would often refer to myself as “the poor college student,” bemoaning my measly 20-hour a week student salary. While I certainly wasn’t out buying designer jeans and cosmos every night, I had a very limited idea of what it meant to be poor. My apartment was covered by student loans and Mum & Dad were always there if the grocery fund ran low.

But still, I was a college student living in my own naiveté world and incredibly eager to receive that FIRST full time paycheck. I’d spent 2-3 months every summer working 40-hours a week in Vegas, and just imagined what possibilities would arise when that paycheck would raise and be deposited year-round.

But then I moved to LA. and LA is EXPENSIVE. My rent eats up almost half of my paycheck. I’d never written that big of a check until the day we signed our lease - heck, I’d never even had that much in my checking account!

But, with my biggest expense out of the way, I was sure the rest of the money would cushion the bottom of my bank account - I was working full-time now, nothing to worry about at all. But slowly that money slipped further and further away until I was left with an empty bank account and a credit card bill at the end of every month.

At first I just thought that I was horrible at managing my money. It was time for a budget. So I signed up for mint.com and became an instant fan. It made it so easy to set out a budget, and even easier to see if I was keeping to that budget. I may have gone a little overboard, logging every last purchase down to the $2 cash I spent on slurpees at 7-11. But after just a couple of months, I was keeping religiously to my budget.

Months and months of budgeting, and I only saved around $100 a month. That was barely enough to cover my finance fees.

So I took it to the finance blogs. In case you haven’t heard we’re in a recession and everyone has advice on how to save money. “Cut your luxuries!” they say. “Understand the definition of necessity!” they cry. Here’s the top 5 pieces of brilliant advice I’ve found over and over again:

• A gym membership is not a necessity, and should be cut.
  (Well there’s a total $0 I found from my free runs out at the Rosebowl.)

• Stop eating out - it could save you thousands!
  (I read as I stare at my 4th bowl of plain pasta this week.)
  


• Use coupons (check!)

• Buy generic (check!)

• Only buy what you need (check! check! check!)

I have yet to find one piece of advice that I wasn’t already doing. The fact is, I’m living as frugally as I can in sunny Southern California.

On my 50th finance blog, it was finally time to face reality:

I am one of those poor unfortunate assistants.

In fact, according to Hollywood University I am on the lowest of the low paid assistants. So low in fact, that I’m not sure if my salary is listed on this site.

In Hollywood, you have a choice to make. Live boring or Live poor. So many of my friends eat Top Ramen every night and live in a 2-bedroom with 4 other girls. Their credit card is always at the limit, but they live well. Drinks every night with the co-workers, and they look ever so “Hollywood glam” every morning at the office.

I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I have fresh veggies in my fridge, and am currently curled up in my single bedroom. I am chipping away at my credit card bill bit by bit - every drink I turn down is another $10 towards financial freedom. I haven’t been shopping in almost 6-months, and am anxiously awaiting for the must see movies to hit Red Box.

So what about you? Are you living boring, or living poor? or If you’re in LA - any ideas for living “the LA life” for free?