Welcome to the Money Shot

Many of you know me as Obsidian Kitten, and I now welcome you to this side project, which I have decided to call The Money Shot. With the rollercoastering economy (what, you hadn't noticed?) it occurs to me to share some of my experiences (for better and for worse) garnered during twenty years of living on a financial shoestring.

Look. I graduated magna cum laude from Yale, so you'd think I'd have top-notch earning potential. What I seem to have instead is top-notch resourcefulness potential. (Here's a list of jobs I've had, just to dazzle you with the bizarre variety of ways I've earned money.)

The past two decades have involved a great deal of trial and error (probably more of the latter) but a few lessons learned -- because somehow I've managed to survive the NYC economy with jobs primarily in the non-profit sector, earning on average (I'd guess) about $20,000/year (15 870 Euros). Currently that's an unbelievable margin of nearly 150% over the 2008 US poverty threshold. (As if 2 people could live on $14,ooo a year.)


Anyway, I will discuss topics such as:
~ the liklihood of living in a box over a steam grate
~ where to get totally free prescriptions
~ how I learned to curb my shopping compulsions ("but it's on sale!" and "surely three are better than one!")
~ what it was like to apply for food stamps
~ where I've found delectable and occassionally designer garb super-cheap
~ ways I save cash without exerting much energy (I'm lazy, so no coupon -clipping here)
~ and much, much more.

So please tune in again as we begin our journey with a crash course in how I landed in NYC making $225/week at a major Manhattan Museum--hey, I work on Madison Avenue, y'all!--and trying to pay rent on a nice Hoboken apartment. (Well, it was a very nice apartment, just not on the nice side of Hoboken...)