it’s (seriously) hard out there for an assistant

A recent article from the AP starts out with, “The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder.”  

My first reaction to this was, “I think my paycheck needs to be a lot more complicated (read: lucrative) for there to be calculus involved.” But that’s beside the point. The reality is that across the country (yes, across the country!) people are trying to cope with higher costs of living while their paychecks remain stagnant.  

Imagine making $28K a year and trying to live in New York. Actually, most readers to this site don’t even have to imagine that. After taxes and health benefits (if you’re lucky enough to have those), you’re taking home about $1400 a month. Rent can be anywhere from $700 to $1000 a month, leaving you with about $400-$700 a month for everything else that you need to live. Totally ridiculous. How do people get by?

To answer this question, we’re resurrecting an old favorite, Save Some Dough – a place for financially beleaguered assistants to share their tricks for making ends meet (aside from relying heavily on the plastic).