Profile
I am a forty-year-old occasional digital event producer and freelance stage manager. I also serve as a teaching assistant and adjunct, along with juggling several side jobs while being a full-time student pursuing a PhD in Drama.
Spending & Saving
Unsurprisingly, December was quite expensive. Each time I go home, I tend to spend excessively to catch up with friends, which results in increased costs for food and entertainment.
I also paid for a bushel of crabs, which I categorized under Entertainment since it was more about the experience than just the food (though the food was certainly a factor), and I expect to recoup most of that expense next month. Crabs can be quite costly!
The combination of extra outings in London visiting my partner’s friends and family, followed by returning home to see all my friends, along with a substantial grocery bill for holiday baking, definitely added up.
During this busy period, I attended a delightful Christmas party for my supervisor’s theatre company, which I have regrettably missed for several years until now. My partner and I went to see Taskmaster: Live, which left me with mixed feelings, but I was grateful for the discounted tickets—it turned out to be a lovely day out. We also managed to join the pub quiz we used to frequent every Monday since we played hooky and extended our stay in London, which made me nostalgic for that fun tradition. It was definitely one of my favorite activities from recent years, and we’ve yet to find anything quite as enjoyable in Peterborough.
I drove to D.C. to spend time with one of my circus best friends. While we planned to see the National Tree, the freezing weather made us abandon that idea halfway there, as evidenced by the picture above. I then crossed into Virginia to visit a high school best friend and his family before attending our family Christmas gathering the following day. With my limited time in America, it was a whirlwind of activities. However, I managed to dedicate December 26th to relaxation, which was absolutely wonderful, and I even got to watch the finale of Gavin and Stacey.
Train fares were higher than anticipated; they increased by at least $10 for each round trip, and were significantly more expensive when booked last minute, despite many trains being relatively empty.
More trips to London in the biting cold led to additional Uber costs. I anticipate that the next couple of months will see similar spending patterns.
I also discovered that my council tax had mysteriously been deducted twice. Fun times!
Overall, the rest of the expenses weren’t too overwhelming, making December quite manageable. Notably, it was one of the first months in a long time where I spent less than I earned, without even factoring in the prize money that my school finally sorted out.
I returned home to find two rather exciting checks on my counter: the annual payment from AmeriHealth due to their less-than-adequate coverage—better for them to pay out rather than provide proper coverage. Thankfully, I’m seldom in the U.S., so I’m just hoping nothing catastrophic happens to me while I’m here.
On a positive note, my car insurance company is fantastic; they invest the premiums we pay, and we receive a dividend check or refund each year.
Next month, I’ll actually get to stage manage an event before heading back to the U.K., which is thrilling. I’ll also be working on my thesis. I have revisions due for my Methodology and Literature Review, which I’ve been dreading, so that should be interesting. Additionally, I will serve as a teaching assistant for two technical theatre courses at the university. I’m also looking forward to volunteering with an immersive theatre company a few days a week in the latter half of the month. I can tell that January is going to be quite full.
In fact, it feels like the entire Spring 2025, until my thesis is submitted, is going to be quite demanding. I also have many hopeful plans for the summer, so I might as well accept that life is just going to be busy. 🙂
Expenses this month:
- Rent – $782.91
- Entertainment – $688.53
- Food – $600.81
- Trains – $295.46
- Gifts – $205.76
- Council Tax – $164.10
- Utilities – $142.09
- Car – $102.70
- Ubers – $73.31
- Clothes – $58.08
- Charity – $40.08
- Medicine – $37.08
- Blog – $37.00
- Nails – $34.38
Total Spending in December: $3262.29
Hustling
This month’s income:
- 3MT Prize Money – $2505.30
- Digital Producing – $1732.50
- Adjuncting – $993.67
- Blog – $815.74
- Teaching Assistant – $664.68
- Health Insurance Refund – $132.83
- Car Insurance Dividend – $58.21
- Stock Dividends – $41.60
Income This Month: $6,944.53
Goals
- Save up $5,000 for school—via saving or scholarships: I’m thrilled that paying tuition will never again be a worry in 2025. Amazingly, my scholarship money finally came through this month, reimbursed directly to me—so the £500 for February is taken care of.
- Max out 2023 Roth IRA: Completed.
- Max out 2024 Roth IRA ($7000): $450 contributed.
- Max out HSA ($4150): Achieved, though not in an impressive manner as I mostly shifted money from savings. However, I believe it was the right choice, and I’ll likely do the same for the 2024 IRA before tackling my taxes.
- Stage manage a show: Accomplished.
