I’ve challenged myself to save $10,000 in 10 weeks, and October 26th marks the end of week 8. Here’s the rundown of everything I did, made, spent and saved. (Missed week 7? Click HERE!)
I’ve become a master of going with the flow. Sometimes the flow is calm and gentle– gigs and opportunities come to me and I can leisurely go about life. Sometimes the flow is a raging white water rapid– I have to steer and navigate like a madwoman to be get out on the other side successfully. Week 8 was the latter.
Long story short: I cancelled on one 3 day gig because I got an offer for a 1 day gig I simply couldn’t refuse. The new gig got cancelled. The old gig had a change in rate that was below the standard I’ve set for myself. A new gig came came my way. The old gig came back to me with an increased rate. But I just stuck to the course.
Meanwhile I had to move from Hamilton Heights to Queens. Signs of maturing is that I took Ubers with all my stuff. I’d like to say it’s because I’m in a financial place where I can afford such conveniences. But the truth is in my ripe old age of 30 I didn’t want to risk throwing my back out lugging all my items through the subway.
The good news is that I made it out alive! Let’s dive into what I did, spent, and saved.
The Gigs
1. Card Game Handout
The Event: A new music card trivia game launched. To promote it, they launched a guerrilla marketing campaign of handing out mini packs to give people a taste.
My Job: Myself along with 5 other brand ambassadors hit Madison Square Garden to hand out 5,000 units of a mini sample back.
Hours: 5-9pm
Thoughts and Feelings: Tourists will often receive advice like, “Don’t go above 110th!” or “Stick to Manhattan!” That advice is BS. Midtown, especially around MSG and Port Authority, have a terrible homeless problem. People with addictions, mental illnesses, or both roam around pan handling (if they aren’t passed out in the corner).
New York City is home to the most billionaires in the world. Yet, we can’t provide safe shelters or adequate services to help people who are scratching their skin off in the middle of the sidewalk.
The scenes I saw during this 4 hour shift were disturbing. But what’s even more disturbing is that everyone is conditioned to ignore it and keep walking by….
2. Generative AI Live and Labs
The Event: Google invited customers to their Pier 57 offices for an exclusive AI conference. There were keynote speakers. Break out sessions. And cool AI tech booths where experts explained various innovations.
My Job: For day one, I was production staff. The team helped place pillows, alphabetize name badges, unwrap swag, among other set up tasks. For day two, I was a team lead, meaning I organized the positions, moved people around based on client requests, and made sure all the brand ambassadors were doing their jobs.
Hours: Wednesday, 9am-6pm. Thursday, 9am-8pm.
Thoughts and Feelings: Watch out future… AI is coming…
3. Mitzvah
I had a party on Saturday at a country club in Jersey that was Taylor Swift themed, and a party on Sunday in Chelsea at a synagogue. Both were successes!
4. Online Work/MISC
I had quite a few random chunks of change come in. I created a custom foodie itinerary for someone. Did an SEO zoom teaching session. Someone bought my gig economy masterclass recording.
Total Pre-Tax Income: $2,055
Spending:
Food Out: $51.26
Transport: $110 (I took 2 ubers for the move)
Groceries: $83.46
MISC: $80.27
Cost of Living: $290.25
Total Spent: $615.54
Total Saved: $1439.36
Which means I’ve saved a total of $9357.66, which means I only have $642.34 more to go for my final 2 weeks!!
