A Week In Philadelphia On Unemployment

Occupation: Franchise manager (formerly a finance director)
Industry: Fitness (formerly real estate)
Age: 37
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Salary: $0 (previously $225,000). I was laid off in January but I got a few months of severance (equaling ~$50,000). I’m getting unemployment ($605 a week; capped at about $13,000 a year) and I work a part-time organizing job where I make $20 an hour. The hours are minimal and that money just gets deducted from my weekly unemployment amount. I’ll net just over $60,000 for the year if I use up all my unemployment. In terms of the franchise I manage, I don’t officially own it yet and the business isn’t generating money — with classes only running Saturdays, there’s just not enough to it yet. Once I have a full studio, I’ll pay myself something nominal for running the front desk and what not and in a year or so I should be able to take some of the profits out of the business for myself.
Joint income: I’m married, and my husband T. has a severe medical condition so he can’t have a traditional job. He has his own consulting business but he hasn’t made much money in a few years, so we live entirely on my income. We decided that we would share all of our money from when we got married because you never know what could happen. And that’s also how both of our parents did it, so we didn’t know otherwise. He’s in a position where he has a sizeable inheritance but I’m able to make more money in the short term, so we figured it would balance out. This has worked out for us so far and now that I’m not working, I know he can pick up the slack. Once the business is up and running, I’ll be able to pay myself for operating the studio. And hopefully after a year or so, I’ll be able to make at least as much as my previous salary.
Assets: T. and I own our house and have ~$100,000 of equity in it. We bought it less than three years ago and only put 5% down. We have a brokerage account ($364,000); a roll-over 401(k) ($154,000); IRA ($14,000); HSA ($3,000); and an emergency fund ($40,000). Most of what’s in the brokerage account came from RSUs that were part of my total compensation package from my previous two jobs. When I got laid off in January, we took all the steps necessary to secure our assets in the most effective way possible (and moved everything to one platform) so that we had enough for this bridge period until we were both making money again — and it became even more important to ensure that we had enough money for the future since we’re both building companies and won’t be able to rely on things like company sponsored health insurance or 401(k) matching. Since we’re using all the money we have right now to live on, we’re not actively investing into any assets.
Debt: Mortgage: $450,000; four-year car lease: $30,000; 0% interest credit card: $4,000 (to be paid over the next two years).
Unemployment Amount (weekly): $605 gross (previously $5,751.28 net, biweekly).
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
When I got laid off, we went through all of our expenses and cut out as much as we could that we could live without. Previously, when I was working full time, I used to contribute ~$2,000 a month to my 401(k) (up to the max amount) and $1,000 a month to either an IRA or brokerage account, depending on the time of year and whether we were maxed out on the IRA. We had a nice savings cushion so we stopped contributing to that account and just let it earn interest. I’d like to get back to investing in the market once we’re in the financial position to do that again.

Housing Costs: $3,500 for mortgage — this includes interest payments, real estate and property taxes, and mortgage insurance, but not any one-time payments like trash and sewer ($600 a year).
Electric/Gas: $264 (we’re on a leveled plan).
Water: $55
Loan Payments: $750 car payments (this includes annual maintenance); $273 on that 0% interest credit card. 
Phones & Wifi: $249 (for both our cell phones).
Gym Membership: $79 (for both of us). 
NYT Subscription: $6
CRM Subscription: $289
Streaming: $65 for Hulu, Peacock, Netflix, AppleTV+ and Max (however this is covered by various rewards programs so we pay basically nothing out of pocket).

Annual Expenses

Amex Platinum: $695 — but we get more than that back in rewards.
Prime: $139 (which also includes Grubhub+). 

Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes, the expectation was there from when I was a little kid. And it wasn’t just any college — it had to be a good one. So I went to college and got my MBA (the MBA was all me, there were no expectations at that point). Luckily, I got some financial aid in college, so about half of my tuition was covered. My mom paid for some of it and the rest I took out loans for. I paid off those loans by 2020. For my MBA, I had to pay for the whole thing myself. I owned an apartment in NYC that I sold right around the time that I finished my MBA and used the proceeds from that sale to pay off my loans.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My dad died when I was 14 years old so we talked a lot about money after that — how he didn’t have a separate life insurance policy so we only received a little bit from his job, how when my parents bought the house we lived in they made sure that the mortgage could be covered with a single salary, how my mom was going to stay at her job for the rest of her life because she had a pension, job security and health insurance for when she retired. She could only rely on herself so she had to do what was best for her and my and my brother. We never really talked about financial instruments or how to invest or even opportunities for making more money beyond just a salary from a single job. My parents and I immigrated to the US when I was 3 (my brother is younger and was born here) and so anything beyond a job and a savings account was unknown to them.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was doing admin work when I was 14 years old. I made minimum wage, which at the time was around $5 in NYC. I had to work early in order to buy things for myself that my mom couldn’t buy for me. I made ~$1000 working in the summer and that was a lot of money to me at the time. I worked every summer from when I was old enough to work and worked after school in high school. My mom made sure I had the essentials but anything beyond that was up to me. That included nicer clothes or lunch when I didn’t want to eat what she made.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I’m sure my parents did, but I didn’t feel it. I just knew what I could and couldn’t have. And I learned not to ask for the things that I couldn’t have. I never felt like I didn’t know where my next meal would come from or that I wouldn’t have a place to live. But we didn’t go on fancy vacations or spend frivolously. My parents (and later just my mom) did the best they could with what we did have.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes. All the time. Especially since I was laid off. I’ve spent a lot of time unlearning the things that I was taught as a kid in order to earn more money in the long run and have a more abundant mindset. I was doing much better but it’s been harder since I got laid off. And now with launching a business, there’s a fine balance that I need to find between investing in the right areas in order to make more in the long run versus saving because my income now entirely depends on how much money I can generate on my own. I have both good days and bad days and they range anywhere from needing to save literally every penny at my worst to thinking I can go on a two-week vacation to some exotic land because #YOLO, at my best. I never really worried about having money to pay for housing, food, or a car but I worried about saving enough and enjoying money. I still feel like I’m in a place where I know what I can’t have and don’t even ask for it or think about it. I guess some things are harder to unlearn than others. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on growing the business and making sure that it’s successful.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
As soon as I graduated from college and had a job. Even in college, I had to pay for everything on my own that wasn’t covered by my loans. And once I moved out, I had to pay for literally everything (I think my cell phone was the only thing that my mom kept paying for because we were on a family plan — but as soon as I got married, I was told to go start my own family plan). Even now, there’s no one who can help me with my day-to-day expenses, but I would never be homeless — and in the absolute worst case scenario, I’d be able to move in with my mom or my in-laws.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My grandparents gave me $10,000 when I graduated from college to help pay off my loans and the little bit of money that my mom received from when my dad died was used to pay for college (I don’t even know how much it was). But besides that, I’ve never been given a large chunk of money.

7 a.m — My alarm goes off and I get out of bed right away. I have to get to my fitness class (we rent a space from Urban Movement Arts on Chestnut Street and it’s a dance cardio class) and today I’m taking a local train into the city. I’m also going to NYC for a few days for my niece’s birthday after class, so I can’t drive. We only have one car and I leave it for my husband. I don’t mind taking trains — I actually kind of prefer it to driving sometimes. But the train is not on my schedule so I know I’ll end up being there an hour early. 

9 a.m. — I arrive at the studio. It’s a room that we rent on Saturday mornings to have class (I’m using it as a temp space until I can build my own studio). The speaker isn’t in the room so I go searching for it. Luckily I find it easily and roll it over to the studio. With the rest of my 45 minutes before we begin, I send a few emails and call my accountant. I get ready to check people in — both classes are almost full, so I know it’s going to be a fun day. 

10:24 a.m. — My instructor’s microphone dies so I run out in the middle of class to buy batteries. Luckily there’s a deli right next to the studio so it only takes a few minutes. She finishes the class without a mic and between classes when we try to change the batteries, but it turns out the problem is with something else. The next class is done without a mic, but she’s a total pro and manages to get through it without missing a beat. $7.11

12:30 p.m. — I’m finished with classes for the day and I have some time to kill before heading to NYC for my niece’s birthday. I walk about 10 minutes in the opposite direction from the train to lululemon to hand them some postcards to hopefully get more people into class (I’m working on a partnership with them) and check out some empty buildings to see if those are possible lease options for my studio. I pass by the farmers’ market in Rittenhouse Square and grab a carrot cake. I’m starving at this point and this seemed like the easiest thing I could eat as I walked to the train station while dragging a suitcase. $5

3:14 p.m. — I get to NYC and take the subway to my mom’s house, out in Brooklyn. My mom meets me at the train station so that I don’t have to take the bus. $2.90

5 p.m. — My mom makes me an early dinner since I haven’t eaten much all day. Every time I come home, my mom takes care of most my meals, which I’m so thankful for (not only because I hate cooking — more on that later — but also because when I come home to the house that I grew up in, I tend to resort to little kid mode and can’t seem to get past doing anything in the kitchen). I spend the night hanging out with the family. My mom has a two-family house and my brother lives in the other unit so we can all hang out together. I get to play games with my niece — she’s mostly just climbing all over me, but it’s super fun. By the end of the day I’m exhausted so I take a shower (I’ve been sweaty since the 10 a.m. fitness class) and go to bed early. 

9 a.m. — I sleep in because I haven’t been getting much sleep lately. When I wake up, I kind of just lay around for a bit before I’m ready to get up. I go downstairs and my mom makes breakfast for the whole family. She’s making crepes using a family recipe. I eat them with coffee. I don’t usually eat sweets for breakfast but I make an exception this time. Once I’m done eating, I open my laptop and finalize some things for my accountant. Once I’m done, I move on to figuring out what to do about health insurance. For the last few months I’ve had a subsidy from my old job but that’s about to run out so I need to figure out what other options there are. I search on the marketplace and it is both overwhelming from the quantity of options and underwhelming with good ones. I try to figure out what options are best, but ultimately give up. I’ll save it for another day. 

2:16 p.m. — My mom and I head out to the play gym where we’ll be celebrating my niece’s birthday. My brother and the kids already left. When we get there, I help finish setting up. The adult food is sushi so I get to eat lunch there. I also have some ice cream cake. My brother told me to give my niece an experience that we can do together as a birthday gift. But she wasn’t feeling well yesterday and there’s no other time during my current trip to NYC so her gift will have to wait ($154 saved, for now). We’ll go to see Bluey’s house the next time I get to the city, which will probably be in mid April. 

8 p.m. — I order my ready-to-eat meals from Home Appetit in Philly for the following week. I hate cooking and I find that ordering these meals doesn’t cost that much more than a combo of buying groceries and cooking and eating out, so this saves me a massive headache. Despite not having an income, it’s super important to me to keep eating healthy because I know this is the better decision in the long run. I order sesame chicken cutlets, beef kabobs, turkey tacos, a kale Caesar Salad and some veggie sides. The meals are fully balanced so I feel good about eating them. My meals will be delivered to me on Monday afternoon and even though I won’t be there, they’ll be waiting for me in the fridge when I get home. $165

9 a.m. — I sleep in again because my body needs rest. When I get downstairs, my brother is already there. We both do some work — he has a mobile car-washing business and I’m following up with clients from the weekend and reaching out to new contacts. I make a list of things that I need to make sure that I follow up on this week. I run my weekly KPIs and upload photos from the weekend’s class so that the marketing team can use them, if they need to. 

10:56 a.m. — My brother and I go get breakfast at the local deli. We both order bacon, egg and cheese bagels. I pay for his bagel. We typically take turns buying each other breakfast depending on who initiates the ask. We don’t keep track of who pays which time and how much we’ve each paid. $15.85

2:45 p.m. — I head over to the gym to get a workout. I try to workout five days a week and it’s pretty easy at home but gets really tough when I travel. Luckily, there’s a small gym walking distance from my mom’s house and I bought a 10-pack of sessions forever ago that I’m still using. The sessions never expire, which is great, because I usually only go once each time I visit. 

3:55 p.m. — My workout is done and it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be — I ended up doing more than usual so I decide to get a protein shake at the gym. I haven’t eaten since breakfast so I’m hungry and want to make sure that I recover well. I’m not great at making sure that I get enough protein in general so I’m proud of myself for doing this. The shake is good and I immediately feel it go to my legs. $9

5:45 p.m. — My brother and I go to pick up my niece from daycare and stop by Starbucks. He wanted to go, so he pays. He gets a lavender latte and I get a hot tea. It’s cold out so the warmth of the tea makes me feel really soothed. He has a gift card that he uses and pays $4.38 out of pocket for our drinks. I think the system just naturally came to be — and I’m not sure either one of us is actively aware of it (I only realized what we do as I was writing this diary and trying to explain why/when we each pay for what). I go upstairs and watch my niece while my brother makes her dinner. I also get to hang with my nephew (he’s still a baby so we mostly just stare at each other). I go downstairs and eat dinner while my brother does bath time. Then I go back up for story time before bed.  

8 p.m. — Aunt duties are over so I switch my focus over to my clients. I follow up with newcomers on a special offer so that they continue coming to class (I usually get one or two people who buy right away once I send this one out). I also spend some time coming up with a theme schedule for the next few months and I send it over to my instructor to get her okay on timing. Themes require some extra work because there is new choreography to learn so I want to make sure that it’s not too aggressive of a schedule. I scroll through Instagram to see if there are any other partnerships or influencers that I’d like to engage with to help spread the word (attempting not to get distracted). The studio Instagram is run centrally so I use my personal account to scroll but at this point I’ve hacked the algorithm to give me relevant content. 

8 a.m. — My body has recovered so I’m up earlier than the past few days. I go downstairs and my mom is working from home today so she makes me an omelet (I’m fully aware of how ridiculous it sounds that my mom is making me breakfast. But as previously mentioned, I absolutely hate cooking. I’m also super thankful and grateful that she does this for me. And she knows it). My mom and I hang out alone for a while just chitchatting. She’s telling me about the new coffee machine that she has — she doesn’t like the flavors of coffee that she bought. I help her find what she’s looking for and call Nespresso to see if it’s possible to exchange the ones she bought for different flavors. They tell me they can’t do an exchange but they’ll send some new flavors as a courtesy anyway. I hang up and she thanks me. These are the kinds of things that I can do for her. We all have our strengths, and I know what mine are. Cooking isn’t it. 

10:55 a.m. — I borrow my mom’s car (she doesn’t need it while she’s working) and drive to my best friend’s house. My mom has an electric car and solar panels on the house so my ride is essentially free for everyone. My best friend just had a baby so I get to meet the baby for the first time. I bought the baby a gift when she was first born so I don’t bring anything this time, but my mom got her some clothes so I bring them with me. The baby spent some time in the NICU so she’s still teeny when I meet her. My friend and her husband are both on leave so we all hang out for a while. 

1:23 p.m. — We all go out to lunch while the baby is sleeping. We take a very short detour so they can show me the outside of the house that they’re buying. I’m super excited for them. We get to the sandwich place and she pays for my lunch. Depending on the situation, we’ll either take turns paying or split the check. This isn’t something we keep track of. I offer to venmo her but she refuses. We take a walk after we eat and head back to their house. 

3 p.m. — I leave to drive back to my mom’s house and call T. as I’m driving home. We only chat for a little because he’s working — it’s so hard to find time to talk when I travel to see my family that I’ll take the few minutes we have. I try to drop the car off at the train station (the closest station is around one mile from my mom’s house) for my stepdad to drive home after he’s done with work (I could walk from the station), but I can’t find parking anywhere close enough for him, so I just drive home. It’s a nice day out so he doesn’t mind taking the bus. I do some work when I get home. 

6 p.m. — I take my niece to the playground because it’s a gorgeous day out. We have fun going down the slide and through some play bridges. I put her on the swings and she’s hysterically laughing. I try my hand at the monkey bars and did pretty well. I wish there were adult playgrounds around.

7:12 p.m. — The monthly cost for my CRM that I use to help run the business is taken out of my account. It’s expensive (and not the best) but it saves me a lot of time because it automatically reaches out to new leads. Otherwise, I’d spend most of my day just waiting for leads to come in so that I can reach out right away. It also helps categorize members so that I can be proactive in making sure that everyone is taken care of and gets the attention that they need.

11 p.m. — I say goodbye to my mom — she’s working from the office tomorrow and leaves the house before I’ll be awake (she starts work at like 7 a.m. so that she can be done earlier in the day). 

8 a.m. — My alarm goes off and I get out of bed right away. I go back to Philly today so I need to get myself together. I pack up my stuff and clean up the guest room. I have some time to kill before I have to leave, so I end up walking over to the gym. I get a quick workout in and head back to the house before I head over to the train. 

11:41 a.m. — On my way, I make a pitstop to have lunch with another friend who also just had a baby. She’s on the way to Penn Station so this is a super easy commute on the subway. My stepdad is working from home today and quickly drops me off at the train station. I would have walked, but it’s tough dragging my suitcase the entire way. I get to her apartment, leave my stuff and we take a short walk in the neighborhood while the baby sleeps. $2.90

1:29 p.m. — We get lunch. I order a burger and she has a chicken sandwich. We both get coffees. We split the bill evenly and add a 20% tip. We take another little walk while the baby is still sleeping. Now that it’s getting warmer outside, I want to spend as much time outside as possible, before it gets too hot. We head back upstairs and I grab my stuff and head over to the Amtrak station. On the train, I spend the hour and a half trip working and making sure that I reach out to all my new clients so that I have enough people in class this coming weekend.  $37.23

5:36 p.m. — Once I get to Philly, I meet a realtor to show me a potential space for my studio. Luckily it’s right near the train station, so I walk. I love the space and leave things where he’ll let me know next steps. I walk back to the train station to hop on my local train to get home. I fill up my Septa Web Card. The cost of each trip changes depending on the time of day and where I get off so I typically just bulk load. This should last me about a month since I don’t go into the city all that often. $25

7:15 p.m. — I make (heat up, really) dinner from the meals that I ordered and I tell T. all about the space that I saw. We also talk about my trip to NYC in general. He tells me more about his weekend and everything he’s got going on. We talk through logistics for tomorrow since I’ll need the car for large chunks of the day. I unpack (it’s mostly dirty clothes so this is a super quick and easy process). 

8 a.m. — My alarm goes off because I have a hair appointment to get my highlighting done. It’s been about three months since my last appointment and my roots have grown in enough where it’s time for a touch up. I drive to my appointment. My colorist is amazing — it took me a while to find her. She totally understands what I’m looking for and I’ve asked her to change things up a few times over the years. We chit chat as she does my hair — I tell her about the studio and she tells me about her daughter. She blows out my hair so that it’ll last all day for a shoot I have today (more on that later). I pay for my color and the blow out and tip 20%. There’s also a credit card fee. $284.05

12:33 p.m. — I get home and spend some time working and catching on things. Now that I don’t have a traditional 9-5, my days are structured completely differently. I have blocks of time where I’m super focused and productive. I also have more downtime, but I spend that time reading, learning, or thinking (or time with family and friends, when I’m able to). I actually prefer to spend my days like this because I find it to be much healthier and I’m way more productive. And the best part is that I don’t have any more meetings that could have been emails — not only do I have way fewer meetings, but each one is actually useful. Since I’m running a franchise and not founding a completely new business, there’s a lot that I can leverage from the business, rather than having to figure it all out myself. I’m sure a lot of this will change once I’m ready to build out the full studio, but for now, I’m enjoying it. 

3:52 p.m. — I’m doing a photoshoot today in order to update my personal brand, as part of my new business. It’s all part of the fresh start that I’m creating. I paid the photographer in advance and parking in the neighborhood is free. I arrive early so I sit in the car for a little while and then walk over to the studio. We have an hour and take tons of different looks on different colored backgrounds. I use clothes that I already had and do my own makeup to save some money. The shoot is so much fun and she makes me feel like an absolute rock star. I can’t wait to see the finished product. 

6:17 p.m. — I eat dinner from the meals that I previously ordered (mac and cheese and green beans with pork). The meal is delicious and I’m so happy that I don’t have to cook after a long day. I spend the night doing some work and T. and I hang out, just talking and watching Superior Donuts (which we randomly discovered on SamsungTV when it started playing as we turned on the TV. The show is hilarious — I’m surprised it didn’t do well on a regular channel). I relish these nights where T. and I just chill — some days one or both of us is working late or sometimes we’re on completely different sleep/awake schedules. So these nights are the best. 

10:19 a.m. — T. and I are going to Dallas next week to visit some friends and we’re going to a wine and food festival at the arboretum one night while we’re there. We went to the arboretum last time we were there and it’s absolutely gorgeous, so I’m excited to go back. The tickets aren’t cheap but since we’re staying with our friends and don’t have any other big plans, I justify the splurge in my head. I venmo my friend for both of our tickets. $318

1:08 p.m. — I get my proofs back from the photographer. She sends me a full gallery and I get to pick 15 photos that will get edited. There are so many to pick from that I actually really like (and some look like they don’t even need any editing), so I’m even more excited to see the final product. I take a pass at picking my initial 15, knowing that I’ll come back to it again a few times before I finalize the ones I want. 

1:58 p.m. — I run out of aluminum foil, so I order more from Amazon. For some reason I don’t remember aluminum foil being this expensive and I put it on subscribe and save so that I can save an extra 10% (which is only like $1 but my previous splurge put me into a place where I now need to save every penny). Maybe this up and down within a few hours will put me in neutral for a while. I buy the big roll because on a per foot basis it’s cheaper (and fits nicely into my drawer) so that it lasts me a really long time. $11.01

4:15 p.m. — I call a friend who works in commercial real estate to talk to her about the space that I saw. She works in office space, not retail, but it’s way more comparable than residential so her advice is definitely welcome. We catch up on life things (she and her husband are renovating their house) and then we talk about the space. I explain what I saw and what I like and don’t like about it. She tells me some things to look out for and what’s important to put into an letter of intent for the landlord. She even offers to read over the document once it’s complete and give me feedback (which is incredibly nice of her). We talk for just over an hour — I love catching up with her and so appreciate all the advice she gave me. 

6:04 p.m. — T. asks me to buy him a sleep supplement so I head over to GNC after I get my workout in. This is later than I like to get to the gym but I’d rather go now than miss going at all today. The sleep supplement is apple pie flavored and honestly smells (and kinda tastes) like moonshine minus the alcohol. I’m not a fan. Most supplements are fruity so this flavor is a little weird to me but he claims that it works wonders. I haven’t tried it since the one sip that I took when he first got it. $52.99

8 p.m. — I spend some time reviewing the insurance marketplace again to see if I can get inspired. I don’t — but I find out that I have another month before I need to make a decision, which is quite literally the best news I could have gotten. This means we can save a lot of money next month on health insurance, and I can delay making this really hard decision for another few weeks. I go into my bank account and happily schedule payment for next week to pay our current carrier.  

9:30 p.m. — I spend about 45 minutes cleaning the booty bands that we’ll need for class tomorrow while watching Grey’s Anatomy (yes, I’m still watching — I caught up during COVID-19 when everything was on hiatus and now I have to see it through). This has become somewhat of a weekly ritual since I added the booty bands to class. It definitely makes the toning section more challenging than just using body weight. I can’t wait until I have a real studio — then we’ll use actual dumbbells for more variety in the toning section and I won’t need to carry the bands around with me each week. Once I’m done, I get ready for bed and spend the night hanging out with T. before bed. I got to bed excited for tomorrow’s class. 

“Besides the couple of one-off expenses, I think I did pretty well attempting to keep expenses down in general. It always surprises me how much money is spent on food (whether it’s me paying for it or others): I don’t feel like I go to particularly fancy places (although I also recognize that I’m not eating packaged ramen day in and day out) so in my head it should be less. Food has always been a challenge for me because we never ate out growing up but now that I get to make my own decisions, I want to eat higher-quality food that’s good for me while also having variety. And now there’s the added challenge of figuring out where the appropriate place is to spend money and where to save since I don’t make nearly as much now as I did before. I’m still trying to balance what’s okay to splurge on and what feels wasteful. I do feel incredibly lucky that so many of my meals were covered this week. Going to NYC always means spending more money than I would at home (but it’s also because I get to spend more time with friends and family) so this week wasn’t as expensive as some other ones have been.”