Save Your Money

When I worked at an agency, a good fifty percent of our clients were out of work at any given time.

Those clients called almost every day, asking if my boss had work for them. I don’t know why they thought he wouldn’t call if he’d found work. He only gets paid if they get paid.

Really, the reason they were constantly calling is that they were constantly broke. I’m talking about guys who earn ten to twenty thousand dollars a week, when they’re working.

The problem is, they spent money like they’ll be working every week. In Hollywood, you don’t work every week. (Thus my sporadic posting, of late.)

It’s hard not knowing when your next paycheck will come. I understand that. But this is a known unknown, as they say. You gotta plan for the fact that you’ll be out of a job in a few months. Or a few weeks, if the show gets canceled. Or a few years, if the show gets renewed.

So, save your money. That way, when there’s a strike, or a recession, or you just have bad luck, you won’t have to call your agent over and over.

This applies even to us lowly PAs. More so, actually, since we make a fraction of what you department heads make. I know people who rent in expensive parts of town, pay for cable TV and internet, plan on buying a new car, and then wonder why they’re broke.

Because you make five hundred dollars a week, asshole!

I know one guy who’s paying off student loans before credit cards. Does 18% interest mean anything to you? This used to be called “usury;” now you’re just a dumbass.

Anyway, the point of all this is, we in the entertainment industry need to realize that our jobs are inherently unstable, even when there’s not a recession going on. Plan accordingly.