Hello! I’m back in Brooklyn after an absolutely lovely vacation with Ken in Northern California! Thank you to everyone who offered up travel advice. I’m toying with the idea of sharing our travel expenses and itinerary here. Needless to say, it wasn’t a $10,000 vacation!
The trip was wonderful, but we had a bit of a hard landing with our return. We got back late Monday afternoon and threw ourselves right back into work and life. I took my tax-planning final on Tuesday and then had a follow-up medical test on Wednesday that had been stressing me out.1 (I passed both. Woo!) We also had two days with early school dismissal and parent-teacher conferences. Somehow, we still found time to buy and decorate our Christmas tree and go grocery shopping.
When did I find time to write this newsletter? I’m not totally sure. I apologized to Erika for coming back from vacation into a personal-life shit storm. But also, I’m trying to be kinder to myself and remember that not every day has to be the most productive day ever. And sometimes you might even have an entire month that feels less than stellar. I guess if I were going to choose a month, December isn’t a terrible one. I’m already getting out-of-office messages from people informing me they’re gone until January 1!
There will be three more editions of The Purse this year, including next Saturday’s paid edition of Home Economics. A reminder that paid subscribers get access to our monthly giveaway. This month, we’re giving away The Bad Mothers’ Book Club by Keris Fox and The Trailer Park Rules by Michelle Teheux, as well as a lovely scented candle.2
We are also donating 20% of all new paid subscriptions to The Brave House, a nonprofit that supports immigrant women in NYC. It’s our way of supporting a cause we care about during this season of giving. I miss the days of working for a huge corporation when they would match my charitable donations. If you have that perk, please take advantage of it! It’s truly like free money! And if you’re looking for some good causes to support, check out this roundup of the charities beloved by the women featured in In Her Purse.
Okay, now on to today’s Home Economics! Last month, we ran a special collaboration with the newsletter featuring a woman in the Midwest who lost her job in late 2023. We received a second submission for that collab, and it’s so good, I wanted to feature it this month.
There are a few similarities between these two entries: Both women have sizable savings and a fairly low cost of living. (I know this point is up for debate.) But where Single in the Midwest is looking for her next career opportunity (and is, ahem, single), today’s writer took her layoff as an opportunity to pursue a new career (and is able to be a dependent on her partner’s health insurance plan).
Obviously, as someone who chucked a six-figure job to pursue a creative and entrepreneurial dream (while relying on my husband’s health insurance), I relate a lot to today’s column. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the tradeoff between a steady salary and doing what you love, and it’s a topic I plan to explore more in 2025. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a privilege (and a fuck-ton of work) for those of us who are lucky enough to have the means to make the plunge.
On that note, I’ll leave you to today’s Home Economics. Enjoy!
Age: 35
Location: Boulder, CO
Relationship status: Domestic partner
Age of partner: 40
About me: Born and raised in Europe, I’ve been living in the U.S. for about a decade. After 6.5 years of gainful employment at a major tech company, I was laid off in early 2023, and I decided to pursue a full-time writing career, as it’s always been my calling. (I’m a journalist by trade.) I’m working on a few different projects, including a book, with the goal of hopefully, one day, earning a steady income from my words. In the meantime, I’m living off my cash savings, interest from investments, and a modest income from a freelance translation gig.
Income:
- Your job title/salary: Writer; no proper salary for now, but my monthly income averages around $600 between freelance work, interest income, and dividends. Before I was laid off, I made a $120,000 salary, plus a target bonus of 15%, which was about $20,000, and I would always use it to max out my 401(k). I also received about $60,000 in company equity (on a quarterly vesting schedule). I started selling some of it after the layoff, to diversify, but I still retain some because it’s a good one to have.
- Partner’s job title/salary: Software engineer; $350,000 inclusive of base salary, bonus, and company equity.
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): ~$600 between freelance work, interest income, and dividends
- Partner’s monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): ~$15,000
- Total monthly income: ~$16,000. My partner and I haven’t combined our finances, so I don’t really think about how much we earn each month together.
