How I Get By

Nick Morof works for an architecture firm in Paris. Just a year out of architecture school at USC, he’s already established a solid career path, thanks to strategic internships in Detroit, Tokyo and the one in Paris that led to his current full-time salaried position. He talks about the strict Parisian quarantine protocol he lived through (fortunately his roommate has parents they escaped to outside the city), living in tiny apartments, and the self-driven qualities that served him well in getting through a rigorous architecture program. He also discusses how he’s been a careful spender, and why he moved abroad for work (which has a lot to do with the way that aspiring architects in the U.S. are offered a pittance for full-time work).

Christy works at a grocery store - part of a national chain - in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A recent college graduate, she talks about what it's been like as the Coronavirus pandemic sent shoppers into panic mode, navigating customers who don't follow public health guidelines, and the empathy involved in her job, one which she compares to being a therapist. She also talks about her mature financial strategies which allow her to start building a 401K with under $2,000 in take-home pay, and the possibility of transferring to another store, maybe in Colorado, where she may begin grad school.

Phillip P. is a Santa Barbara-based landlord and project manager who works with multi-millionaires and billionaires. He talks about maintaining a minimum standard of comfort when he travels – which he does often for work –including everything from where he sits on the plane to where he draws the line when it comes to the quality of his hotels. He also describes how and why he expanded his work life into commercial real estate, the risks he took early on, and how he’s responded to the Coronavirus pandemic as a landlord.

Ethan Herschenfeld is a standup comedian and actor (his acting credits include: Girls, Boardwalk Empire, High Maintenance, and the Plot Against America) living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He's managed to reach a level of financial security that's very unusual for a creative type. He talks about how he's managed to do it (hint: real estate), his various early gigs including opera singer and college prep tutor, and, eventually, how much he spends, and even his ballpark net worth.

Allen (not his real name) works in corporate IT. He makes very good money, but only works about half of the year—the rest of the time he is “unemployed” (at least that’s how he essentially presents himself to people he’s dating). When he’s not traveling abroad, he’s traveling the country in an Airstream trailer, parking in RV parks, and periodically taking on corporate IT jobs along the way. He grew up mainly in the Seattle area, living in foster homes, being homeless, and hanging out with a group of what he refers to as “Asian suprematists.” He shares all these parts of his life, and also talks about how he does NOT like the work that he does for money, but accepts it for what it is, and that it allows him his “pretty luxurious” lifestyle.