Hayato
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2010
- Messages
- 56
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It's been a year since I finished getting my BFA in Film Studies and I need some advice on my next moves. I went to school down in San Diego and took around 3 months off after I finished until the lease on my then apartment was up. I had a lead on job in LA and considering that's where most of the business opportunities lay. I was dating a girl who was also a recent grad in a similar field and suggested we both move to LA to save on rent and expenses. She wasn't ready and we split right around September when I finally made my move. The job I thought I had lined up fell through and after about 3 months of pulling my hair out I got a call for a job as a PA on a pilot through my original contact. Everything was going great until the pilot didn't get picked up and I was again out of a job after only a month. I made some great contacts during the experience, one of which would come in handy later. Unfortunately I was back to having no income and tons of bills. A buddy of mine got me a job as an executive assistant this January which turned out to be a horrible experience. I got a call out of the blue for an offer from someone I met during that time on the pilot to work on an established show for about a year. Being an assistant was so bad that I decided to leave for this upcoming gig which doesn't start until mid-July. In between I've been going crazy and come to realize that I'm living way above my means. My rent is around $1200 along with cable and utilities. I cook almost all my meals at home to save cash and can barely afford the gym, forget entertainment. Fortunately my family is kind enough to support me the best they can, but they too are horrible when it comes to personal finances. I never had someone mentor or educate me about finance, taxes, bookkeeping, etc. and every suggestion my parents make about finances I'm leery of. As of now I owe about $20k all in for school, plus about $2000 in personal debt, some of which is in collections. I frantically search for work almost everyday, on top of doing some side gigs (simple video editing, graphic and web design) to make ends meet. But overall I'm a really disenchanted with how everything is going and some days I feel like offing almost everything I own and getting a job as a delivery boy just to get back to 'zero'. I'm stuck with this lease until September and even if everything pans out with this upcoming job, I still should probably downsize my expenses. There's no way with entry level jobs that I will be able to pay off my debt, live comfortably and also save for the future. To make matters worse I'm already looking for jobs in case this one falls through that aren't even in a related field. I know this sounds like a big "wahhh" but I really do appreciate any help or advice you guys can throw my way. Like how those of you who were in a financial/career rut got a handle on things well enough to swim out.