Monthly Mashup: September Edition

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It’s already the end of September, and once again we’ve compiled a mash-up of some of our most popular stories, as well as interesting and relevant posts from around the blogosphere.  Keep reading to find out which stories made our Editors’ Choice this month. Read more

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Arts and Culture on a Budget

If you’re like a lot of people in New York, you’re always down for a good music concert, dance performance, or maybe even the occasional Broadway show, but attending those events can result in a big jolt to the pocket book. Audience Extras hears your pain and works with dance, theater and and musical organizations throughout New York to accommodate both your’s and the organization’s needs. Read on below to find out how you can enjoy some of NYC’s best performance troupes without lack of funds holding you down. Read more

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Who Needs Renter’s Insurance?

We’ve all undoubtedly had some insurance company send us a note on purchasing apartment insurance to protect us from loss of possessions should we have a fire or a burglary.  But just how important is it to have this coverage? What exactly does it cover? Is it really useful? Is it something you should purchase? Keep on reading as we delve into these questions in today’s Abode section. Read more

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Personal Story: Two Years to a Debt-Free Existence

In a new monthly feature we’re going to call “Personal Story”, we’re going to publish our own and reader’s personal finance stories. We’ll focus on how we got into debt, how we’ve worked (or working) our way out of it, and how we keep ourselves on track financially. The hope is that we can all get ideas and encouragement from each other to find ways to live within our means, stick to budgets, and save for a rainy day. It’s hard to stick by these plans by yourself, so we want to try to build a community that encourages these principles. I’m going to kick things off by talking about my own debt story.

I moved to NYC about four years ago, straight out of college. I had a nice little bundle of student loan debt, although nothing compared to some of my friends who owed $30-$40K in student loans, and a couple of low-balance credit cards. All in all, I was in pretty good financial shape. I was bunking with a friend of a friend who lived in Washington Heights (Manhattan). It wasn’t the greatest setup since I was crashing on a living room sofa, but I ended up staying there for about four months until I got settled in. Around the time that I was planning to move out, my friend found out that she was eligible to purchase a studio apartment in one of those rare, somewhat mythological middle class housing projects. Since she had to move quickly to take advantage of it, I was left with the apartment if I wanted it. Needless to say, I was pretty psyched about having my own place, especially considering that it came without all the hassles of a broker’s fee and moving expenses. The major downfall was that I had to sign a new lease and the previous $875/month shot up to around $1,100/month. For a lot of people in New York, this would still be considered a bargain. But since I was fresh out of school with no real work experience my full-time job was bringing in around $26K a year.

Like most people fresh to New York City, I had conjured up my ideas on what my life in the big apple would be like. It was primarily based on what I saw on television and was a far cry from the way that I could even remotely afford to live. In my attempt to stake out the perfect little urban utopia I had imagined for myself, I decided to keep the apartment - even though it was well over the amount I could afford to pay. I got my father to co-sign for a personal loan which I used to furnish the new place and pad my checking account for a little while. I lived decently for the first six months or so, somehow managing to still have a few dollars left over to occasionally grab drinks and eat out with friends. But like all free money, my loan finally ran out and my lack of cash started to catch up to me. My answer to the problem was credit cards. I began funding my burgeoning social life with them and eventually took to paying all of my monthly utilities with credit for well over a year.

Since I was using my entire paycheck plus some to pay my rent and my credit cards to pay my utilities, I had little cash left over to buy anything else including food. I reverted back to my college days, buying Ramen by the boxes and filling up on cheap bagels. I was fine with this because food was something I was willing to scrimp on in order to have some cash on hand to play with. After about a year, I reached a point where I couldn’t afford to keep living in the one bedroom by myself, so I found a room for rent in the city and moved into a tiny bedroom on the Upper West Side. I stayed there for a few months and then continued to hop around from place to place.

Fast forward to a few years later, I found myself at a new job with a better title with a higher salary. And not even two months after securing the job, I had found a new apartment to move into - a two bedroom that I shared with a roommate for $2,100. My share was $1,050. This move was basically a reaffirmation to make me feel like I had “made it” in the big city - even though it was taking a nice, fat chunk of my earnings away each month. This kept on for about a year and I continued to struggle to pay my bills. By this time, my credit cards were completely maxed out and I was being moderately harassed by creditors

My moment of realization came two years ago when I was still living in the overpriced Lower East Side place. After buying a laptop on credit and not making payments on it for well over a year, I was threatened with a law suit for negligence to pay. After many a phone call with a shark lawyer who represented the company, I started rethinking my financial situation. I sat down with a close friend and hashed out a budget. I joined Consolidated Credit and let them take over sorting through my debts, and this was probably the single most effective thing I have ever done in managing my finances. They did a fantastic job at getting creditors off my back and negotiating fair interest rates. Realizing that I couldn’t possibly keep paying a huge portion of my rent for a bedroom in Manhattan, I decided to downgrade my living arrangements. I found a nice room in Brooklyn for $600 a month in a much larger space.

Fast forward a few more years, I’m still here, and in November I will be completely debt free. It would have never happened without me making some drastic changes to my lifestyle. Once I started to focus on myself and what I needed to do to be able to live well, I was able to stop focusing on trying to impress other people and get myself on sound positive financial footing.

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Submit your own “Personal Story” to lauren@lifestylermag.com. If your story is chosen for our monthly feature, you will receive a $30 Amazon gift card and a by-line.

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“Vice” Companies Weather the Recession

Recessions can’t beat down every industry. Vice companies and their “sin stocks” tend to historically be immune to recession sales declines. Cigarette sales alone are said to reach $132 billion dollars this year, with alcohol coming in a close second at $77.8 billion. Read more

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5th Annual MP3 Experiment

This Saturday, the fifth annual MP3 Experiment is going down in NYC. As a sort-of improv meets performance art, the mp3 experience is gaining a cult following.  The event is organized and produced by Improv Everywhere, the genius minds behind the “Frozen Grand Central” stunt, and is associated with UCB in Manhattan.  Read more

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Access Files From Anywhere With Dropbox

One of the very unfortunate aspects of our always-connected modern existence is that work tends not to stay behind in the office after we’ve scurried home to our cubby holes. Like the undead in many a low-grade sci-fi movie, work keeps rearing its ugly, life-sapping head–even in our supposed downtime. Read more

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Making the Stock Market Turmoil Work for You

There’s been lots of hoopla lately on the state of the Market. It’s been a tumultuous time for many investors - especially for older generations relying on a good return on their investments to retire on. However, for many young adults the downcast shadow of Wall Street does have a silver lining. Read more

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Setting up Shop on Etsy: Interview with DRG Ceramics’ Darin Gehrke

Thinking about hocking some homemade (or vintage) goods for extra cash? Etsy, the hugely popular online marketplace for homemade wares, is the place to hock ‘em. We spoke to veteran Etsy seller, Darin Gehrke of DRG Ceramics about the ins and outs of opening shop on the Internet’s favorite crafts marketplace. Keep on reading for stellar advice on how to get up and running on Etsy’s international e-commerce site.

What do you sell in your Etsy shop?

I sell handmade, one-of-a-kind, functional pottery.

You already have an actual location that you share with others to sell your work. What made you expand to Etsy?

In addition to my studio in New York’s Garment District, I also sell my work through specialty stores, galleries and retail shows. When you make handmade goods it is necessary to have multiple outlets to show your work and expand your audience. Since Etsy viewers are all over the world, I thought it would be an excellent option for me to show my work to those who may not live in the Northeast.

Has Etsy increased your visibility online?

Yes. I have my own website and its main purpose is to show people what I do and where they can find me. After I opened my Etsy shop the traffic to my website noticeably increased. I have received many notes from Etsy browsers telling me that they enjoyed viewing the work on my website in addition to the pottery that is for sale on Etsy.

Has Etsy increased your sales? And if so, by what percentage approximately has Etsy increased your profits?

Etsy has increased sales but not exponentially because I only make available a small number of pieces on Etsy. Most of my sales are made at retail and studio shows. I am sure I would do very well, if I focused more on just selling online. As a potter who focuses on hand thrown pieces, I prefer that people have a chance to handle the pottery before they buy it.

I’ve noticed some booths at flea markets recently that feature Etsy artists. What opportunities has Etsy afforded you since becoming involved with the site?

There are groups of Etsy artists that have formed because of the Etsy networking features. Many of these groups easily organize sales or shows in their communities. I have been invited to two retail shows in Baltimore, MD where all of the artists were selected from Etsy. The organizer is a clothing company called Squidfire. The next show will be on December 7th at Lyric Opera House in Baltimore.

You can use the “Shop Local” link on the Etsy website to find Etsy artists near you.

There seems to be a sense of camaraderie between sellers on Etsy. Do you sell a lot of merchandise to other merchants and does it help promote your store when they mark you as a “favorite”?

Etsy is not just an e-commerce site, there is also a lot of social networking going on. When someone “hearts” you it is proper etiquette to reciprocate the gesture. Your network grows not only among the artists, but also the buyers. To buy on Etsy, one must set up a free account which allows you to send messages to artists and choose favorites.

Is selling on Etsy time consuming? How easy is it to keep the Etsy site content updated and manage the orders?

Selling on Etsy does take some time but once you have your shop set up, it is fairly easy to maintain. The website is very user friendly and self explanatory. What is most time consuming for me is photographing the work to be sold on Etsy. This is one of the reasons why I don’t sell everything I make on Etsy. For someone who makes smaller items like jewelry it could be easier because the work can probably be photographed right at the work space.

Keeping your Etsy shop up-to-date is easy and essential if you want to sell anything. In the Pottery and Ceramics category, for instance, there are 1295 pages of items for sale. The only way to keep your work on the first few pages is by adding new items to your shop or re-listing pieces. If you do not have new items to add, a seller can purchase “Showcase” time on Etsy which is a good promotional tool. There are daily and seasonal showcases which usually range in cost from $7 to $15.

When I receive orders, a notification is emailed to me and all of the payments can be made through Paypal. Shipping out the orders is convenient for me because UPS comes directly to my studio.

Would you recommend opening an Etsy shop for people who want to bring in side income? Do you think selling on Etsy has the potential to bring in a full-time income?

If you have a well crafted, interesting product to sell, and you have the capability of taking good photographs of your work, Etsy is a great way to bring in some extra income. Setting up an Etsy shop is free and the commission fees are minimal. There are thousands of buyers shopping on Etsy. It is up to the seller to keep your work seen and the sales will come. I am sure it is possible to make a full-time income on Etsy but it would require a lot of dedication to production and effort to bring people to your shop. Of course your product and photographs would have to be of excellent quality.

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BillShrink Expands to Credit Cards

You may remember our previous post on BillShrink, the immensely helpful website that recommends cheaper cell phone plans. It’s been updated to analyzes your 3G iPhone Plan to find the best rates and scouts out credit cards that are most beneficial to your spending habits.  And although we recommend choosing the iPod Touch over the iPhone, we think their credit card analyzer is a pretty great tool.  Read more

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