Hipster Finances
Posted on August 30, 2006 by Him and tagged hipster
I'll admit - I somewhat subscribe to the hipster culture. My favorite places to be in Chicago are Empty Bottle, The Metro, Double Door. I listen to bands you've never heard of: Mates of State, Headlights, Bloc Party, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I won't go to Starbucks because it is too mainstream. Although, I am kind of glad to be a little too chunky to dress completely like them, with those ridiculously tight jeans and ironic t-shirts. Okay, I love the ironic t-shirts, they're just not that tight on me. Visit Wicker Park in Chicago or Williamsburg, Brooklyn and you'll know what I'm talking about.
In case you didn't already figure this out, my inspiration for the above image is Ramit's series on young people and finances. I've noticed that all of the people in his pictures are pretty much, well, yuppies.
Hipsters should be thinking about money, too. They already shop at thrift stores and drink cheap PBR. Why not save some of that money?
What do you think? Do you have any suggestions?
(original image modified in accordance its Creative Commons license)
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Millionaire Artist | Aug 30, 2006
AGREE! AGREE!
Here's a quote from the New York Times today, an assumption so common it drives me crazy:
“New York has always attracted people who aren’t just interested in money — people interested in culture and poetry and music and dance and those young people who are the creative capital of the city. They aren’t going to have a place here and probably really don’t already. I think it affects everything about city life.” (italics mine, from article "110-Building Site in N.Y. Is Put Up for Sale")
The idea? Creative people, ie, "real" creative people, shouldn't be concerned about money (and by extension, their own self-preservation!)
As an artist and overall creative person I've been working hard to change my previous self-destructive attitudes about, and behavior with, money. If other creative people could empower themselves in the financial realm we'd all be a lot better off.
Creative powers should be used just to make excuses!
Millionaire Artist | Aug 30, 2006
P.S. Sorry for the double post — I'm not in disagreement about the above article's issue about affordability. I just have issue with the ongoing assumption creative people shouldn't care about money/finances.
The problem with hipsters is that T-Shirt of now does greatly outweigh the need for savings. I once told one of my friends, who would buy about 5 T-shirts a week, that they should cut back to 3 and simply save the $50 a week. Of course, my advice fell on deaf ears.
You can be as frugal as you like but you still won't be able to afford the rent in Manhattan unless you have a high paying job, very profitable business, or come from a rich family etc. Most artists don't make much, only the lucky few and so unless they already have money they won't be making enough to live in much of Manhattan. Maybe at twice the national average salary you could just about afford to pay the rent...
Unfortunately at that age a minor detail like savings is not going to get in the way of being hip. Wealth gets in the way of a life philosophy.
That would make a good PF blog:
"Recovering hipster".
Fortunately I've never been cursed with an excess of hipness, so I don't feel much pressure. Me and my "nerdy chic" look are doing just fine in last year's clothes, listening to the same old bands I bought on CD five years ago, and being too cheap to drink.
Sure, it would be fun to be hip, but I'd rather be solvent.
Do hipsters always look broke because that's the look or because that's the reality?
As a side note - Darn you hipsters, stop driving up the price of my PBR!!!
Bands you've never heard of? Ted Leo? Bloc Party? Seriously?
The way I see it, there are two kinds of hipsters: kids who grew up poor, got into punk rock and are still poor because they work low-paying "hip" jobs; and trust-fund kids who don't have to worry about money because Dad will take care of them. The former could benefit from financial education; the latter have the privilege of not needing any because they have a cushion.
mapgirl | Aug 30, 2006
r u kidding? They're too busy buying those Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts that Jane Dough had up at Boston Gal...
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