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BenLiving in the Office: Day 12 Thoughts
Let’s get one thing strait.
Yes, I’m poor, and yes, I’m living in my office. But I am not starving, I have a place to stay (albeit not the best situation, but better than most of the world), I am lucky to have these things. Yes, lucky.
With that disclaimer out of the way I do have some gripes and glees about office life. It hasn’t been very long, but I’m already in a pretty good routine. Pro’s and Con’s if you will.
The Pros of office living life
- Having to get up, pack up my camping style sleeping pad and blankets, go the the gym, work out, shower, and get back to the office before my employees show up is awesome. I love the schedule and structure this is giving me, although I’m not getting quite the amount of sleep I would like. But that’s my own fault for staying up to late writing stuff here and for LendingClub (more on that later).
- Freedom. All of my possessions fit behind a small closet in my office, plus 3 moving boxes I keep out in the open.
- Getting lots of work done. I’m spending around 20-21 hours a day now at my office. You think I get things done? Yeppers, I do.
- I have a microwave at the office, which I did not have at my house the last two months I was staying there while it was awaiting short sale approval.
- My office is in one of the nicest parts of Seattle. I will likely never be able to “live” in this area of town again.
- I feel more frugal.
- Air Condition at no extra cost. Great on days like today.
The Cons (yeah, these kinda bite)
- I’m living in my office.
- No refrigerator yet. I’ve looked at a few cheap ½ size ones on craigslist, and someday will pick one up. I just can’t justify the $50-100 right now to get a decent sized working one. No fridge = no milk or butter….or cheese. Mmm…cheese…
- No naps. I’ve not been a big napper for a few years now. I went through a phase in college where I took a nap almost every day. That was great. But, it’s pretty much impossible now. Like I said, I haven’t taken regular naps for a while. But not that I can’t take any…I’m strangely missing them.
- I’m still a little paranoid about what I’m doing. Especially when the cops show up.
- My office has no windows. Sometimes that is a good thing (we can’t look outside and see how beautiful it is).
So, that’s what I’ve got so far. Quite a bit more happened today, but I need to get some sleep. I’ve got a wells fargo checking account issue to deal with tomorrow, a decision to make about paperwork for my chapter 7 bankruptcy filling, and deciding weather or not to accept any help financial from my father (I have not asked for help yet in this situation. I don’t want to, but he has made a tempting offer…I’m leaning towards rejecting it).
Since I’ve gotten some great feedback from people that actually read this mess that I write, I’ll occasionally add a new “What do you think” section at the end. I’ll ask some questions, I encourage you to respond. I’m open to all suggestions. So..
What do you think?
How long should I plan on continuing to live at the office? What do you think the odds are that I get caught by my landlord (with whom I am fairly close, as I’ve leased 2+ years now in this building)? Will my current routine lead to burnout?
I'm 300K in debt. Gulp. I'm 24 and day traded away a fortune. Now I'm trying to crawl back to zero. Why not subscribe to my RSS feed and join me on this journey. You can also subscribe via e-mail. I appreciate tips and feedback! ~ DebtKid
on July 11th, 2007 at 6:32 am
It seems to me you should live in your office as long as possible, as long as you need to drastically save money or until something else makes it unbearable, or until the situation is otherwise “rectified,” since it saves you probably $1000 a month or so rent/mortgage/whatever. You are young and I don’t think your routine will lead to permanent burnout–maybe temporary, I dunno.
Believe it or not, there are times in your life that will be even more exhausting than this. Try raising three kids with two parents working. You’ll get patchy five or six hours of broken sleep per night for years, while trying to do a thousand things at once like taking kids here and there and keeping the house in shape. That’s when REAL burnout hits, when you’re responsible for other people so don’t have the option of taking “a break.” In some ways your situation is very good. I wouldn’t mind sometimes having a private little place to myself where I could concentrate 18 hours a day on just a few important things.
That said, that’s not to dismiss your situation and the challenges you are facing.
It seems to me that if at all possible you might discuss this with your landlord. You might test the waters by telling him that you’ve been working on a lot of important projects recently and does he have a problem with you being there sometimes 24/7? That way if it gets back to him that you’re seen there late at night it will not be a surprise. I think as long as you pay the rent and don’t make any problems for him he’ll remain happy.
Just some thoughts, reject what doesn’t fit–
on July 11th, 2007 at 8:02 am
if you are comfortable with the lifestyle, keep doing it. get enough sleep? is it psychologically disheartening to live there? get a tiny refrigerator. i’ve given these away before. try freecycle.
on July 11th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Yeah, stay in the office as long as possible. And it really might be a good idea to mention it to the landlord, like all good things staff said.
You’re still pretty far away from burnout, from what I can tell. I’d give it a year or so before you hit that stage.
on July 11th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Well, when my husband had an office in an Orange County, CA city I won’t disclose, we quickly determined that the man operating the business 2 doors down was living in his office. It’s likely the other observant tenants in your office building are going to figure out what you’re doing before long, if they haven’t already.
You may want to refer to your lease agreement and research the local zoning laws. For all you know, it may put your mind at ease. Our alarm system didn’t work when my husband’s office got broken into, it was this other business owner who lived there who contacted us, so we actually didn’t mind that he was living on-site from then on. When the cops showed up for that incident, he willingly spoke to the police about what he saw, and disclosed to them that he lived there as part of his police report. I was surprised, but the cops never took any action against him for that. I can only guess living in your office wasn’t a problem in that city. But I gather from your blog that you don’t live there.
on July 11th, 2007 at 8:46 am
How about treating yourself once in a while to a hotel or somewhere clean where you can get away and switch off from work? Realise that may cost, but may be worth the mental break.
How about staying at your folks occasionally or friends?
Appreciate that the frugal living is saving you a fortune. But taken too far, it can be counter-productive if you are beginning to tire or lose focus.
You need to get out of there a bit to maintain your sanity.
on July 11th, 2007 at 9:58 am
There was a time a few years ago that I was living in my car. I wasn’t poor…but I was. I mean, I still considered myself middle class and okay. Yet, I had a few hundred dollars (2-3) in the bank at most and couldn’t really afford a place and didn’t want to move back in with my parents. Eventually I did move back in and though it was 45 minutes from my work and the girl I was dating (who later I married), I ended up sleeping in my car for a few weeks.
I showered at the gym (and got really buff thanks to plenty of time working out). I ate cheap fast food. Life was simple. I was able to afford decent dates because I didn’t have a lot of overhead. It was kind of nice.
Unlike DebtKid, I didn’t work on my debt that hard. That was a regret I still have.
To answer your question DebtKid, from my personal experience, I think you should get away with it for as long as you can. Unless, of course, there is a policy for how late you can be there. I often have worked 18-36 hour days with work projects. Therefore, while it may be misleading, it shouldn’t be really wrong to live there as long as you aren’t abusing the privledge. In other words, as long as you’re not putting up tv’s, throwing parties, grilling out, etc.
Eventually, I’d recommend you consider going camping every couple of weekends. Either that, or couch surf at a friend’s house. Being there nonstop will cause you to eventually burn out and your work will pay the price. Therefore, try and live your life from your situation. Find cheap or free events in the paper (such as movies in the park) that you can go to to experience what all is around you. Look for free club meetings and join a few you don’t have a ton of interest in to learn more about them.
I have a good friend of mine whose done that all through college. He had an e-mail list called, “Free Food Weekly” where he would document all the college free food events. He would arrange it to where he never had to pay for lunchs because of prayer groups, student groups, meetings, etc. Now he is a very worldly individual doing the same thing. He finds free food all over Europe through festivals. His entire life is in his backpack with no roots. He has a little money he has earned that is earning interest.
Honestly, DebtKid, I wouldn’t be surprised if after you get out of this mess. You find yourself in a house, eating dinner one night, and slightly missing the freedom of being so free to experience new things if you truely embrace the situation.
on July 11th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Hi, Debtkid.
Right now it sounds like you exude the guilty feeling of doing something wrong. If someone were to happen upon you after midnight, they’d probably think you were there to clean the place out because they’d sense your nerves.
Imagine how different you’d feel running into your landlord if you and some staff truly were there late at night working. You wouldn’t feel so guilty or sneaky. You’ve got to turn that guilty mindset off and just tell yourself you’re doing some all-nighters.
And I agree that if you stay over someone else’s house, especially on weekends, you will feel a little better about being at the office weeknights.
There are also ways to get free or reduced rent, such as working p/t doing leasing at an apt community, a hotel, etc., or house-sitting. There are also many student lounges that stay open 24 hours on campuses (though it may be tougher now in the summer).
Good luck!
on July 11th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Hi Debt kid I just discovered your blog courtesy of Ian. I have to say I admire your determination and the way you are handling sorting it all out. If you can sleep at the office a bit longer it will save you lots of money. Someones elses suggestion of telling the landlord that sometimes you stay overnight and work sounds like a good one.
can you get a small esky instead of a fridge?
Moneydorks idea of free food is a good one too. and be careful you don’t lose touch with friends. This is really stressful stuff that you are dealing with. cheers
on July 11th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Thanks Louise. What is an esky?
on July 11th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
From wikipedia: (yeah I had to look it up)
Esky is an Australian brand of coolers manufactured by Nylex. The name is a reference to the association of Eskimos with cold climates.
The term has become a genericized trademark and as such is a colloquial term for any portable cooler. They are very popular at Australian barbecues, picnics and sporting events for keeping food and drinks cold.
on July 11th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Here’s a little European secret for you: dairy can be kept out of the fridge for quite a while before going off. I always keep some butter in a cupboard so it’s soft for baking with. Most cheeses actually taste better when kept cool rather than refrigerated. Milk will go off after a couple of days, but if you buy small bottles you can use them before they spoil, especially in an air conditioned office. I’ve been eating non-refrigerated dairy for over 30 years now, and it still hasn’t killed me. So be a rebel: eat room temperature cheese!
on July 11th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I forgot esky is an Aussie word, LOL Good thing for wikopedia to hep us all traslate. here is an example http://www.nylex.com.au/esky/index.htm I imagine you call them somthing else in the US?
on February 12th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
[…] I really appreciate you letting me rent this place. I’ve been taking good care of it, and it’s great to have a place to sleep that isn’t my office. […]
on February 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
[…] Office life Day 12 […]
on April 16th, 2008 at 2:38 am
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on April 25th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
[…] I wasn’t miserable. I got a little buffer because I had to go to the gym each morning to shower. I tried to think of it as the dorm experience I never had in college. I had a little shower bag and I would walk to the gym before my employees showed up. I really made the situation into a game. I got caught once (an employee showed up early), and I almost thought I was getting arrested once (the cops showed up), but overall I tried to make the best of it. […]