Broke and Loving It!

Well, I just got my dreaded tax forms from my accountant. It's time to start going back and figuring out how much money I made this year doing comedy, writing for the VC Reporter, and managing a gym. I was talking to a pretty established headliner recently, and he and I were joking how broke we are in comparison to how much people think we make. And to be honest, this wasn't my most profitable year, though I did hit five states and over 100 shows in 2025. Some weeks were packed and then there was December where I did only one show but went out with a lot of friends, even had a few dates, and reconnected to my humanity. So maybe I didn't make the most money, but I also was so much happier doing stand up the past 12 months, even if my bank account didn't reflect that - and you know what, that's okay. I might be broke, but I'm broke and loving it. 

FOCUSED Time Off Can Create a New Energy 
Back in August, I was offered a great job in Hollywood, only for the job to be pulled away like Lucy yanking the football from Charlie Brown. This caused a huge gap in my booked shows, as I thought I' be working on other projects. 

But what that created was an opportunity to go out and see friends I wasn't able to, allowing myself to have Christmas dinners, parties, and even go out on New Years Eve. Instead of panicking, I fully embraced my new found free time and had a ball. I tried new restaurants in Newport Beach, went back to Tao in Hollywood, had a gift exchange with some buddies, and even got to go to a Christmas dinner with people outside of family. 

For many of us, we fear the lack of shows, and it was a bit nerve racking, knowing I had a big weekend in Arizona coming up. But the time off recharged my soul, and by spending my end of 2025 with others and watching movies, I can honestly say I had one of my best weekend gigs ever this past weekend. I might not have made as much money as I wanted in 2025, but I filled my soul in ways I never knew I needed.

Money Can Only Take You So Far 
While living in the LA area is expensive, trying to keep up with the Joneses isn't really a possibility, as everyone is "wealthier" than someone else. So regardless of the income you make or the savings you keep or things you collect or trips you take, the truth is, you never will feel as accomplished as others, as social media has poisoned the waters. On top of all that, no one actually sees your bank account, unless you plan to post it for some douchebaggery reason - so even if you do all the gigs and make as much money as you can, A) No one knows and B) You'll still have to make more anyways. 

It's a never ending cycle. So giving yourself a little bit of grace and freedom and reassessing your priorities and relationships is one way to self care in a hustle culture that cares about results more than emotional aftermath. 

In fact, one thing that keeps an artist "hungry" is literally being hungry.  

Being broke can produce the ability to create more lasting art, and help take your act into a place where there is wisdom, tension, and authentic humor. When you look at the great comics, the one's who stopped struggling financially started struggling artistically. Whether it's Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy, you see that play out time and time again. 

One reason Larry David stayed so funny on Curb Your Enthusiasm was he's always uncomfortable. In fact, some comics stay relevant through their podcasts by feeling awkward and out of their element. Clearly, many comics don't seem interested in people, so having a podcast keep their edge through the tension created. 

You can apply the same thing to the bank account dwindling. No one is more awful to waitstaff than the super wealthy, having no relationship to dealing with real life problems. Jamie Foxx tells interviewers he keeps a sink in his house leaking just to have a domestic problem to deal with. Don't try to fix everything. Sometimes its the troubles keeping you from sinking into complicity. 

Being a Comic Is Still Cooler Than Anything Your Rich Friends Are Doing
Yes, you might be broke. But if you're broke in LA or broke doing something cool, everyone is jealous. Here's a great story Seinfeld told a young comic in the documentary Comedian, who was sad his Wall Street buddies were buying homes and making money: 

This is my favorite story about show business. Glenn Miller’s orchestra, they were doing some gig somewhere, they can’t land where they’re supposed to land because it’s winter, a snowy night.

So they have to land in this field and walk to the gig. And they’re dressed in their suits. They’re ready to play. They’re carrying their instruments. So they’re walking through the snow, and it’s wet and it’s slushy, and in the distance they see this little house.

And there’s lights on in the inside, and this billow of smoke coming out of the chimney. They go up to the house, and they look in the window, and in the window they see this — this family.

There’s a guy and his wife, and she’s beautiful. And there’s two kids. And they’re all sitting around the table. And they’re smiling, they’re laughing, they’re eating. And there’s a fire in the fireplace.

And these guys are standing in their suits, and they’re wet and they’re shivering and they’re holding their instruments. And they’re watching this incredible Normal Rockwell scene. This one guy turns to the other guy and goes, “How do people live like that?”

The truth is, many of my Big Career Buddies love hearing my road stories, enjoy having an insight into show business, and think it's great someone is able to pursue a dream, even if the conditions aren't always ideal. 

Yes, I won't travel to Dubai or Hawaii this year, but I will make over a 1,000 people laugh in a weekend. I will turn a normal person in the crowd into the star of the night through crowd work. I will meet people from all over the country. My life of writing, comedy, and managing a gym is not that stressful, and my ability to freely ebb and flow through this world feels great right now. 

I used to be a broke teacher and I had a drinking problem. Now I'm a broke comic with a refreshing new lease on life. It's not the money that matters - it's the way your life makes you feel that matters. 

Final Thoughts 
Living in Southern California has its challenges. It's mostly economical, but by choosing the starving artist life, I've been more happy in ways than I've never been as a "professional adult." And that's what this really comes down to. 

Yes, you can get a six figure job and work 60 hours a week and have a mortgage. But with that comes all the stress and anxiety of responsibilities that our modern capitalistic system doesn't protect you from when the sh*t hits the fan. 

You can gamble on the security of a union job or something more stable, only to be let go when A.I. takes over. 

​In the end, being broke has a lot of setbacks, but not pursuing that artistic part of you has more setbacks. So you pick the poison you're willing to swallow and move forward. Or you give up, sell insurance, and resent everything you buy with your newfound fortune. I'm not talking about people who see family and a house as their masterpiece - I'm talking to you - the person who sees their life as something more existential and grand. So go be broke, and love every freeing moment of it.