Surviving recession: tips from a pro

August 25, 2022 11:12 AM

Macron sounds gloomy. The founder of Huawei sounds a bit doom-y. In these trying, potentially recessionary times, the Daily Beast's Cherie DeVille offers advice in A Porn Star’s Guide to Surviving the Recession. "Whether you’re a porn star, a secretary, or a freelance copyeditor, diversify now. Nobody will have a safety net to catch you besides yourself. Diversification is your safety net."

Clearly diversification is unrealistic or impossible for many. Perhaps some can find or build a Republic of Super Neighbours. It is not a fast nor easy fix, but one neighbourhood in Paris calls it "beautiful."

posted by Bella Donna (15 comments total)

The long dinner table in the Hyper Voisine! I love it.
posted by clew at 11:50 AM on August 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

I don't have a specific comment to add right now but this is just a great juxtaposition of links, I love it!
posted by Wretch729 at 12:37 PM on August 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

It’s out of print now, but John Preston’s Hustling: A Gentleman's Guide to the Fine Art of Homosexual Prostitution spent a great many of its pages talking about how to manage money.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:59 PM on August 25, 2022 [12 favorites]

Macron sounds gloomy.

Perhaps he's sad that the next British PM can't decide if he is our enemy?
posted by biffa at 2:23 PM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

I suspect Cherie Deville could do my job more successfully than I could do hers.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 2:33 PM on August 25, 2022 [6 favorites]

DeVille's advice is shockingly plain-vanilla: Diversify. Save. Adapt. Marketing. Treat your customers well. This could be an interview with Warren Buffett for all that (except maybe for this line: When people ask, “How did you become a top performer?” they expect me to say, “anal,” “a special brand of doggy,” or “something really dirty.”)
posted by chavenet at 3:34 PM on August 25, 2022 [6 favorites]

Rice and beans three times a week...It works!
posted by Czjewel at 4:14 PM on August 25, 2022 [4 favorites]

I mean, that's the point. If Warren Buffet says it, you might blow it off as Just For Fancy Respectable People. But if Warren Buffet and a moderately successful porn performer are both saying it, then ok, fuck, maybe it's for everyone
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:53 PM on August 25, 2022 [9 favorites]

Rice and beans three times a week...It works!

Sure; you want plenty of fiber in your diet if you're going to do anal. Or, ah, so I've read.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:17 PM on August 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Wow, I'm blown away by La République des Hyper Voisins. I want to learn more, about how they made it happen, I want to create it in my own neighborhood (barring that, I speak french, so maybe I should just move). Creating real communities could be so powerful in our politically anemic time where good things are for the individual and only the bad things are shared.
posted by dis_integration at 8:03 PM on August 25, 2022 [5 favorites]

But if Warren Buffet and a moderately successful porn performer are both saying it, then ok, fuck, maybe it's for everyone

Fucking: maybe it's for everyone
posted by chrominance at 11:08 PM on August 25, 2022 [8 favorites]

a Republic of Super Neighbours

No barricades were assembled to block the nearby boulevards

From the pictures, it kinda looks like barricades were assembled. But they were assembled to block cars, and they were filled with food and art and people talking to their neighbours. Which I guess is exactly the kind of barricades we need?
posted by clawsoon at 5:44 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

ok, fuck, maybe it's for everyone

I dunno, to max out "several" retirement accounts every year I'd have to be putting away something like 30 grand? If I had 30 grand to just put away every year, I dunno if I'd really worry that much about recessions.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:30 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]

If you haven't read about the Republic of Super Neighbours, please go do that. It made my day when I read it. Now I have to figure out how to create something similar, if possible, in my neighborhood because things are getting harder here in Sweden and I need to help provide and share in all the mutual aid possible. I have also failed to max out any retirement account and here I am wobbling around the margins. I am not poor but I might be soon enough. Eek!
posted by Bella Donna at 8:23 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

Re: the network of neighbors, part of the reason I moved out of Arizona was because I am convinced that being outside is how you grow communities, and it just wasn't feasible there for most months of the year.

The main thing holding me back from getting involved now are my residual COVID fears, and I'm not sure how to overcome those yet (or whether it's safe to do so).
posted by 7ajax7 at 8:25 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]