I am a freelance television producer and documentary filmmaker.  I bought a loft in downtown Los Angeles right before the recession, and I’m not sure when I’ll ever be able to sell to buy a house.  Since I am a freelancer, I have to buy my own health insurance.  I also try to keep a year’s worth of expenses saved up in an accessible place.  I started contributing to a retirement account when I had a “full-time” job working in news, but since those accounts have dropped about 50% due to the recession, I haven’t contributed much to it.  My main splurges are:  eating out and buying music on itunes.