21 questions

Jean Chatzky Drinks DayQuil and Chardonnay (But Hopefully Not Together)

Name: Jean Chatzky
Age: 44
Neighborhood: Westchester
Occupation: Financial writer, financial editor for the Today show, and the author of The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times

Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
The person who invented (designed? built?) the Central Park Reservoir.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
My first tuna burger from Union Square Cafe.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I talk to people about what they’re doing with their money and how — perhaps — they could do it a little bit better.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
Yes. I lived here on less than one-third of that in 1986.

What’s the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Speed-the-Plow before Jeremy Piven left.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
Not too often.

What’s your drink?
Fresca before 6 p.m., Chardonnay after.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
Does PB&J count?

What’s your favorite medication?
DayQuil, hands down.

What’s hanging above your sofa?
Black-and-white photos of my kids ranging from age 3 months to 12 years.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
I’ve spent $5 on a brilliant bang trim and $150 on a “new style” and ended up in tears. So somewhere in the middle, I suppose.

When’s bedtime?
Embarrassingly, between 9 and 10.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
The new one.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
That he must be a pretty good father.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
Pedestrian traffic.

Who is your mortal enemy?
I don’t think I have one — though the mean girls in my daughter’s middle school (and come to think of it, my own) come close.

When’s the last time you drove a car?
Last night.

How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
I’m busier than I’ve been in my life.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
Times and Daily News (I’m a columnist) — and The Wall Street Journal, too.

Where do you go to be alone?
My deck.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
I think wanting to live here over anywhere else is enough (and I say that as a transplant from the Midwest).

Jean Chatzky Drinks DayQuil and Chardonnay (But Hopefully Not Together)