Living the hobo life really does save money. The New York Times Co. just announced that they actually made money in the second quarter. Cutting all expenses and selling off everything works! Uh, sort of.

The New York Times Company on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $39.1 million, up from $21.1 million in the period a year earlier, as another steep drop in advertising revenue was largely offset by aggressive cost-cutting.

A lot of the profit was a result of an income tax adjustment in the company's favor. Still, they would have eked out a non-loss. Which is impressive! Analysts thought the company would lose four cents a share; instead, it gained eight.

The bad news: Ad revenue in the quarter was down 32%. Which is a lot! Internet revenues, which are the future, fell 14%. And overall revenue fell more than 20%. The profit, such as it is, is largely a result of $140 million in cost cuts.

Living the hobo life requires sacrifices, like accepting any ad no matter how nasty, and banning text messaging, and rethinking canned beans. But cost-cutting can only go so far before you cut yourself down to nothing. What the NYT Co. really needs is a new business model.