Before they raised base, I know a lot of people used to live off base and save their bonus, but at 100-110k, not saving any base feels extravagant, even after Manhattan rent. How much of y'all base do you put away each month? Is it worth it to spend more on nicer things (better food, crazier nights out) and just put away more later on? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts.
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I'm at $105K base and hardly put away anything from salary. Maybe like $200 on a bad month and $1,000 if I live like the virgin mary. One paycheck goes straight to covering rent and utilities, the other goes to a variety of subscription services, gym membership, Ubers, food delivery and bullshit expensive bar tabs.
Only way to save is by lowering rent expense by having several roommates. Idk how tf anyone lives in Manhattan on under a $100K salary these days. Back when base salaries were $80-$90K you could still find decent studios for ~$2K circa 2018. Those days are loooong gone.
Yeah you’re living like a lavish motherfucker. So many fucking people on here tryna act like they do fucking poor lmao.
Yo fat ass prolly getting Uber eats 3x a week and spending $200 a week a the bar lmao.
ya living lavishly compared to other college kids dog lmao. Fucking appreciate that shit
Whatever you're on right now can't be cheap because that made no fucking sense lmao
105 for An2?
What a rainbow. Green, orange and yellow on the same reply.
That means rent and utilities are basically 3k. That does not seem cheap lmao.
Uh not sure if you're getting parent's help or what, but costs also went up by the same % if not more so...of course the argument could be that you don't HAVE to live in the middle of Manhattan from one of these annoying types on here. But yes, if you want to be an analyst functioning on a decent level of sleep and live in Manhattan you're not saving shit on base because for whatever reason all the 2k studios from two years ago disappeared.
About 1k-2k every month.. wtf are yall doing?
Same… When I was at 100k base and my budget looked something like
25% straight into 401k
2 paychecks of ~$2000 each month.
$1800 on rent + utilities + wifi. That leaves $2200. Maybe I’m frugal but I don’t have many expenses and usually save at least $1500 (provided I don’t have to fly home)
Got bumped to $110k and saving even more now.
Is there any difference/benefit in maxing out 401k using the bonus money instead of base? Or is something like half from base and half from bonus better?
paying student loans. not everybody has a rich daddy.
Tell me you don’t go out / have a gf
Would imagine it’s better in Chicago than NY
It is
Yep, my gf is graduating earlier than me and will be working at a prop firm. Pay is better than all the BB's and the same as the prop firms in NY. You can get a luxury 2 bedroom downtown CHI for about the price of a luxury studio in NY. She'll be saving about 30-50k a year.
Yeah, I’m in Chicago on 105k base, but haven’t been around long enough to really get a feel for what I’ll save over the course of the year/years.
Also curious to hear whats it like in nyc
Im in houston and fortunately am able to save roughly 40-50% of base (110k) without any compromises really on rent/car/going out etc. Contemplating a lateral to nyc/sf for long-term prospects though
Wow that's good to hear. Could you describe your lifestyle in Houston?
I'll be starting this summer in HOU on a 110k base as well so interested in learning more.
In Houston as well, saving 40%-50% of base is very doable + all of bonus. Pretty easy to walk away with 100k+ saved every year as analyst. I'm also contemplating the NYC lateral just bc long term opps in HTX aren't as good
You guys are insane for even considering such a move frankly. Are you not reading the rest of this thread and the kids in Manhattan who got duped by the BS on this forum?
An IB salary goes a very long way in HOU… I usually save 1-2k a month and am consistently spending on nice nights out every weekend.
Planning to bank the bonus after ~10k in toys.
I’m on 110k base. 15% goes directly from my paycheck into my 401k, I put another $500 a month into my Roth, and I’m always left with an additional 1-2k that I don’t spend. I go out for brunch / dinner on the weekend and frequently go to bars and clubs.
110k is >6k a month after taxes, genuinely don’t understand how people aren’t saving tons.
Rent cost? You must have roomates then
About 2k. One roommate
London perspective:
£70k base. My plan is:
I'll pay 7% (just under 5k) of this to pension. Firm contributes and matches a fair bit too but we'll ignore that.
Pay student loan of about 4k.
Pay tax.
Leaves about 42k.
£12k/yr rent (I have roommates, could easily live alone but don't want to).
Let's say bills are £2.5k. Food is £5k.
Misc/fun stuff is £5k.
That leaves me with £17k or so to save outside of pensions.
Total savings: 22k excluding what my firm pays into my pension.
Make about 7k per month post-taxes, and I typically save ~3-3.5k per month. I honestly don’t really see how I could spend more unless I start spending on things I don’t really want/value. I already splurged to pay 2.2k rent, so no need to go higher. Most of my hobbies are zero cost or low cost.
Graduated without any debt, and honestly not really sure what to do with all this money at this point, and I can’t even begin to imagine what I’ll do when the first bonus hits.
7k post-tax? How high is your base or are you simply not NYC?
Probably in houston on 110k base
120 base, in NYC. I don’t drink much, don’t really party. Will go to comedy shows and concerts and a few nice dinners. I spend a lot of my (limited) free time exercising, playing guitar, or reading, which is pretty low cost. Also, I don’t pay for food ~5-6 days a week
Lol I love this 🤣🤣🤣
I put away about ~$2K per month automatically by maxing my 401(k) and HSA and dropping about $400 or so automatically into my bank's ESPP. Just got my bonus and I'm going to top my emergency fund off and drop the rest straight into Fidelity.
I'd say my month-to-month savings is about $2-2.5K, and then I save as much of my bonus as I can.
Not sure how I could save more, as I am renting a fairly nice place and do enjoy going out and making the most out of my downtime. I don't really think limiting my spending to save an additional ~$12k per year is worth it when I'll receive a significant pay bump and bonus in the next year or so.
Sorry, just to clarify - are you saving 2-2.5k after retirement contribution each month?
No, mainly ~$1.6K in retirement (401k and HSA), and $400 or so in ESPP. From there, I'll live off my salary and not really worry too much about my spending. If I have any extra cash left over at the end of the month, I'll invest that into a taxable brokerage account. Generally have about $500 or so leftover each month, bringing my total up to roughly $2.5K in retirement/taxable contributions per month. Also have to factor in that I save / invest the vast majority of my bonus which is not reflected in the month-to-month figures that I stated above.
My reasoning is that my salary and bonus will increase by quite a bit in a year when I either go A2A or jump to PE. I feel like actually living my life in the rare downtime I get is worth more than being less happy and pinching a few pennies, for what in the long run, will not be a significant bump in my savings. If I can work hard and feel refreshed by splurging on things here and there and going out, I think it'll pay off better in the long term and help me avoid burnout.
I wasn’t saving much out of my base from my analyst years, but saved my entire bonus. I realized I was in a lucky position, so I donated a ton of my base to animal shelters. Would rather save a few dogs and cats than have a night out, but to each his own.
Point is - spend it on something meaningful. Analyst years suck and putting some of your base away won’t have much incremental improvement on your life.
I’m expecting to save ~2.7k a month once I start (1.2 401k 1.5 cash savings) and prob 90% of whatever my bonus. Prob pay ~2800 in rent for context
In NYC
You incoming at FT Partners or something? A first year analyst saving 2.7k a month and spending 2.8k a month on rent seems a bit unrealistic. 110k base is around 6k after tax. That savings and rent plan leaves you ~$500 on discretionary spending for the entire month. If your base is a lot higher than that or you're comfortable living that frugally, then good for you.
Not at FT lol maybe my math is wrong. According to my calculations my 401k contribution (15k a year) brings my tax bill down so after taxes I’m at 67k all-in or 5.6k a month (excluding the tax implications of my bonus) which after rent and saving cash leaves me with around ~1300 for everything else (utilities, transport, groceries, equinox) so I have about ~350 a month to do whatever with which granted isn’t a ton but I’d be willing to dip into the padded savings if need be
What is 100k post tax for a monthly paycheck? Are you including 401k and ROTH contributions in that?
i make $105k base at KeyBanc and I manage to save most of it. i won't even be touching my bonus. i put 18% into 401k (roth and regular split 9% each), spend $100/month on groceries, eat out maybe 3-4 times (~$200), and pay rent (~$850 with utilities and wifi). i just don't need a lot of things so i prefer to live frugally until i do need the $ for something
What city are you in? My rent is ~2k with roommates and it’s nearly impossible to spend less than 200-300/ month on groceries in Manhattan
He’s definitely in CLE with that rent. That’s awesome man congrats
I feel like its nearly impossible to spend 100 anywhere. I’m a college student and buy groceries once a week. Probably spend 50 dollars per time buying chicken, frozen food, milk, yogurt and sometimes a ny strip at trader joes.
He’s probably in TX or OH
This Cleveland kid is the real winner...just dunking on all the nyc hardos lmfao
hahaha thank you. you may say that, but a lot of people would still say "yeah but it's still Cleveland" which is a fair point; however, if being financially well is your priority, living in a smaller city to start is not a terrible idea. just want to give some perspective from someone who didn't start out in NY/CHI/LA/SF
would you mind sharing updated comp #s at Key for a1,a2,a3 and assoc 1? (Base / Bonus break-out) - feel free to PM if you'd rather do so. Also, what are hours like?
Even if you live in Hoboken or Jersey City and live in a small studio, the rent is fucking expensive and you won't be able to save much.
I now have this theory that quite a few NYC bankers are actually all borderline broke after their 2 or 3 years of analyst program.
Either I'm terrible with money or some of y'all need to get a life lmao
definitely second. if you go out with a girl for a fun night it'll be like $200-300 easily (with Ubers and stuff). if you go for a modest dinner with her during the week, it's $100. let's say you go out on Friday and Saturday and couple of times over the week -> it's $600-800 per week, $2400-3200 per month. plus you need to buy new clothes, new electronics, new furniture, pay to movers when you move, pay for car and gas, pay for car insurance, etc. etc. Food is like $30 per meal with a tip when you get delivery -> if you eat 2-3 times a day, it's $60-90 per day, or $1800-2700 per month.
but in this thread people are like: all my expenses are rent and $300/month on food - like what? do you only eat rice and bread?
Maybe they cook their own food...
sorry but whoever thinks spending $600 per week on going out a few times per week is normal is actually delusional. and you call a 'modest' dinner $100 at the least? i don't even live in NYC but i've been there enough to know that you can eat out for less than $50 for 2 people. gah dayum no wonder people jump to PE. it's not even for the exit opps, it's to make back all the money you wasted on expensive ass dinners with random tinder girls. also, who buys a fuckin car in NYC? i think quite literally nobody should have car and certainly not with yo broke ass MF'ing Year 1 consulting salary. this is by far one of the most out of touch comments i have seen on this forum and that's saying something
Why would you need to spend money on a car/gas/insurance if you're living in NYC? And if you're not living in NYC, then how could you justify spending $100 on a "modest" dinner and $2400-$3200 per month on going out? Going out isn't cheap, but these numbers don't really make sense.
doesn't inflation counter the comp bump? food is easily 20+% more expensive now, uber is like twice what it was (uberpool was such a steal).
Not to hijack the thread; however, what are people's opinion's on investing say 30% of your net bonus and spending the rest in equal amounts per month until your next one hits? Assuming you save 30% of your net base too
Current analysts on COVID leases in NYC prob save a lot, but any incoming analysts will be signing much more expensive leases that it'll probably just about counter the pay raise. Not to mention increased costs of food, ubers, drinks, etc
My base is comparable to AN1 analysts in IB and I save around $4k per month haha
CNBC is pretty good with finance in general. I mean you have Jimmy Boy Cramer with all the hot tips and classy shows like 'Fast Money'. Definitely the smartest people in the room. Anywho... here's their breakdown of a 32yr-old living in NYC off of $60k a year (back in 2019).
Every week this person takes home ~$1.1k (~$4.4k a month) and saves $0.15k a month (or 3.4% of the monthly take home) so--given this undeniable and irrefutable evidence that's representative of the entire NYC working population--you should be saving at least ~3-4%.
Source: 1) Jim Cramer's ass, 2) The back-room bartender at Dorrian's, 3) Murray Hill converted 2br -> 5br Compass Broker
This is why i don't live in NYC. Could easily bank $1-2k after taking account to the maximum 401k match and best healthcare plan for family, while still living as a upper middle class where I'm at. Been banking all my bonus for the past 3 years.
Besides 401k slightly over max matching, honestly not a lot. But if saving is a priority it is certainly possible in NYC-- I fully acknowledge that I'm using my base comp to live a pretty bougie lifestyle as a young guy in one of the best cities in then world, which is totally worth it to me especially considering the upward trajectory for comp in this industry. If I meal prepped, went out less and lived further from my office I could see myself saving considerably more but honestly life is just worth enjoying and the little conveniences are super worth it especially when you are grinding it out for 80%+ of your waking hours as a junior banker. If you only save your entire bonus each year and spend everything else I'm willing to bet you would be in the 95-99th percentile for annual post-tax savings among the 22-24 age group.
Really lucky - got parental help and bought a condo in my city. now all my money goes to my mortgage and taxes:( save MAYBE 10% goes to saving but tbh I spend most of my paycheque
In a medium cost of living city, rent is about $350 a month with roommates. Trying to save 60% of after-tax base. An1 $100K base
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