Worthwhile Purchases as an AN1
Hey fellow Monkeys,
AN1 in NYC on track to save a total of ~$70k in my first full year of working (assuming a mid-bucket bonus in line with 2022), in addition to $30k in savings / investments from college. It's a good problem to have, but given how much our incomes rise once we hit ASO, feels like there's not much point in saving as an analyst once you've got a safety cushion and the Roth IRA / 401k is maxed out, if you can find something worthwhile to spend it on now.
I'm not a fan of going out to nightclubs, have tried but don't particularly enjoy Michelin starred restaurants, don't really care about designer clothing or watches, etc. I could always spend more on rent but I like my apartment right now and my roommates and I got a good deal. I like to travel but there's no time to do that in this job...
So, any ideas on how to incrementally spend more money to meaningfully improve their life as an AN1? Could be goods, services, experiences, etc, even donating to / getting involved in charities
Or do I just keep saving at a super high rate? I feel pretty committed to a high finance career and have no desire to quit my job to become a ski instructor or work in corp dev, but I've been thinking about b-school which is obviously a massive expense.
Charities are a personal decision so won’t really go there other than say you should make sure to research them well and make sure the funds are being used well.
If you are happy, you don’t need to spend much more, this can always be saving for future travel.
If not, what do you feel is missing? Spending more on “quality of life” or similar depends on the person and what is missing in their life
the generic things I normally recommend:
1) high quality mattress
2) gym membership (or something active)
3) if you enjoy things like facials or massages to help unwind, I would pay up for this (spend a few hours hanging out at a spa)
4) make all the annoying things convenient: pay for meal prep if you don’t enjoy it, get your dry cleaning picked up, someone to clean your apt, etc. Basically any thing that stresses you out, just outsource it (I enjoy coming home to a clean apt, that helps me relax)
5) If you enjoy museums or events like that just pay for the annual membership, you can go whenever and they host events
6) last minute travel, I know you said you can’t, but honestly if you can get away for even 2 full days, if you fly business class down to Argentina or similar you get an overnight flight down there, enjoy two days and overnight flight back. If you pay up it isn’t exhausting
7) if you have any reasonable WFH policy (doubt it) you could do a house share over the summer and spend some time outside the city
Funny you say that - just dropped $2k on a new mattress for Black Friday.
Some great ideas here - will try them out and see what I like. Appreciate the detailed response, thank you!
Never cheap out on anything that separates you from the ground: mattress, pillows, shoes, socks, office chair, etc
It will pay off in dividends.
This except definitely maximise free time and maximise your enjoyment of it. Pay for all sort of time intensive chores (cleaner, dry cleaner, meal prep). Then use the free time during the week to sleep and exercise (you need energy to maximise your enjoyment of free time) and then go be a degenerate from sign off to sign on on weekends holidays etc.
Eton shirts. About $200-$300 per shirt, but man they are exquisite.
Why are Eton shirts that pricy?
One key consideration is, a lot of the most important things for an IB analyst (and any human really) are things money can’t always directly buy.
Exercise, meditation, good skin, good hair, sunlight exposure, time in nature, sleep, drinking plenty of water, friends, family, socializing, hobbies, reading, traveling, stress reduction, fresh air, mental stimulation, cardiovascular health, physical strength, muscle mass, etc.
Since we are cash-rich and time-poor some of the best ways we can spend money are 1) directly spending money to enable the above where possible (e.g. gym membership, good skincare products, books, clothes, etc) and 2) using your money to pay people to do less productive things for you, which saves you time that you can then re-allocate to the above items.
For example, you may quite enjoy cleaning your apartment and doing groceries and cooking and cleaning and doing laundry and dishes etc. But if you can save 10 hours a week to pay someone to do those things, and you can reallocate those 10 hours to investing in yourself and your health, wellness, appearance, that could change the course of your life and career.
How are you saving $70k as an AN1....??
If you live at home its definitely possible my brother did the same for 3 years then just bought a house with 30% down pmt since he had so much saved. Edit: He also worked at a pretty mid MM not even like a Centerview or GS
I just saved $30k in one year working a shitty corp fin job in NJ ($83k total comp), without any help from mommy or daddy. I know that NJ ≠ NYC, but where I am is close enough. $70k is totally doable.
well done thats awesome
Paid above street and don’t have time to spend money LOL
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