Not sure if I have a massive issue - but while getting sweated on the weekdays I usually spend $400-$600 on food and drinks from Thurs-Sat a week. And then pretty expensive rent. After that, not really making much / saving much. Analyst 2 here.
Any others in similiar boat? This is NYC by the way.
| +44 | Who is your favorite philosopher? | 28 | 3d |
| +39 | Uchicago is paradise | 8 | 14m |
| +27 | Without a tribe | 8 | 3d |
| +23 | How the Hell Do People Actually Get Into Private Golf Clubs? | 24 | 41m |
| +22 | Why is AI wrong? | 7 | 20h |
| +13 | Definitive Updated Wharton Club Rank 2026 | 4 | 4d |
| +12 | POLL: Optimistic or Pessimistic? | 8 | 1d |
| +6 | Giving AI Impossible Tasks | 8 | 1d |
| +4 | Why do Asians fake their names? | 28 | 2h |
| +3 | Unhinged euphemisms | 3 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Maybe you forgot to mention the bags that go with the drinks.
Game recognize game
If it’s for a date every weekend prob still worth it
yeah this 70% of the time usually includes a hinge girl i treat everything to. got a couple in ro-tashe. im still a loser tho
depends on outcome. if girls bang him then yeah it's worth it. if he just pays for their food and entertainment and they leave, then not worth it obviously.
bro is locked into golden handcuffs as an A2
This comment could be many MD's with multiple kids in private school/college, divorced, running multiple properties and with an expensive hooker habit :-)
Spending 2000 a month on food and drinks and wondering where your money is going?
same boat here. just make sure you save the majority if not all of your bonus and think it's fine. once you get to associate you can save more from your base, but hard with the analyst base to live in manhattan + go on dates + dinners + bars, etc.
On the same boat. Between rent, dates, groceries, etc. I am not making much money. IB pay is not great anymore.
Am honestly thinking about leaving and starting my own thing.
Lmk if you need a team
Pretty common "spend the base, save the bonus".
I’m nearly a millionaire if anyone cares here.
Thanks Pizz, very helpful
Are curious to know how by chance?
Yet are you happy?
Yes. I got laid off from my HF job and now in FP&A making ~$150k working 35-40 hours a week , along with a nearly ~$1M stock Portfolio that’s also yielding me income. I can do whatever I want now.
Spending $400-600 every weekend going out as an analyst is crazy. I am a VP and will maybe spend $400 across fri/sat, which includes paying for my gf. And even afterwards I feel stupid for spending that much money
well dates don't get cheaper just because you're an Analyst. going out with a girl for dinner and drinks in NYC will be $100-200. you are doing it twice a week, he's doing it 2-3 times a week. are you suggesting him to not go out and just jerk off until he's a VP?
Don't take a girl out for dinner as a first date unless you're actually into them or are willing to try really hard to get in their pants...plus in most cases you'll regret dropping that much $$ afterwards since you were thinking with the wrong head. You must realize there are many women in NYC who are finnessing guys for free meals like it's a sport
If I were you, figure out a way to save something. I'd say in a 401k up to the company match, but even if its $100 a month now, that will grow over time. You're in banking you get that.
Lot of ways or tricks to save you can read about online, if I had to give one tip, set up a direct deposit to save (get company match as I said), and then forget about it. Don't look at it, just let it build. If you pay yourself off top in savings first, that's money you won't spend later.
My hot take is that IB is a middle class job In Manhattan. I thought coming out of school I would ball on my $85k base as an analyst. How wrong I was lol. As you progress it gets better, but you definitely don’t feel free. I can’t say I stress out a ton about money, but I am definitely not financially independent either. Really makes you think if the hours are worth it for somewhat of an upper mediocre life in the tri state area
I'd say more and more, Manhattan is becoming/is the city of the already rich*. So while it sounds great to be making 6 figures or close to 6 figures out of school, it's still expensive. Just basic math, $100K out of college, is ~$60 after taxes, if rent is $2K a month, you're already down to $36K to live. Factor in spending $2K a month for weekends, that puts you down to $12K left.
*Side note: Read the book "The New King of New York", gives a great history on how parts of NYC use to be affordable so teacher/police/firefighters who work in the city could actually live there, but these were all replaced by ultra luxury buildings.
Taxes in nyc at 100k come out to less than 30k
That 10k or so you’re taking away makes a big difference to someone making 100k
Taxes in nyc at 100k come out to less than 30k
That 10k or so you’re taking away makes a big difference to someone making 100k
My advice would to start splitting your paychecks into multiple accounts. This is easy to do in ADP or whatever your equivalent is. Open a HY account (Marcus is 4.10% rn) and set a % or dollar amount that automatically deposits each pay period, then forget about it.
You can still run your checking account flat if you want but at least your putting some money away.
400-600 on food and drinks for 3 days a week? Stop being a glutton and an alcoholic
well, a tiny drink 80% filled with ice costs $20-25 with tax and tip in Manhattan. you need like 3-4 of those to feel any buzz. and you're probably going out with a girl. so double that (cause girls only like equality when it's benefits equality, not responsibility equality). and you come out to $120-200 for just drinks for one date. if you also wanna eat something and want to go out more than once a week, then $400-600 on food and drinks for a week is nothing crazy.
Still seems a bit too much to me but fair enough.. I stopped drinking a while ago so didn’t know drinks cost that much now
Don't drink at the bar thats's a tourist move... i learned that a long time ago. Knew a guy who would sneak in his own booze and just order a Coke at the bar
The S&P is up 20+% this year. If your net worth isn't going gangbusters it's your own fault.
Brother, save and invest more than you spend. This is a finance forum, right?
Just to take a different tack, I wouldn't worry about blowing all your base at this age at all. You're in IB and I'm assuming you're in your early 20s, as long as you really dont f*** things up you're going to find it hard to not end up solidly upper middle class. And just speaking as someone who's a bit but not that much older than you, I can tell you that I have never looked back and regretted burning money on nights out/holidays etc, but I regularly kick myself for times I was too cheap to splurge on something/someone.
Yeah I’m in the same boat. My base is quite solid but I really don’t see my checking / savings grow they just stay flat as I pay bills and rent. I do my Roth backdoor every year so I’m saving at least that amount, plus I save half my bonus. But still interesting to not really be making much progress on building wealth even while bringing in a lot of money each year for a solo household. It’s an expensive city and I have really expensive taste & too lazy to cook, so it’s definitely self inflicted… I’m banking on carry making up the difference later on.
Gents, it's time for some math...
Make sure your first date is a coffee date, then only good dates should be offered a dinner date.
10x dinner dates @ ~$250 each
VS
10x coffee dates @ ~$20 each and only ~3 to 4 of those get the $250 dinner
Now your cost per attempted waifu is much cheaper.
work smarter, not harder
You’re supposed to spend all of your base. Save the bonus. And in a few years you will stop checking how much money you’re spending bc you’ll have a ton saved
Molestiae optio reiciendis perferendis sed ipsa repellat. Ea animi sunt et aut molestias omnis ea doloribus. Magni ab consequatur asperiores nobis. Quo doloribus debitis culpa qui commodi explicabo ut.
Magni porro eos corrupti commodi. Harum enim autem porro sunt aut dolor. Eius qui natus aut. Exercitationem reiciendis repellat laboriosam quod alias.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Reprehenderit est ipsam aperiam ipsa doloribus. Quidem ipsam doloribus dolores atque.
Unde eos cumque ipsam voluptatum iusto saepe ipsa. Ut ipsam consequatur rem. Est iusto ut tenetur consequatur nam explicabo. Dolor debitis in itaque omnis suscipit impedit. Provident iure unde cupiditate est. Et asperiores molestias vero eaque magnam.
Quia laborum asperiores dicta aut velit tenetur vero. Vel consequatur sit consectetur porro odit.
Sunt sed harum vel ratione sunt numquam in. Nulla libero facilis tempora architecto est exercitationem sint. Perferendis quos facere vero cumque dolorem nobis quasi. Aut est illo ut quia. Maiores provident laudantium ratione et.
Dicta quis maxime dicta mollitia. Assumenda vero asperiores at et dolores quod. Veniam perspiciatis quidem non possimus ullam ipsam veritatis in. Numquam sapiente praesentium itaque voluptas ut iusto eaque perferendis. Enim ea nobis officiis. Fuga consequuntur officiis aut sit alias.
Commodi voluptatem aut sunt facere. Assumenda quo sed alias modi sed et sequi. Non animi cumque omnis vero est aut expedita. Harum eos a accusamus aspernatur aperiam molestias. Natus officiis voluptas temporibus dolorem exercitationem laborum non. Sint provident et ratione adipisci ullam ipsam. Sit recusandae aut possimus et dignissimos.