I spent most of my life living in the southeast of the US, have never set foot in NYC before, but I will have to move there soon for a job that pays ~45K (pretty low, I know).
My question is: What are some ways I can be the most frugal living in NYC? I'm going to live there for 3 years and I want to save as much money as possible.
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This should be obvious, but spend as little on rent as possible. I think the rule of thumb is that monthly rent should be 1/40 of your gross annual income, which = $1,125. At that level, I'm guessing that your options will be living with friends/family, getting a few roommates in a cheap neighborhood, or finding a studio in a neighborhood you probably don't want to live in.
Don't live in Manhattan and opt for Queens, BK, BX...decent places if you look hard enough.
Live in Jersey city
There are a variety of options. As mentioned above, rent is the quickest way to save money.
1: Get roommates. Use Craigslist or Spareroom.com or any variety of sites to find a way to share an apartment with others (plus this can be a good way to meet new friends / contacts)
2: Consider areas outside of Manhattan. Would help to know where your job is located, but Hoboken / Jersey City are connected to FiDi and Midtown by the PATH train. Williamsburg / Bushwick also boast trains in to the city as does Astoria.
Note: The cheaper the area you live in on a rent basis, the less you'll spend on other intangibles like groceries, drinking, late night drunk food. By living in a cheaper area it's almost like a multiplying effect (as long as you can commute effectively to your job)
3: Pregame. Pregame heavily. A bottle of liquor can get you and your friends drunk for $20-$30 before you go out, then you probably don't need more than another drink or two
And, realistically, you don't even need that drink or two after that.
This will be the smallest of items mentioned but buy a double edge safety razor. Pack of 100 razors will cost you around 10 dollars. I usually use 1 a week which means I spend about 10 dollars every two years on razors...
This made me laugh. I'm Asian and I don't really grow facial hair... Great advice though
$45k? That's low for the Southeast. Pretty brutal in NYC
Always go to a bar with a special. If you blindly order a beer a in this town you'll often end up paying $7 and up. Lots of bars have specials and if those are too crowded there's lots of places that will have at least one cheap can of beer on the menu to compliment the more expensive craft beers.
live in brownsville
First of all, welcome to NYC, OP. But man, $45K is tough no matter how you cut it. I lived in SoCal with $45K, driving no-option Civic and $700 rents, and it was still brutal.
As others said, rent is the best way to cut down on your monthly fixed cost. As a fellow Asian, I can attest to the fact that you would feel more comfortable in high-rise building. At $45K, I think Jersey city is out, along with Downtown BK, Williamsburg (of course, I am talking high-rise MF, not walk ups). Within Manhattan, East Village is the only one that I can think of.
For apartment hunting, always remember - if it's too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
really not much else to it.. i survived in SF during my early internship on 12 dollars a day.. you can definitely make 45k work in new york
p.s. even though i make a baller salary now, 80% of the time i spent no more than 7usd a day on food. its not what you make but what you save
Uh, it takes quite a bit of food to get to 1g if protein per lb of weight, especially if you want to also eat enough vegetables and fruits. You'll almost certainly need supplements. Don't understand this point.
No it actually doesn't, but thanks for demonstrating your utter lack of insight
You need to avoid paying the city income tax first - so that means most likely living outside of the 5 boroughs. Skip Whole Foods and go to Trader Joes. Learn to cook. Have fun by doing the free stuff the city offers (it's not all boozy brunches and day drinking). But most importantly, pay yourself first through a retirement savings plan (401k).
Tough, but doable. Believe it or not, there are REAL people in NYC who manage to live on that income.
Some very good points already made, but I will re-emphasize trying to live in NJ to reduce taxes. If you look hard enough, you will find a decent bargain in NJ with an 1 hour commute.
Also, the multiplier effect is very true. If you live in a more expensive area, chances are your restaurants, bars, laundry, haircut, groceries will be more expensive.
East Harlem.
Although this was some years back now (2008) I was making 38k at my first job and living just fine. My rent was $730/month and I had enough left over to live my life. I wasn't saving much but that wasn't a concern of mine at the time
Cook at home as much as possible. Fresh Direct is your friend. This includes bringing in lunch to work. Food and Rent will be your biggest expenses. Get a roommate. Create a budget and stick to it. When I was first starting out at work I bought TV dinners in for lunch. At $5 or so, it was the cheapest, most well rounded thing I could eat every day.
No one saves money their first few years out of school except for an eclectic few with overpaid trade-skills like programming (friend got out of school working for google, well over 100k/yr, single, lives in a multifamily in Mountain View, doesn't travel, etc., etc.). Your first few years out of school you focus should be on getting by, staying sane, and gaining the experience you need. Once you get a few years under your belt and triple your income it becomes infinitely easier to save a dollar and that's when most people start building some kind of wealth whether its saving for intangible MBA costs, maxing our their 401k, down payment for a house...etc. You'll look back and question why you suffered so hard to save $2,500 for retirement when you're 24 and could have used that money to make your life a little easier or otherwise committed it to improving your life and future career prospects. At least when you're young, the answer to 95% of your problems is make more money, if you're 35 and still have no savings/equity...that's another story
Bensonhurst
Eat peanut butter. Split a room close to work to cut rent and transportation costs. dont buy alchohol when out. learn to cook chicken breasts. get a side hustle like bartending or drive uber
Live in shitty neighborhood. Lift weights, and take steroids so no one fucks with you.
That about fills my quota for shitty advice this week.
Eat 7/11 food when you can
$1 slice pizza... Two bros and 99 cent pizza are great options ;)
^Fucking this. I survived an unpaid internship eating 99 cent slices on Lexington Avenue
i'm on lexington as well lol. did you have your unpaid internship this summer ?
Jersey City or Hoboken for the win. Enjoy lower rent and avoid the city tax.
Pack PB&J sandwiches for lunch or pay $15 per day for lunch in midtown
While I'd generally say that you are taking the wrong approach and scrimping away a few years of your life in an awesome city, i'll bite. Don't eat lunch out, always bring it. Eat out once a week. Live with a bunch of other people. Effectively, live like you were in college again. Buy bulk and learn to cook.
Second recommendation, TURN OFF ALL SOCIAL MEDIA. Otherwise, you will wallow in misery watching everyone else 'live the dream' while you are eating overcooked chicken by yourself surrounded by dudes.
This isn't the dream?
Live in Jersey City. Save $15K in rent and taxes per year. Spend $2K/year on fun outdoor activities (hang gliding, motorcycles, skydiving, kitesurfing, etc) which you are now one hour closer to because you do not need to wait an hour for the Holland Tunnel.
Second on the peanut butter and avoiding the NYC taxes. If you're the social type who wants to keep up appearances, 45k isn't going to let you live that life.
Budget and live within your means, and you can do it. I was in the same spot as you two years ago, and I had 60k of student loans.
It will get better. Just stick with it.
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