How Cheap Can You Go in NYC?

bump

bump. Love to see a monthly budget breakdown

So, you're looking to live in NYC on ~$4k/mo???

May I begin by suggesting that you get on craigslist and start looking for apartments with roommates way out in queens or way up in the bronx. You might be able to score a room for under $1000/mo. Your commute will be two hours each way though. Oh, that requires ~$150 for a monthly metrocard as well. Then there's internet, cable, your phone, etc. (let's just call that $200)

That leaves you $2650/mo for everything else. That's borderline doable as long as you live modestly. Realize that living alone with a nice commute could knock $2k+ off that monthly general expenditures number, and you understand how things get expensive fast.  The average Manhattanite spends something like 52% of their income on rent. (it's a dated figure, but I can't be bothered to look if there's a new one) 

find a roomate to split an apt..you should be able to find a room that costs ~$1200/month

$30/day for food is doable (some days will be less, others more) = $900/month

drinks at a bar?  That will blow your budget after a few nights out...so pre-game at home if you ever plan to go out...and then drink water at the bar.

$120/month for utilities (internet, cellphone, electricity)

This is living paycheck to paycheck...you won't set aside much....but after 1 year you'll be making more money and then things get much easier.  you will have learned how t live frugally, and can save the extra $$ you'll earn in years 2-3.

Are you working insane hours? If not, living a good bit away from the city is your best bet. And by a good bit I don’t mean something like Williamsburg or Hoboken, but something like south Brooklyn / riverdale / westchester / deep queens / Nassau etc. 

The other option, which most people seem to be mentioning, is to split an already cheap room with someone else. This is certainly doable but you could end up living in a pretty dumpy place if you’re not careful. 

You can live on 3k post-tax extremely comfortably in New York if you keep your spending from getting out of control. Just get a few roommates and you can get rent a room in the $1,500 – $2,000 range (for a decent place, you can obviously go cheaper). In the current environment you can get a really nice place for that, or go cheaper if you want. That leaves $1,500 – $1,000 per month for general expenses (conservatively, you can go much lower if you want).

Non-discretionary expenses will be pretty limited. You'll eat seamless for dinner at work, and can bring your own lunch so groceries should be minimal (~$80/week for high quality breakfast/lunch; don't skimp on food quality). Utilities and Wifi should be ~$50/month or $12.50/week. Subway to the office is ~$20/week and you'll take a firm Uber home. That comes out to  ~$110/week.

Leaves you with ~$140 for discretionary expenses per week. That's plenty to enjoy a night out every weekend, which is ambitious for a junior analyst. That's not to mention your bonus, which for many is enough savings to free up your whole pay check to live off (unlocking an extra ~$1k/month). Or you can go cheaper on rent if you think you'll be spending more on discretionary stuff.

Bottom line is that budget should not be an issue to living a good life. Not sure what these other posters are thinking is so expensive about living in New York as long as you get a roommate or 2. Definitely don't need to live in fucking Nassau and take a 2 hour train with all your depressed VPs every morning to make it work.

I think it’s totally possible to find a place in NYC for less than $1500 a month right now, especially with roommates. I moved into a small UWS 3br with my partner in September with gross rent of $3300 and net of $2950, and since it’s a renters market we negotiated for a two year lease with no rent increase. Clearly we didn’t need a 3br, but since were both at home all the time it’s nice that we both have an office. Renting here does assume you have good to great credit, or a guarantor, and also that you can plonk down (up to) 3 months’ rent when you move in (first, deposit, (possible broker)).

If you manage that, the way I’d think about it is that you have $1500 a month left over in disposable income, or about $50 a day. Is this manageable for you? I think the answer to that question will be different for everyone.

Some basic expenses:
Transportation: $127 a month for a 30-day subway pass, or $4.23 a day
Utilities: let’s say $90 a month (what I pay), $3 a day
Internet: $75 a month (for that WFH high speed), $2.50 a day

Other expenses that will be more variable: renters insurance, health care & health insurance, groceries, bodega sandwiches, digital subscriptions, a therapist to deal with your crushing New York City-induced ennui, etc.

Having roommates or living with an SO again would cut down some of these costs (you can split renter’s insurance/utils/groceries, use your girlfriend’s cousin’s HBO Max account, save on a therapist by talking to your roommate’s cat...)

I always try to add all these things up and see where I’m comfortable. I know from growing up with nothing and still being in my twenties that I’m comfortable living on a bottom line budget of $20 a day after my expenses are taken care of. But that’s going to be different for everyone. So is it possible—totally! But it also depends on what is livable and tenable to you.

Don’t forget also that moving and furnishing an apartment is a) stupidly stressful and b) stupidly expensive. Good luck, and also kudos for taking care of your parents.

Edited to add: I'm assuming you're not paying down any major debts. Add debt payments into expenses if so, or assume your annual bonus will be going towards paying it down. 

Still a student and haven't put a lot of thought into this but it doesn't seem that hard.

For starters, I don't drink. I also don't have very expensive tastes/hobbies (taco bell, the gym and watching sports). Seems like I could easily get away with $40k a year.

Rent - $2k/Mo

Food (most meals will be seamless and eggs for breakfast) - $300/Mo

Clothes (upgrades for professional wardrobe, I wear $5 Walmart sweats) - $200/Mo

Misc - $500/Mo

That's only $3k a month. What else am I missing senior monkeys?

With roommate(s) you could probably swing it assuming rent of $1,500 or possibly slightly less, which is doable. Of course, I think many analysts are currently in a situation of regretting going cheap and having lots of roommates as they didn't anticipate spending much time in their apartment when they signed the lease. Whether you can keep things below $3k will largely be contingent on how much you can expense your employer (rides home at night, dinners at the desk, free or heavily discounted gym membership, etc.).

Don't listen to these people telling you you have to pay 2k plus in rent. Just dont live in a luxury building and you can easily find 2 bedrooms in Manhattan around the $2800-3000 range and thats pre covid. Areas I would suggest looking are LES, East village, kips bay, and Murray hill. As long as you are within 5 min of a subway station you are good. Its a renters market right now you could easily find steals and try to negotiate a 2 or even 3 year lease at these prices. How much clothes do you realistically need. You're going to be in the office for 70 hours a week. Just Cop a couple of suits and maybe some additional suit pants in your rotation since you won't be wearing a jacket most of the time. 

I paid $850 for a room in brooklyn with 2 chill roommates. It was about a 10 minute walk to the M station. 

I could have easily paid more but I am super cheap. 

Central Park north/Harlem below 125th is a hidden gem. It’s 5-10 mins to midtown if you live on the ABCD line. The food, shopping and night life are decent too. Rent is on par with most of New York, especially in new development, but discounts are not hard to come by. (I am talking about west Harlem).