<p>^^ w…wait… he is not saving $10,000 per year! of that $1225 leftover from his calculation, he has to pay for food, transportation, clothing, hair cut and any other expenses he did not mention… I think he is looking for help because he cannot make his ends meet with that $12xx left after all the fixed cost taken care of.</p>
<p>Do you really NEED to have internet service for your PHONE?? – cutting that could save you 25-30 bucks per month…</p>
<p>we get soooooo hooked on all the new technology, and it really adds to the monthly bills.</p>
<p>I was just commenting on his post:
“at my rate i’m lucky to have $10k in my account by next year, whereas i always hear about people saving that amount up in a single summer after expenses.”</p>
<p>I agree that it would be hard to save that much in a year on his discretionary income.</p>
<p>No way would I ever move out to Jersey or Brooklyn. What a downgrade in lifestyle. Whatever you would save, it just isn’t worth it.</p>
<p>This is pretty specific but if you would like to take a super cheap vacation you could list on Home Exchange. NYC apartments are good to swap. You might even be able to get something fairly close by, say a place in the Berkshires, Hamptons, or LBI in Jersey. Just another idea for cheap fun. If you eat in, the vacation could be almost free.</p>
<p>Whole Foods has a 365 brand which isn’t too expensive, and a great bulk section. I admit I have not compared the bulk prices, but I do trust Whole Foods for that sort of thing. Bulk bins can be gross.</p>
<p>Isn’t there a law coming down the pike where everyone will be forced to buy health insurance? I wonder how that will increase your expenses.</p>
<p>Aw, come on, do you have to hate on the bridge and tunnel crowd? Depends on your goals and saving seems to be the goal of the op so he can own a place at some point. At current salary, that won’t be possible in Manhattan. My personal “downgrade in lifestyle” was from living in a fabulous brownstone in the village with no heat and a nightly visit from the rats (I lived next to an italian restaurant) to Brooklyn with Prospect Park entrance across the street to a victorian house in the burbs in NJ. I don’t miss the rat and I like heat. When I lived in Manhattan, I didn’t have the money to enjoy anything but ambiance. Yes, it was nice ambiance but it is not much fun without the money.</p>
<p>^I second that and add the cockroaches. Steel wool and boric acid were my staples living in Manhattan…two things I could not live without.</p>
<p>bookmama22: If it were up to me I would eliminate cable TV entirely, but it comes bundled with Internet that I do use often – that, and my other roommates do use the TV. At this point I already avoid Starbucks (that stuff adds up fast, and there’s already a coffee/cocoa machine at work where I can get drinks for free anyway). I guess the hard part is just finding the free deals and cheap eats.</p>
<p>colorado_mom: Are overall prices fairly cheap compared to local NYC markets even with the free shipping?</p>
<p>nj2011mom: I’ll look into Trader Joe’s as well.</p>
<p>cbreeze: The $1255 is what I have leftover each month when you remove all fixed costs. All my food/entertainment/etc comes from that $1255, so if I spend an average of, say, $15/day on food, that’s 1255-15*30=only $805 gained overall in my account each month, excluding any other costs. It’s still not a whole lot, especially since I want to save up and start buying a house at some point. Student loans are killer, and whenever I buy clothes/shoes/etc it takes massive chunks out of what I have left.</p>
<p>mousegray: This is the depressing point to me – I already cut out drinks, Starbucks, etc. I feel like I could enjoy such things more often if I saved better with food purchases. I guess the problem is that I have no idea what to cook/make. </p>
<p>Is it cheap to get, say, oatmeal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta/grilled chicken/shrimp for dinner?</p>
<p>artloversplus: Yes, that’s exactly it </p>
<p>MomCat2: I use my phone constantly – it keeps me connected to people via GChat, helps me get around this new city via GPS/Maps when I get lost, and allows me to check my bank statements/account information on the fly. It’s a worthwhile service to me that I’m willing to spend on. I’d just like to cut costs wherever else possible.</p>
<p>spideygirl: I am worried about the mandatory insurance thing a bit. My current firm offers insurance but I’ve opted out of everything. The monthly payments were ridiculous and I’d still have to pay certain things out of pocket. I’m a fairly healthy person (although there are a few things I’d like to get checked out/fixed/cleaned/whatever) – but at that cost, it’s not something I can afford yet. To be fair, I don’t know how much mandatory insurance will cost overall.</p>
<p>The other problem is that I have a girlfriend – luckily, she’s very mature and understanding of the fact that I have a bit of a crunch. It really upsets me that I can’t do things that I am sure other guys my age can do, and it does make me very insecure. Maybe I’m just being skewed by what I see of my peers. Ivy Leaguers seem to be so well-off and well-supported to begin with, and I just feel very out of place.</p>
<p>This might make you feel a little better- at least you don’t live in Seattle.
[Of</a> course there are congestion and environmental reasons why parking shouldn’t be free. But outpricing Manhattan?](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2013205037_danny20.html]Of”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2013205037_danny20.html)</p>
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<p>At a local “healthy-foods” store (it reminds me of Whole Foods except without the hilariously high expenses) I’m able to pick up steel cut oats for 80 cents a pound. I make enough for my girlfriend and myself for two days at a time since it takes about 20 minutes of simmering in the morning (just throw it on the stove, take care of bathroom stuff, give it a stir, get dressed and make my lunch, then it’s ready). I put in a small handful of nuts and about 2 minutes before it’s done some frozen fruit. It makes for a delicious warm breakfast every morning. Have it with a cup of OJ and you’re good to go for a few hours. During the time it was simmering I’m able to make two brown bag lunches, so it also saves money there.</p>
<p>If you spend two nights a week cooking for an hour to an hour and a half you can easily make enough food to last you 5-6 nights. That leaves an occasional lunch or dinner to eat out and will probably cut your food bill somewhat in half. Restaurant markups are at least 300%, I personally feel they’re usually more. If my girlfriend and I go out for, say, Thai food, it’ll cost about $25 after tax and tip. That’s almost how much we pay in groceries for the rest of the week!</p>
<p>Edit: This is actually a pretty neat article: <a href=“http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/restaurant-markups1.htm[/url]”>http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/restaurant-markups1.htm</a></p>
<p>My D is a cost conscious grad student and although she isn’t in NYC, she’s in another high cost urban city. Trader Joe’s is her savior. Even though there’s a Whole Food’s much closer, she never goes there because it’s so much more expensive.</p>
<p>She’s learned to cook alot more and always takes her lunch. She’s not a cheapskate though and loves to occasionally buy herself some clothes and go out to dinner. She’ll often eat something at home when going with friends later, then just order an appetizer, for example. ANother thing she does is always look for the huge happy hours nearby–it’s amazing how much cheap food she can find for an evening out. One other thing that other posters have mentioned: find all the freebies in the city! That’s one great thing about NYC–there are so many things you can do–if nothing else it will expand your horizons just to try new museums or events that normally you might not have. </p>
<p>My D will be in your situation soon when she finishes her grad program with very large student loans. I don’t know if you’re eligible, but have you looked into the new student loan program that helps lower your monthly payments based on income? Income Based Repayment Program:
[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp)</p>
<p>One tip about clothes–you can find very nice clothes in thrift shops. A particurly nice one is Beacon’s Closet (I think that’s the name) in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Do I understand correctly that you already have roommates, and what you stated above is your share of the rent?</p>
<p>curiouser: It says I do not qualify. I know it’s probably a bad idea to be public with this stuff, but I have about $48k in total loan debt. Not huge or anything, but I don’t receive any extra help from anyone and at $440-$500/month, it’ll get paid off in 10 years or so. But that is the time I envision myself being newly married/maybe considering kids, and so I have to deal with the debt until then and somehow establish a life around it. Rent and loans are the major sinkers.</p>
<p>Hunt: Yes</p>
<p>If you get anything from a thrift shop, make sure it can be put in a hot dryer for a while to kill any bed bugs (or their eggs). That would be an expensive problem to inherit.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider when trying to save money is the pay yourself first philosophy. Every pay period take a set ammount and put it where it won’t be easy to touch. If you get in the habit of saving money like the way you must pay rent or your loan it will be easier to live within your means and still save money.</p>
<p>I think you should move to Brooklyn or Astoria - you will have more control of your base finances that way and there are plenty of people there with income similar to yours to make new friends.</p>
<p>You can save a ton on food by learning to cook vegetarian entrees and by buying only cheap, nutrient-rich food. I got myself through graduate school on lentils, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, black beans, tofu, carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes in season. Dry beans are a much better buy than canned. Eggs and canned tomatoes are also a good buy. You can easily make your own yogurt by the gallon by putting one small carton of unflavored yogurt into a clean bowl with powdered milk reconstituted with very warm water; just cover with foil and leave overnight in an oven that you’ve previously heated to “low,” then turned off. There are all kinds of delicious and healthy meals you can make with these ingredients. Spices are expensive but worth buying because they make your food much more interesting. I was unable to give up coffee but I moderated my intake; caffeine works better if you have not built up much of a tolerance. Alcohol, sugar, etc. are luxuries. Avoid any activities that will tempt you to shop for stuff you don’t have a dire need for. Don’t eat out.</p>
<p>My husband and I now each make good salaries and have relaxed our austerity considerably, but when we need to save money for any reason, we just revert to our grad-school habits and the savings immediately start piling up.</p>
<p>If anything, before I pay myself and make it into the savings. I would pay down the loan first. Every month, I would add some money to the principal payment of the loan, however small it is. You will find the loan is being paid off half the time and once you are out of the loan, sky is the limit for you to excel. Lets face it, if the interest on the loan is 5%, you cannot get that anywhere for your savings. So, to expedite retirement of the loan should be the first priority.</p>
<p>The moral of the story is that a 48K student loan does bring down an ivy graduated student to his knees, just imagine some schools trouted a 200K loan to the incoming freshman?</p>
<p>“So, to expedite retirement of the loan should be the first priority.”</p>
<p>Yes, this is my main goal. If I could get rid of the loans, I’d be in much better shape right now. Unfortunately, I am not sure how much extra I should put towards my loans. As I am just getting started here in the city, I don’t want to risk paying too much for loans and then running out of money to handle something else I may need money for.</p>
<p>I can’t even fathom how much monthly payments would be for someone who took out 200k in loans.</p>
<p>I would agree with several comments:</p>
<ul>
<li>you are paying way too much for rent. $1360 with roomates? Where are you - UES in the 70s? You can get something much cheaper if you look and you may not need to leave Manhattan. (Where I live in NJ you can get a decent 2br apartment for ~$1300-1500/mo including utilities that is a 30 min train ride to NYC, monthly train pass = $200/mo).<br></li>
<li>adding just $50/month to your student loan payment will cut your final maturity by 14 months, $100 extra = 25 months. That may not seem like much, but every little bit counts, especially when you are looking for a mortgage some day. </li>
<li>I would NOT go without health insurance. While you are healthy now, what happens if you get in an accident? The $50-100 you are saving here and there will evaporate. Lack of medical insurance is one of the biggest causes of financial ruin.<br></li>
<li>Learn how to cook. I believe there are some local Ys in NYC that offer cooking classes or just pick up a basic cookbook and start experimenting. (Better Crocker and Better Homes & Garden are my 2 favorites - I’m sure the NY Public library has both).</li>
</ul>
<p>Good luck. I remember what it was like coming out of school with no money. Luckily I can sew, so I made some of my clothes. My husband & I also agreed to no Christmas presents for each other the first year - that was tough, but we had our eye on the goal of financial independence.</p>
<p>"I would NOT go without health insurance. While you are healthy now, what happens if you get in an accident? The $50-100 you are saving here and there will evaporate. Lack of medical insurance is one of the biggest causes of financial ruin. "</p>
<p>Again, I just can’t afford it. Forking out hundreds (or more) for something I may not even use is crippling on an already-tight budget.</p>
<p>"adding just $50/month to your student loan payment will cut your final maturity by 14 months, $100 extra = 25 months. That may not seem like much, but every little bit counts, especially when you are looking for a mortgage some day. "</p>
<p>The problem I have is deciding how much, if any, I should contribute towards these loans in addition. I worry that if I spend too much on cutting down loans when I really need the money for something in the present, I’ll ultimately harm myself financially.</p>
<p>“Learn how to cook. I believe there are some local Ys in NYC that offer cooking classes or just pick up a basic cookbook and start experimenting. (Better Crocker and Better Homes & Garden are my 2 favorites - I’m sure the NY Public library has both).”</p>
<p>Definitely – thanks for the advice</p>
<p>Regarding rent, the apartment is nice but the lease ends in a year or so. But even then, moving is extremely expensive. I am not sure where else I’d move to that gave me quick access to work and yet in an affordable, decent living area.</p>