Nov 17, 2022
What I Spend in a Month in NYC — 2022
Not spending money in New York City is one of the hardest things to do.
Everywhere you go in New York City is an opportunity to spend money. It is obviously also very expensive to live in the city and the cost of groceries and basic living things are always just a little bit more inflated than the rest of the world. To be frank, I haven’t done an excellent job “budgeting” over the past few years of living here. However, I do have a pretty good general sense of my finances and how to save money. I don’t stick to a very strict budget because that is something I am not good at. In this article, I’ll talk about what has worked for me. Disclaimer: I am not an expert and this budget is based on my income and what works for my lifestyle! Everyone is different.
~$300 groceries
I eat most of my meals at home and let me tell you, this $300 budget has become harder and harder to stick to over these past few years. For the first time in my life, I really feel the effects of inflation. I used to be able to do my weekly grocery shops for $50 but now they are anywhere from $70-$90. I like to write out the meals I’m going to eat every week and the list of ingredients I will need for those meals. If I’m being honest, I’m pretty good at using up all the food I buy and don’t really buy unnecessary stuff. I find that writing out the days of the week and what you might eat each day is incredibly useful and leads to less food waste. I try to buy higher quality ingredients and focus on buying whole foods rather than frozen things which tend to end up being less bang for your buck.
I also realize that I have the luxury of working from home. This makes it easy to grocery shop during the day and I have more time to think about my meals. I feel like people who work in an office are more likely to eat lunch out which tends to get expensive really quick. When I did work in an office every day, I would make something in a large batch that I could bring to work for at least 3 days and then eat out one day a week. My company also bought us lunch once a week and that was always a nice perk. I do think meal prep is useful and if you don’t get sick of eating the same thing a couple times a week, it is your best bet for sticking to a good budget.
~$300 eating out
Eating out is a large part of social life in New York City. After almost 2 years of living here, I’ve realized that I only really want to eat out if I’m doing it with other people. I really try to minimize takeout, but sometimes I am craving something and I need to act on it. Eating out in New York ends up being a $40–50 affair when you sit down and eat. Don’t even get me started on drinking, it is so expensive and ends up being equivalent to a couple of takeout meals which is unfortunate. However, it is very fun to go out and get a drink with your friends. I try to do my best to stick to this budget but I almost always go a bit over. I don’t like to restrict myself and will go out if I want. Most budgeting guides say not to get a drink with dinner, and that is probably very sound logical advice, but if you want the drink just get it. I like to offset this cost by not buying coffee out and eating pretty much all of my meals at home.
~$300 other: aka fun purchases, entertainment, clothing, decor
These purchases are inevitable. I’ve been working out a lot more recently and have been in need of better leggings. I try to buy as much second hand and almost never buy things full price, but the cost of clothes always adds up. Sometimes, I splurge on fun decor items for my bedroom. Most of the activities I do in New York are free, but museum visits, shows, and movies all cost money. In my opinion, anything that is an experience is usually well worth it. I feel much better about spending my money on an experience than a physical thing.
~$50 transportation
I don’t usually hit this mark but the MTA and NJ Transit tend to add up pretty quickly. Luckily, I don’t commute to work regularly, so I can usually avoid this fee and end up saving a lot by walking everywhere.
fixed costs
I haven’t included my “fixed costs” aka things that don’t really shift month to month. This would include rent, utilities and internet (~$1800/month). This also includes things like my gym membership ($200/month) and therapy ($100/month). All in all, I think I’ve gotten better at budgeting my money and picking and choosing what I want to splurge on.
There are several months during the year where I spend a little bit more on things like gifts for friends or trips. These go into a different category but are also important to keep track of.
If you are someone who is a beginner at budgeting, I highly recommend writing out every single thing you purchase for one month. It is an easy way to see what you are actually buying. Categorizing these purchases is a nice way to see where you might be overspending (according to you) and places where you might not be spending as much as you think!
This is an overview of what a month of spending looks like for me in New York City. This is obviously something that works for me and is based on my income and lifestyle. It’ll be different for everyone and it’s important to find something that fits you!
