No, that's a much more terrible ilya.

I find your numbers have weird ratios but nothing is high -- just some stuff is really high compared to what you pay for other stuff which is why they are ****ed numbers.

I also noticed no entertainment budget or clothing budget. You need to start making more money if you want to live in NYC. $65k for two people is not enough.

What? Have ever even been to NYC? You missed the common stereotype mark by quite a lot there.

I haven't read every post in this thread but the $1600/month in rent is not uncommon and is definitely not a number that should surprise people if he lives anywhere reasonably decent and doesn't have roommates.

NYC is pretty expensive, sure, but other than housing I doubt its really that much out of line with most other cities in America. The reality is that $65K, while a good salary and obv well above the national "average", is still no where near an amount that allows you to spend money frivolously, even on small things. 65K, or even 100K, just doesn't go as far as a lot of people would like to believe.

stop buying vitamins they're useless if you eat somewhat decently.

What?

I spend about $300/month on groceries. Buy more poultry from the deli, fresh food such as fruits and vegetables, and less packaged processed **** except for healthy nuts and stuff. Cut out all juices and sodas and buy a brita filter. Drink water only and don't waste money on bottled water. Prepare your meals in advance once or twice a week and cut down on eating out of the house, or eating food you did not prepare yourself. Carry snacks with you at all times (almonds, nuts, veggies, etc...) and this will lead you to not going out and buying that $10 sandwich & soda which won't even fill you up anyways.

It's really easy to fall into the trap of consumerism in the grocery store, but just buy essential foods that are healthy for you (with an emphasis on raw organic foods) and not only will you save a ****load on groceries but you'll feel better. If everyone drank water only (with the occasional alcoholic purchase mixed in) they would save tons of money, they would feel healthier, and their teeth would thank them.

Rent sounds pretty standard if you live in a decent area in Manhattan but if you're going to live in that area then decide if you need the car or not. If I lived in NYC I'd ditch the car...probably the only city in the world where I'd do that though since I love to drive.

Also LoL at supporting a woman...you're in your 20s right?

FYP

Taking about groceries is really difficult as the cost of food is very much a factor of geography and also diet. I don't buy groceries but if I was to there is no way that i could do it on $800 for two people. I'd estimate $1200-1500/month without booze, vitamins, or personal care items. With a different diet and in a different location $800 could easily be very high. So people will be coming at this from very different perspectives. I'd actually have to see how OP eats before I could say anything.

Plenty of furniture places offer interest free loans for like 2 years.

I am just curious what would make you spent $1500 a month on food rather than $800? Quality of food, amount of food?

WRT to cars, NYC does not mean Manhattan. If you live in Manhattan and pretty much only hang out in the "city" then you will be fine w/o a car, you will also be paying twice as much for a place half as big compared to the other 4 boroughs.

If you live in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, or SI (which I assume OP does) then not having a car would suck. It may not suck as much as it would in other parts of the country, where having a car is absolutely essential, but it would suck nonetheless.

There is no reason why someone living in an outter borough shouldn't have a reliable and affordable car. If I were looking for ways to reduce monthly spending there are a lot of things I'd cut out before I ever thought about giving up my ride.

He eats out for every meal and, lacking a palate, judges meals by their expense and the social status they imply rather than taste or quality.

It's been said, but $65k in NYC for two people means you are poor.

Meat is very expensive here -- fresh chicken breasts when not on sale are $22/kg which I know is LOL but yeah you make a meal that requires three chicken breasts and right there that is $15 for for the meat and I have a very chicken/steak-centric diet. I rarely cook but there are a few meals I started making and a typical meal will run $30-40 for two people not counting stuff like spices for simplicity. Add a bottle of wine or try to go a little fancy with a full appetizer, salad, meal, and desert and you are easily in the $60+ per meal range.

Thinking like a non-rich person != thinking like a poor person.

Henry likes to put meat in his mouth.

That was for an estimate for cooking. Eating out costs a lot more than $1500 a month.

crazy no one has called this guy out for trolling when it seems to me like its 95% to be the case, particularly after reading his other two threads that were linked

WHY ARE YOU LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY!??????? MOVE TO SCOTTSDALE, AZ....buy a nice house and live the good life playing golf everyday!

WTF? Why is chicken so expensive where you live? I think it's closer to 1/5 that price around here.

No, as I've clearly demonstrated with demographic figures, it doesn't (especially since it appears OP doesn't live in Manhattan). 2+2 prolly is visited by a lot of young white kids with above-average education. your point of reference are your friends/neighbors/family and not the demographics of the city. that's an effect similar to the catching-up-with-the-jones' and I find it arbitrary. even taking into account the things tony_p said, OP is *not* in the bottom 30-40% (which would be a quite wide definition of "being poor").

Unfortunately, there are millions of New Yorkers that are worse off (financially) than the OP. If you are a rich kid living on Madison or Park or whatever and not getting out, I recommend you make some trips to other parts of the city.

Ilya thinks like a poor person: assuming that the rich and middle class just spend money without thinking.

It's more fun to laugh at OP for chugging olive oil and using cologne by the gallon rather than calling him a troll.

I'm not with the gang that insists he should go to Save-on foods or buy in bulk to save money. It wouldn't hurt of course and isn't exactly a huge effort but it's not a big deal. I'm not even going to the extent that he can just buy generic aspirin instead of Bayer or something.

One has to TRY to consume the amount of random stuff that OP is going through...even in NYC. He's splashing around in Olive Oil and Cologne and Hair Gel every day and does an extreme amount of laundry with perhaps 3x the soap required for each load.

I have no issue with the amount of rent he's paying. It's high-ish of course but it's NYC and I really don't care....I'm assuming he's not going to move and I think that advice is a bit silly. Nor do I think he has to ditch his freaking car because I have no idea what his commute/travel situation is anyway. But his grocery spending is just weird from the veggies to the $6/mth in shampoo to all that toothpaste and mouthwash. It's just bizarre. Some of it doesn't really matter too much.

If he wants to stock up on more and more light bulbs in his closet preparing for some huge light bulb shortage than $3/mth isn't going to kill him. But some of the other expenses and his obvious preference for more expensive meat and fruit/veggies, etc not to mention all that alcohol is just silly.

Orly?