After bills, rent, etc paid, how much are you able to save?

ChampCruThik said:
Appreciate the feedback, Hank and J's.

My buddy works in Compliance in the Financial District. He's been a big help on finding places, what to expect, the transition.

Hank: I was planning to stay around 2K, 1 BR near Wall Street. Even less, if possible.

J's: What's the price range for a modest 1 BR in Astoria?

I also wonder the commute time on the subway from Astoria to the Financial District.

I'm also considering to commute from Jersey if I do in fact accept the NYC position.
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You can find a place in FiDi for $2k, but it will most likely be a studio apartment. A lot of people get the studio apartments and convert them into 1 bedrooms ALL the time. They usually have HUGE living rooms, so people just put up a wall with a door and make a bedroom that way. In NYC they call Studio apartment "Flex 1 bedroom"

It's really not a bad idea. The only downside to this would be not having any windows in the living room. This could be an issue if you like to have guests over. Lighting would be an issue as well. You'd have to get lamps.

Astoria is getting expensive, but its comparatively cheaper than Manhattan. I think you can find a decent 1br for around $1600-1800. The newer buildings with a doorman will probably be around $1800-2000+
 
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Nice to see I'm not the only one struggling with saving as of recent.. But I've been taking trips, going to football games, etc. Just enjoying life but I come crashing back to reality after its over. I'm lucky to save 200-300 each month.

One thing I do now is take out like 300-400 in cash per month and make that my "play" money (going out, clothes, etc.). Change and singles literally go into a piggy bank and the leftover carries to the next month. Only use the debit card for bills/general living expenses.

Stop eating out and bring lunch to work. Portion your meats/other perishables every week and throw the rest in the freezer. I figured $20 can get you either 2 combo meals or enough bread and meat for over a week's worth of sandwiches.

Oh and stay single :lol:
 
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JJs07 said:
You can get a nice one bedroom in Astoria for as low as $1600. There is so much to do around there if you ever don't feel like doing something in Manhattan.

NT Summit at Bud's Ale House :lol:
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How is it out there? All my buddies from the old neighborhood are saying it's the place to be now in Queens. They also tell me Miller's Ale House is decent as well.
 
Miller's is good for value. $2 house tequila. Pitcher specials. Food is average, decent. The Friday night spot around my way. Also packed for sporting events. Show all UFC and boxing PPV's.
 
Damn is NY rent that bad?! I just turned down 1144 a month rent for a 1 bedroom in a really nice area in Ft. Lauderdale Florida..I thought it was way to high for a 1 bedroom..I want to save a least 1K a month
 
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My wife and I are on track to make 180k this year and you would think we would be living on easy street but just look at some quick break downs

20k to Church - we give a bit more than our 10%
63k to Taxes
18k to Retirement
18k (10% to Savings, 1.5k a month)
18k to Mortgage (Property Tax, PMI, Homeowners Insurance,1525 a month (I pay an extra 155 towards principal )

So with those 5 items almost 137 of the 180 is already gone.

Then just off the top you can take another
1.2k for Parking (100 a month)
1.8k for Cell Phone
1.8k for Cable, Internet, and Home Phone
3k for Utilities
3k for Gas (Driving)
5k for Groceries
so that is another 16k

so 153 of 180 is taken care of, with 27k remaining for everything else.
 
Would it be possible to live on your own making 27000 a year? Just paying rent, tv, internet and cell phone bill?

With groceries each month
 
TroyD said:
Would it be possible to live on your own making 27000 a year? Just paying rent, tv, internet and cell phone bill?

With groceries each month
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If its 27k after taxes with no car note and rent at a max 900 a month yes
 
TroyD said:
Would it be possible to live on your own making 27000 a year? Just paying rent, tv, internet and cell phone bill?

With groceries each month
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depends where you live..will be very difficult and require a lot of discipline. Virtually impossible if you are trying to live on the west coast or east coast. maybe find a roommate and split costs.
 
spaceshipj said:
depends where you live..will be very difficult and require a lot of discipline. Virtually impossible if you are trying to live on the west coast or east coast. maybe find a roommate and split costs.
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Thats what I'm thinking. Cause one of my boys needs to find a place after we graduate next year. His mom is going back to Trinidad

I dont have a car and if we would split rent itd be like 600 each
 
peter80warrick said:
My wife and I are on track to make 180k this year and you would think we would be living on easy street but just look at some quick break downs

20k to Church - we give a bit more than our 10%
63k to Taxes
18k to Retirement
18k (10% to Savings, 1.5k a month)
18k to Mortgage (Property Tax, PMI, Homeowners Insurance,1525 a month (I pay an extra 155 towards principal )

So with those 5 items almost 137 of the 180 is already gone.

Then just off the top you can take another
1.2k for Parking (100 a month)
1.8k for Cell Phone
1.8k for Cable, Internet, and Home Phone
3k for Utilities
3k for Gas (Driving)
5k for Groceries
so that is another 16k

so 153 of 180 is taken care of, with 27k remaining for everything else.
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How come your tax rate is so high? With the tithe, mortgage deduction, and retirement contributions, you should easily be paying closer to 10-15%, not 35% ?! You have some prety good tax deductions there you're not taking advantage of unless you get a pretty generous return in April.
 
crcballer55 said:
How come your tax rate is so high? With the tithe, mortgage deduction, and retirement contributions, you should easily be paying closer to 10-15%, not 35% ?! You have some prety good tax deductions there you're not taking advantage of unless you get a pretty generous return in April.
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School me on this I'm getting hit up like 27% every 2 weeks , single with no kids
 
yeah, i think i was down to like 13% whenever i ended up filing my taxes last year. i just did a quick estimate on the budget.
 
rrlegend said:
What's great ? Not trying to sound or be sarcastic what should I expect my returns to come out to ? Also in my field I can damb near right off everything as a business expense .
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How much are you paying in taxes every year on average? If you're getting taxed around 30% (I'm probably hitting 33% this year), then you should most likely always see a great return.

I get taxed around 30% every year, but I end up with really hefty tax returns. One year I got back around $20k lol

If it means anything, I save almost every receipt I have and I give a lot to charitable donations. I also deduct a lot of stuff as well.
 
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rrlegend said:
 
Hank Scorpio said:
Your returns are probably great.
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What's great ? Not trying to sound or be sarcastic what should I expect my returns to come out to ? Also in my field I can damb near right off everything as a business expense .
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I'm not CPA (so I may be off slightly), but if you can write off items as a business expense (travel, equipment, office space, etc.), then you should either be able to write them off or depreciate them over several years to reduce your taxable earnings. The same goes with mortgage interest, 401k/IRA, & charitable contributions.
 The last couple years, we were able to reduce our household taxable earnings to around 10% just by doing stuff we'd do anyways.
 
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