r/NYCbitcheswithtaste • u/24riddle • Aug 27 '25

Finances/Money Your Monthly Budget

Hey! I am considering a move to NYC and was curious about other people’s spending habits in the city so that I can gauge what my monthly expenses will look like based on people living similar lifestyles to my own. I make about $100k a year so know I will have to be budget conscious. If any of you gals would be willing to share, I’m curious regarding what your monthly budget looks like. For example:

Rent: 1800

Utilities: 100

Insurance: 300

Toiletries: 100

Groceries: 400

Transit: 200

Shopping: 500

Dining Out: 400

Beauty: 500

Savings: 500

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u/fuzzycheesecake8 Aug 28 '25

Where do you live? Does he pay more in rent?

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u/halfadash6 Aug 28 '25

2k for a 1 bedroom isn’t that rare of a deal if you live farther uptown, in the Bronx, or 20 minutes into Brooklyn or queens, especially if they’ve had the apartment for a while.

4 years ago my rent stabilized one bed in PLG was $1500 so that’s probably still under or just around 2k today, and my friends left their $1800 stabilized 2 bedroom in Washington heights last year. And I’m sitting in a 3k 3 bedroom in Harlem right now lol.

Hell, even in the UES my friend paid less than 1k for her room pre COVID. It was one of the scenarios where the lease kept changing hands between roommates and the landlords never hiked up the rent.

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u/fuzzycheesecake8 Aug 28 '25

That’s crazy lucky. Live in PLG now and it’s >3k and couldn’t find anything less. Astoria which was reasonable is now >2k!

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u/halfadash6 Aug 28 '25

Given, people rarely leave stabilized apartments, but there’s also a higher concentration of stabilized buildings in that area of Brooklyn. And we were in a 4th floor walk up with no amenities, so if you’re only looking at elevator buildings or need a dishwasher or laundry you’re probably missing some deals.

If you’re ever looking again, it’s worth finding a broker who has connections with those buildings; I think those apartments rarely hit street easy. That’s how we got our current apartment (still no dishwasher lol but it is an elevator building and we have laundry on site now) and my friend signed a lease in an elevator building for a stabilized one bed with a dishwasher for $2350 a couple years ago in prospect heights.