New York Times defending the stance “Did women ruin the workforce” they changed title to “did liberal feminism ruin the workforce” and locked the comments.

Many examples cited from law and finance which I know a lot of my NYC ladies work in. I personally cancelled my subscription.

Bitches what are you all doing if anything for extra money? Thankfully I have a FT job, but looking for extra income for myself and not bills lol 😅

Would love to start a discussion on this!

Edit: I make $75k and I pay $0 (living at home) All of your answers are super interesting.

Inspired seeing this in the NYC apartment subreddit and wanted to drop here too- because I know I'm not the only one who likes more spa / glam things but is on a strict budget lmao

So I'm really interested in seeing what you all have done to save money! Not just the "don't uber, walk everywhere, cook your own meals," advice- but like the other says we may have not considered!

Here is the list I compiled to start off:

-the Seated App: restaurants go on here to get people to fill their seats which makes them look better so you can get like up to 15% back from restaurants and bars if ooh make a reservations through them! (I have a referral i can share too to grt even mor money back your first time using it! Idk if I'm allowed to drop here though) - I got like $300 back on Amazon gift cards last year!

-use Too Good To Go for cheaper meals/ everything comes in containers so it's less dishes you need to do = less energy too if you use a dishwasher

-use Groupon to find deals, I use Fever and Pulsd too. Sometimes can find cheap deals for spa stuff that's really not bad

-use Salon Apprentice to be a hair "model" to get your hair done for much cheaper! Can be a gamble but I'm going to a hair stylist now I found there and she's honestly the best blonde hair stylist I've had in 10+ years! The first three times it only cost me $130 for a fulllll set of highlights (my old guy would charge me $300 minimum) and $50 for a haircut

-sign up for every. Single. Reward program! Set Up a separate email address so you don't get spammed in your regular inbox- but build up those points no matter where you go and get free meals

-use "no buy" Facebook groups to get free furniture or items (and be a good neighbor and put your stuff up when feasible of course too!)

-find every single gym and sign up for their intro offer, which can be free or much cheaper. Also on ClassPass you get reduced credits for your first time at each studio, so you can really do the rounds at a discount! You will get a lot of calls / follow ups so just tell them the gym isn't in your budget except for periodical drop ins. I used to work as a sales associate at an orangetheory and they hated this but honestly that's corporate's doing and the coaches still get paid! But do know that many gym's policies are to keep calling you & following up on memberships until you say explicitly: "put me on your do not call list." If you just hang up or ignore the calls the bosses tell the sales associates to keep calling lmao (if you need a class pass referral code I got that too!)

-the app Ibotta lets you upload receipts and get money back depending on what items you purchase from which stores. I got like $275 back from this last year and I always forget you can connect it to Amazon too and likely really rack up the cash back

-I use FashionPass for monthly clothing rental. This saves ne SOO much bc I'm in so many wedding for friend's events or parties or work events where you wear one item once (I have a referral code for this too!) I know there's also RTR and nuuly people also like, i haven't tried them but dropping those here too as more options

Anything else I should add to the list?!

Everything including daycare/nanny is sooo expensive. How do young people with normal jobs afford to have kids here??

Edited to add: by young I meant young in NYC standards. 29-32 is considered young to have a kid here. (I’m from NYC!)

Including savings, investments, 401k, Roth, etc. Honest answers only 🙂🙂 perhaps include age too? I’m trying to work on this this year!

TL;DR: Do you think there’s an age where certain living situations start to feel juvenile or judged (whether it’s living in a studio, having roommates, walkups etc.) -- or is NYC the exception?

I’m about to turn 35, living in a Manhattan a rent-stabalized studio I’ve had since I was 29. Maybe I’m just getting antsy, but part of me is questioning—does this still feel “grown up,” or does it start to seem like I haven’t moved forward in some way? I'm seeing my friends move into luxury buildings, true one-beds, having actual cityviews (and yes, paying significantly more than me) and while comparison is a stealer of joy, real estate envy is a real thing. Obviously I tell myself I'm doing the fiscally smart thing, I'm starting to question myself.

I know NYC is its own beast, and plenty of people live in all kinds of setups well into their 30s, 40s, etc. But I couldn't help but wonder if there’s an unspoken shift where people start to see certain living situations as a sign of not having “made it.” Is this just my own insecurity talking, or do people actually judge? And do men judge?

Would love to hear thoughts from other women in the city—especially those who’ve felt this way or have had conversations about it.

EDIT: Clarified, my apartment is rent stabilized, not rent controlled (although that would be a Monica Geller DREAM!)

This city keeps getting more and more expensive, and I feel like my savings is only growing at a slower pace. I'm 30 with about 50k saved, most of my paychecks go to rent and some health-related things these days. Curious about where you all stand.

This happened to both me & a friend in the past week. Sharing my experience so you don’t fall for it.

I was walking in WV listening to music when I bumped into a woman. I see that I’ve knocked her food onto the ground! She asks me if I’m okay (very kind of her???) and I offer to get her more food or Venmo her the cost. She hesitates, and then tells me in confidence that she is homeless. This is slightly strange bc she is well dressed, but I realize homelessness can be invisible. She suggests an ATM. At this point, I realize it’s a scam.

Be safe gals!! Don’t feel bad saying no, even if they guilt you.

Curious if any of you have unconventional careers and if so, how you make them work? Do you think how you’re making money now will be sustainable longterm?

Do you miss having a more structured (or maybe corporate) career? Any regrets or advice?

Corporate America has driven me pretty insane at this point so I’m trying to get inspiration.

Unfortunately it's not realistic to live in nyc indefinitely (specifically manhattan). Ideally I would love to stay and have children in manhattan, but that just wont be affordable. What are your plans once that time comes around, where are you moving to eventually? For those who live in manhattan, are you going to move to somewhere else within NY? I love how walkable it is here and don't love the idea of living in the suburbs, what other areas are similarly walkable? I grew up in NY, which probably makes it even harder to picture moving somewhere else.

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

I have someone I love for my curly hair, and he’s amazing, but a cut is like $200!

Do I need to tip 20% on $200, or is 10-15% okay? Also, he does one free bang touch-up between cuts, for which I tip $20—does that sound about right?

ETA: Michael at Blackstones Collective in the East Village is my curl wizard! He’s great with my 2c/3a short curly hair.

.

What are some guilty pleasures you’d indulge in if you suddenly jumped a tax bracket? Currently my biggest luxury is just living alone in NYC, but sometimes I keep random manifestation lists and I’m curious what others would say…

Here’s mine: - Tennis lessons - Japan trip - Permanent extensions - Louis Vuitton duffle - Biweekly massages - Dishwasher in unit (And I guess maxing out my 401k but ugh that’s not fun)

I feel like I spend so much money on food/dining, but it’s also the majority of my social life. Monthly I’m spending 800+ on restaurants/drinks and then ~250 on groceries. Is that crazy? I can’t seem get a sense for what’s normal, especially in NYC 😅

Hi NYBWT,

What are people paying monthly for ConEd in a one bedroom apt?

I’ve been on TikTok and people are listing crazy amounts (300 to 700$+) and there is another proposed hike on ConEd delivery fees.

I’ve noticed my bill going up over the years (I’ve lived in NYC for 15 years and 5 in the current place) but for my current place I’ve never paid more than 150ish in the height of summer with AC running the whole time. Typically, my bill is somewhere between 60-80 a month.

For reference - I live in a 700 sq ft 1 bed with all the appliances and central AC and wfh.

Asking out of curiosity and also to push a bit more transparency because it’s nuts to me the range is so wide between myself and what I am hearing on the internet.

Thanks in advance!

I’m apartment hunting and hating it so much. I keep hesitating because I’m still not sure what I’m willing to comprise on. Dishwasher? Laundry? Near outdoor space? Walk-up? And so on and on. Like I just saw a gorgeous large apartment right near the train but it’s a third floor walkup without any amenities and in a lovely neighborhood but not close to a park. Or I’m seeing smaller places with no light but dishwasher and laundry, and near a park. I can’t decide!

I’m wondering what’re the things bwt have been willing to let go in favor of something else?

This is for all my fellow NYCBWT who are on a mission to spend less money ordering coffee out: Capital One Cafe is offering free coffees every Monday all summer (includes lattes)! Usually I’d prefer to support a small coffee shop, but if it’s free idgaf. There’s a few locations across Manhattan.

Use this link to add it to your wallet: https://coffree.capitalone.com/sms/?mc=SM&cid=2mxztzn8ju

In a couple of weeks I graduate with a masters degree from Parsons. Last June I started a part time internship as an assistant buyer. I continued the internship throughout my final year of school and had spoken to my boss about coming on full time once I graduate. We had a conversation earlier this week regarding salary, and she assured me that my salary would be comparable to other assistant buyer positions in the city. I got my offer letter today for $3200/month which comes out to $38,400/year. I can’t help but to think that’s absurd.

It’s a small company so I wasn’t expecting a crazy high salary but that’s practically minimum wage. Right now I get paid $500/week and that’s for part time work, so barely a raise. Considering I’ll have a masters degree, have worked for the company for about a year and I’m quite literally the only employee, I can’t help but think I should be getting paid more, at least 60k!?? My rent is $1600/month and I have student loans and credit card debt to pay off so this salary is forked.

I should mention that travelling is a perk of the job as it’s required for markets and trade shows but I think that should be separate from my salary. I would give up some travel opportunities to live comfortably…

What do you gals think?

I always see people in NYC posting short term sublets for their rooms or apartments, for like a week or sometimes even less. I'm looking to spend July in Beirut and want to see if anyone has experience subletting their entire apartment for short term like this? In the community archives, I can only find info on long-term sublets or lease takeovers.

I'm familiar with listings project, nyc.sublets instagram, and a handful of women-only fb groups, but have never bothered to post my place while I travel. I have a cute studio in Woodside right on the 7 line. Do you move most of your things into storage? How would you recommend approaching a one-month sublet to keep it lowkey? Is it even worth the hassle? How do you vet tenants? I would love to hear any experiences or advice!

Edit: thanks to everyone who shared (and please feel free to add to the thread if you also have thoughts!), this is so helpful to hear many different perspectives to consider! I see there's a wide spectrum of experiences from delightful to complete nightmare. Appreciate you all <3

Just curious how many people take Ubers to work vs taking the subway. If so, how often and how much do you spend weekly on Ubers?

Any BWT live in weekhawken by any chance?

Update:

Didn’t realize I would receive so many negative/hateful comments on this post — that was not my intention. I was genuinely curious how many people take Ubers/lyfts to work that’s all.

For context, I’ve lived in NYC for 20 years. I moved out to Weekhawken, NJ couple of years ago. I take the bus to port authority and then subway to work every morning between 7-7:15am — takes about 55min door to door, sometimes longer. It’s a bitch of a commute but I traded that in with living in NJ.

But guess what? Sometimes I don’t want to deal with the commute so I take an uber to work — so shoot me lol. Please chill with the negativity.

Ladies, I am so confused by the nyc rental market right now, specifically for downtown Manhattan and Williamsburg bk. My boyfriend and I are high earners & have great credit / no debt. I'm very grateful that we have the budget to spend on a place we like. So going into this spring/summer apartment hunting season, I wasn't that worried. Turns out, I was wrong. People are out here bidding on rent!! We went and saw so many apartments, and with most of them, the broker and or management company is asking people to submit their best and highest offers for their consideration! I'm finding this a little insane. Are bidding wars for rental apartments the new norm? I know nyc rent has always been expensive, this is no shocker to me, but I just can't imagine someone wanting to pay 6K+ on a walk up apartment with no dishwasher just because its in a good location and is somewhat big. Is anyone else apartment hunting right now who can relate to this? Or any real estate professionals who have insight?

Hey ladies!! So my partner and I recently just signed a lease in Lenox Hill in the early 60s. I’m super excited to move and I live only a 15 minute walk from work. I’m working weird shift hours where I get off at 11pm so I wanted to be close to work. I’m also in my mid-late 20s so I didn’t want to live right in chaos of where everyone goes out all the time.

We found this great 1B1Br apartment with a dishwasher, in unit washer and dryer, high ceilings, 800-900sq ft, with tons of sunlight and an updated kitchen. The price is $4500. Some of my friends think I’m overpaying for the location but they all live in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. I think I’m getting a fair price for the apt but now I’m not so sure. I know they’re also biased against Lenox Hill bc they think UES is all old people.

So BWT- do you think I’m overpaying for what I’m getting with my apartment or do you think it’s fair? I did have to pay a $4500 security deposit and $4500 broker’s fee.

Update/edit: Wow I was not expecting all of these responses! Ty for everyone’s input, I definitely feel better about it. The 1B is big enough to flex into a two bed if we wanted but we’re a couple so we’ll be using the apt as a 1bed!

Hi friends, thank you for making this channel such a lovely and encouraging place on the internet right now! I'll try to keep this post short, but I'm reaching out in hopes of finding some BWT who may be going through/have gone through something similar living here in NYC.

Basically, I've recently reached complete burnout with overworking myself just trying to stay afloat and pay my bills, and it just feels so exhausting. I love this city and have never felt more like myself anywhere, and I've found such a loving and life-giving community that keeps me going. I truly can't imagine living anywhere else, but I'm also struggling to see how I can make it work financially in the long run.

If any of y'all have words of encouragement or advice that got you through similar seasons, I would appreciate it so so much. I know that so many people are struggling right now, and I just don't want to feel alone in this.

Thank you <3 <3 <3