Author Topic: Mustachian in Manhattan?  (Read 8067 times)

PinkFrugalRunner

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Mustachian in Manhattan?
« on: January 20, 2015, 03:28:46 PM »
I'm a young single soon-to-be professional living and going to school in Manhattan. I'm focused on setting myself up for FI/RE and although I have some law school debt, I will be starting a job in the fall that should allow me to pay down my debt and start growing my 'stache. The biggest hurdle I face now is the incongruity between living here and living Mustachian. I'm happy to cook for myself, take public transport or walk, and only get spendy with really meaningful fun things - but most of my friends, even the ones with more debt than me, treat eating out at restaurants and going out to bars as their sole form of social activity! They also tend to take cabs or Uber to and from these activities. I've tried floating suggestions of hosting dinners, etc. but unfortunately most of us live in apartments that don't even really have proper kitchens, and the idea has never gotten much traction.

I'm not much of a drinker, so I actually don't spend much on alcohol and luckily my friends generally do not expect me to split a bar tab with them - but at restaurants, etc. that can definitely be an issue, when the bill comes and it's just split among everyone!

Any suggestions for someone in my situation trying to cut (very high) costs without sacrificing a social life?

4alpacas

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2015, 04:16:05 PM »
Figure out free or cheap activities that your friends would be interested in. 

Things that I've done:
I dragged three of my friends to a free barre class a local studio.  They loved it. 
Invited over a group for Cards Against Humanity.  We spent about $30 in alcohol and $5 for food for 8 people. 
Walk around the city.  I meet up with a friend on weekend afternoons.  She pushes her kids in strollers, and I walk my dog.
Hikes. 
Biking. 
Tea party.  This one was my favorite!
Running groups.

My friends are very spendy.  The trick is to offer something that's fun (or more fun that going to a bar or restaurant).  I would also look into Meetup.  It's a great way to find people with similar interests. 

theonethatgotaway

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2015, 04:40:48 PM »
We invested more in a place with an actual kitchen and living area and we have people over. Most of our friends prefer to not 'be-out' anymore anyway once we reached our later 20s- we have fun wine nights in and someone BBQs or hosts some sort of snack/dinner.

NCGal

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2015, 05:08:58 PM »
What about some volunteer experiences that might be fun? You can meet people too or get a friend to join you. When I lived in NY I signed up for NY Cares. You go to one orientation meeting and then you can sign up for progams that interest you. Many only require a commitment of one date for a few hours. I used to do a 2hr stint at an animal rescue on Saturdays when I was available.

Yankuba

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2015, 05:19:02 PM »
Time Out New York magazine is chock full of activities and they include dozens of free options each week.

I also volunteer through NY Cares and recommend it.

Group dinners are always a fiasco - the larger the group the more likely the bill gets split evenly. I always order something Mustachian sans liquor and end up subsidizing the bigger eaters/drinkers. If you go out with a small group you can sometimes pay what you ate.


PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2015, 05:42:57 PM »
Thanks for all the replies. I actually do lots of volunteering already (one of my expenses that I consider a splurge is my dues for the Junior League - I liken it to Mrs. MMM's Crossfit after reading through the blog posts! I am a runner and I also volunteer at Road Runners events. For exercise, I run in the park and do Youtube yoga - so I spend very little on fun days for myself (whereas friends pay $30 for one exercise class and Seamless lunch when they are by themselves!) I also walk everywhere and have gotten friends to join in!

The big issue is the nighttime stuff, really - I guess I was hoping someone might have a magic alternative to all the dinners out at restaurants?
 
I'm in my early 20s and most friends are early to mid 20s. My best friend is actually very frugal but is a newlywed who works all hours and she and her husband are able to be frugal by working a lot and mostly keeping their own company. The rest are very spendy. As a young single person it's frustrating when I don't even really like/want all the meals out and bar drinks ($3 for a club soda!) - but would like to maintain current friendships and meet new friends and of course, potential partners!

NCGal

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2015, 09:01:43 PM »
If your friends meet for dinner and drinks can you show up after dinner? You still may need to pay for the $3 club soda but if you don`t even order food they probably won`t expect you to equally share the tab...I used to face this dilemma not only with regard to. saving money, but saving calories. I disliked eating heavy meals for dinner. It seems there is no lack of salt, cheese or large portions...I feel your pain. I was mostly under-employed and couldn`t count on a regular check.  But I also had friends in my apt building and within walking distance....and we found cheap bars and diners/dives in the east village where we could nurse a soda or coffee and walk home...What about those Theater voucher programs? There was a company called Audience Extras if it`s still around. They would offer tickets to shows that needed audience padding for an extremely nominal fee.  Are any of your friends actors? The acting unions often give away tickets too.

PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2015, 06:58:15 AM »
I do that sometimes, showing up after dinner! It's difficult what with not knowing when dinner might begin/end and the after-partying start, but actually sometimes they end up eating dinner so late (ordering after 9 or 9:30pm) that I can easily say I have already eaten, because they know I wake up much earlier to go running in the morning and eat most of my meals earlier.

It's probably more a matter of my circle than anything else; I see my upcoming big law firm job as a way to pay off my student debt as quickly as possible and stash away enough of a 'stache to achieve FI and be able to do something I love. But a lot of my law school friends are well on their way to being in the golden handcuffs, as they spend the money they have now from summer jobs on nights out that easily run over $100-150 a person with a restaurant and drinks and cab, and will continue to do so once they make the very high salaries, despite the debt, because they 'can afford it' and because lots of other non-law friends work in jobs like banking where they already do so. I do have a few friends in more creative fields but I think they all still get some support from parents because otherwise I'm not sure how they could pay rent and go out the way they do! I guess it is just up to me to walk the line between maintaining social ties with those circles and finding new, Mustachian peers.

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2015, 07:27:37 AM »
$5 for food for 8 people.

Just curious, what did you feed 8 people for $5?

ioseftavi

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2015, 08:31:38 AM »
The big issue is the nighttime stuff, really - I guess I was hoping someone might have a magic alternative to all the dinners out at restaurants?
 
I'm in my early 20s and most friends are early to mid 20s. My best friend is actually very frugal but is a newlywed who works all hours and she and her husband are able to be frugal by working a lot and mostly keeping their own company. The rest are very spendy. As a young single person it's frustrating when I don't even really like/want all the meals out and bar drinks ($3 for a club soda!) - but would like to maintain current friendships and meet new friends and of course, potential partners!

My wife and I have lived in NYC for more than a decade, and she works in Big Law.  I work in finance.  So this isn't just theorycrafting - we've pretty much lived what you're talking about here. 

1)  Meals out are pretty much the most expensive thing you can do in NYC.  You won't be able to avoid them all the time, but with your close friends, you can definitely sidestep them.  Avoid them by scheduling stuff like dinners at home, movie/takeout nights with friends, parties in your apartment where you mix fancy drinks or serve craft beers/homebrew, etc.  If you don't know how to cook, learn to cook!

2)  Going out to $125 dinners twice a month with your friends isn't gonna kill you on a Big Law salary.  But going out to dinner five times a month with friends, plus takeout for yourself four nights a week, plus your FreshDirect groceries, plus Starbucks every day, plus buying a chop't salad for lunch every day - that set of habits will actually be really, really costly.  Extra penalty points if you elect to live in a super expensive apartment in midtown for just you.  For us, we make sure that our personal spending decisions that impact only us (our rent/where we live, morning coffee, workday lunches, grocery shopping, dinners at home) are all frugal and low-cost.  This way, if our friends want to go out to dinner at a steakhouse or something, it really doesn't phase us.  We're good enough with our "personal spending" that we don't need to curtail our "social spending" in order to save money.  This is - by far - the best way to 'stash money in NYC.  Nobody but you will notice that you never buy lunches out and you always bring coffee, or that you have a roommate in Brooklyn even though you're 26 and make $160k/year.  But everyone will notice that you NEVER go out to eat, even though your close friends/colleagues are all going.

3)  Be a good host, as best you can.  Make your apartment a cool spot to hang out.  Keep some decent booze around (for us, that means good boxed wine + craft beer + small selection of hard alcohol).  Learn to mix cocktail drinks, and plate food so that it looks tasty.  Get some interesting boardgames, cardgames, and set your TV up so that more than 2 people can watch it.  If you can make it so that your apartment is a fun place for a handful of friends to hang out, no one will care that you're not at Nobu.  If going to your apartment for "dinner and drinks" feels cheap and lame, suggesting that you hang out at your place won't go over well.  If watching the game at your apartment involves free/low-cost food and a setup that is better than the average sportsbar experience, your friends aren't going to blink when you volunteer to host the Superbowl party instead of going to some dump on 2nd avenue that has $12 pitchers and fratboys screaming in your ear.

4)  Keep an eye out for the low-priced stuff you can do in NYC, and make it a point to do some spendy stuff when it goes on sale.  Restaurant week and broadway week (which just started yesterday) are good examples.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2015, 08:36:02 AM by ioseftavi »

lielec11

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2015, 09:13:22 AM »

2)  Going out to $125 dinners twice a month with your friends isn't gonna kill you on a Big Law salary.  But going out to dinner five times a month with friends, plus takeout for yourself four nights a week, plus your FreshDirect groceries, plus Starbucks every day, plus buying a chop't salad for lunch every day - that set of habits will actually be really, really costly.  Extra penalty points if you elect to live in a super expensive apartment in midtown for just you.  For us, we make sure that our personal spending decisions that impact only us (our rent/where we live, morning coffee, workday lunches, grocery shopping, dinners at home) are all frugal and low-cost.  This way, if our friends want to go out to dinner at a steakhouse or something, it really doesn't phase us.  We're good enough with our "personal spending" that we don't need to curtail our "social spending" in order to save money.  This is - by far - the best way to 'stash money in NYC.  Nobody but you will notice that you never buy lunches out and you always bring coffee, or that you have a roommate in Brooklyn even though you're 26 and make $160k/year.  But everyone will notice that you NEVER go out to eat, even though your close friends/colleagues are all going.


This is what me and future DW are in the process of mastering now. Mason jar lunches, homeade granola bars, soups and hummus, etc. Cook dinner almost every night of the week.. It really allows me to feel better about eating out once in a while. Great recommendation.

PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2015, 10:13:45 AM »

3)  Be a good host, as best you can.  Make your apartment a cool spot to hang out.  Keep some decent booze around (for us, that means good boxed wine + craft beer + small selection of hard alcohol).  Learn to mix cocktail drinks, and plate food so that it looks tasty.  Get some interesting boardgames, cardgames, and set your TV up so that more than 2 people can watch it.  If you can make it so that your apartment is a fun place for a handful of friends to hang out, no one will care that you're not at Nobu.  If going to your apartment for "dinner and drinks" feels cheap and lame, suggesting that you hang out at your place won't go over well.  If watching the game at your apartment involves free/low-cost food and a setup that is better than the average sportsbar experience, your friends aren't going to blink when you volunteer to host the Superbowl party instead of going to some dump on 2nd avenue that has $12 pitchers and fratboys screaming in your ear.



Great advice, and thank you. I do know how to cook so I'm trying to use that as an incentive. I do actually have a "nicer" apartment than a lot of my friends in that I pay rent to my parents in order to live in their pied-a-terre in Manhattan - which I will continue to do once I start my big law job, thereby allowing me to pay a lower than market rate rent while having a quiet, decent place to sleep. I'm going to try and think of some fun parties to host for upcoming events like the super bowl, etc!

Do you have any advice for the other part of that situation - the meeting new people? Part of the reason my friends would choose going out most times is the same reason I hesitate not to - because we are young and single and would like to make new friends and meet potential partners. You said you are married, but I am wondering if that was the case a few years back when you were in my shoes.

ioseftavi

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2015, 10:23:45 AM »
Do you have any advice for the other part of that situation - the meeting new people? Part of the reason my friends would choose going out most times is the same reason I hesitate not to - because we are young and single and would like to make new friends and meet potential partners. You said you are married, but I am wondering if that was the case a few years back when you were in my shoes.

I'd suggest ZogSports - the leagues are affordable, the activities are fun, and you will meet a TON of single people your age.  Overwhelmingly, zogsports people are early twenties to early thirties in age.

After every game, people go out drinking, so you'll have a chance to flirt or talk or whatever you want.  You don't have to stay out all night at these - nursing 1-2 beers and then saying goodbye will give you more than enough time to chat with your teammates and opponents to see if you're hitting it off with anyone, and it'll probably run you about $10 or so.

Get a couple of friends to join the league with you, but NOT TOO MANY.  You want to be a clump of 2-3 friends, so you get matched up with other incomplete teams.  You'll meet more people that way.

If zogsports doesn't appeal to you, let me know, and I'll try to think of some other things.  But Zogsports is pretty great for what you're talking about.

4alpacas

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2015, 01:55:16 PM »
$5 for food for 8 people.

Just curious, what did you feed 8 people for $5?
Fajitas.  The Hispanic grocery store down the street had preseasoned chicken fajitas on sale.
Tortillas http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/01/flour-tortillas/
Pretzels.
Bread (fresh from the oven) with a little dish of olive oil and sea salt

I also pulled out a few random things we received in Christmas gift baskets.  Olive, crispy cheese things, a small thing of trail mix, etc.  I put little ramekins on the table with different things to snack on. 

gradstudent

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2015, 04:01:26 PM »
I'm married and living in Manhattan. Yes, it is an easy place to spend a lot of money on food and alcohol, but it's also really easy to go out to eat and not spend $100. In fact, our average meal (plus a beer or two and glass of wine) runs less than $50. We eat well too, as we've learned that a higher price tag doesn't equate to better food. With all the Chinese, Indian, Thai, Italian, etc. restaurants, the only reason to spend more is if you want to. However, since it's a social thing with your friends, phrase the suggestion as something like "I just heard about this great new place on Broadway-let's go there!". As long as the food is good and you can buy a beer, most people are going to be happy. Yelp is a great place to look for less expensive restaurants. Final suggestion-your friends already use Seamless. Have a Seamless dinner at your apartment-we've done it a few times and everyone liked it. You have everyone order what they want on their account, it is cheaper than a restaurant, and a bottle of wine and some beer are much cheaper. It's a good alternative to going out for the spendy folks, and a compromise for you.

PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #15 on: January 21, 2015, 04:40:27 PM »

I'd suggest ZogSports - the leagues are affordable, the activities are fun, and you will meet a TON of single people your age.  Overwhelmingly, zogsports people are early twenties to early thirties in age.

After every game, people go out drinking, so you'll have a chance to flirt or talk or whatever you want.  You don't have to stay out all night at these - nursing 1-2 beers and then saying goodbye will give you more than enough time to chat with your teammates and opponents to see if you're hitting it off with anyone, and it'll probably run you about $10 or so.

Get a couple of friends to join the league with you, but NOT TOO MANY.  You want to be a clump of 2-3 friends, so you get matched up with other incomplete teams.  You'll meet more people that way.

If zogsports doesn't appeal to you, let me know, and I'll try to think of some other things.  But Zogsports is pretty great for what you're talking about.

Thanks for the tip - I've actually checked out ZogSports before - I have terrible hand-eye coordination so although I'm a runner I'm not great with most of those sports, but a friend and I are planning to check out the Frisbee league in the spring as we think we might have better luck doing that! I'd love to hear any other suggestions you have too, this is really helpful hearing from someone with a similar POV. It's this sort of thing that I'm trying to find to appeal to friends, because part of the appeal of going out to restaurants for them is the "going out and leaving our apartments" part (actually I think that is a LOT of the appeal) so hosting dinners, etc. in is not as easy a solution as finding new "out and about" stuff.

And thanks for the other responses too!

blainem13

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #16 on: January 21, 2015, 06:06:27 PM »
Manhattanite corporate consultant here.  I recommend the following:

1) If you don't drink, don't drink.  $3.00 club soda will not be significantly impactful.
2) Don't take cabs and uber cars, just say you will meet everyone there.  Easy.  My partner and I use cabs sparingly and uber just for airport trips.
3) Spend your energy on the big savings - rent.  Consider looking for something in queens or brooklyn, or far north in Manhattan where rents are cheaper like Morningside heights.  The best part about living in a lot of these places is that it doesn't actually take that long to get to work/midtown.  If you live in northern Manhattan, you can ride your bike through central park to your job.  It's the best part of my day!  Also, you will meet more people in these neighborhoods that aren't as status-seeking. 
4) Per #3, I highly recommend getting a bike if you don't have one and riding it to and from work.  This alone will keep you in great shape, saves you time, and saves you about $80 a month.  Just be sure to lock it up completely and properly if you can't take it into your office (I assume you can't in a biglaw office).
5) Cook at home, and shop at places like westsidemarket for produce or even the bodegas for packaged food.  We buy some stuff at whole foods, but the quality on many items doesn't justify the premium.  We don't do it, but I would consider shopping at cosco in harlem every few months.  Take the subway up and then load your stuff into a cab to get home.  You can save hundreds of dollars on pantry items this way. 
6) When you go out to eat, get something like a salad or the like and just pay your share.  If people want to split the bill equally, just ask to see the check and pay your share.  If anyone calls you out for it, just tell them you're not subsidizing their beef, alcohol, etc. habit.  This is NYC, so being blunt/frank isn't going to be a problem unless your friends are complainypants.  Practicing this assertiveness will come in handy in your day job too; if you're not assertive, people are going to walk all over you.

7) This is probably the easiest city in the world to do whatever and be whomever you want to be.  I would work on shifting your attitude away from caring about your friends' perceptions and more towards living your values/being yourself.  Any perceived idiosyncryncies will make you more interesting, and if your friends get weird about it, they probably aren't that great of friends in the first place.

Just my personal suggestions.  Good luck!  It's not impossible to get to FIRE in NYC, especially in your career! 

Yankuba

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #17 on: January 21, 2015, 06:22:37 PM »
Manhattanite corporate consultant here.  I recommend the following:

1) If you don't drink, don't drink.  $3.00 club soda will not be significantly impactful.
2) Don't take cabs and uber cars, just say you will meet everyone there.  Easy.  My partner and I use cabs sparingly and uber just for airport trips.
3) Spend your energy on the big savings - rent.  Consider looking for something in queens or brooklyn, or far north in Manhattan where rents are cheaper like Morningside heights.  The best part about living in a lot of these places is that it doesn't actually take that long to get to work/midtown.  If you live in northern Manhattan, you can ride your bike through central park to your job.  It's the best part of my day!  Also, you will meet more people in these neighborhoods that aren't as status-seeking. 
4) Per #3, I highly recommend getting a bike if you don't have one and riding it to and from work.  This alone will keep you in great shape, saves you time, and saves you about $80 a month.  Just be sure to lock it up completely and properly if you can't take it into your office (I assume you can't in a biglaw office).
5) Cook at home, and shop at places like westsidemarket for produce or even the bodegas for packaged food.  We buy some stuff at whole foods, but the quality on many items doesn't justify the premium.  We don't do it, but I would consider shopping at cosco in harlem every few months.  Take the subway up and then load your stuff into a cab to get home.  You can save hundreds of dollars on pantry items this way. 
6) When you go out to eat, get something like a salad or the like and just pay your share.  If people want to split the bill equally, just ask to see the check and pay your share.  If anyone calls you out for it, just tell them you're not subsidizing their beef, alcohol, etc. habit.  This is NYC, so being blunt/frank isn't going to be a problem unless your friends are complainypants.  Practicing this assertiveness will come in handy in your day job too; if you're not assertive, people are going to walk all over you.

7) This is probably the easiest city in the world to do whatever and be whomever you want to be.  I would work on shifting your attitude away from caring about your friends' perceptions and more towards living your values/being yourself.  Any perceived idiosyncryncies will make you more interesting, and if your friends get weird about it, they probably aren't that great of friends in the first place.

Just my personal suggestions.  Good luck!  It's not impossible to get to FIRE in NYC, especially in your career!

Good tips - but express caution on number six. You can be assertive and pay what you ate with friends or people you don't care about and if they think you're cheap you can tell them about MMM and FIRE but I did it at an office lunch when I was younger (and tired of always subsidizing the big eaters and drinkers) and it got ugly. People were literally mortified when I threw in twelve bucks and said that I got the $7 lunch special - you would have thought I pushed the Queen of England down the stairs. Then you get a reputation of being cheap because you don't want to spend $25 for a terrible Applebees lunch (I can't stand that place) and you have to work with these people and their opinions do affect you so be careful.

PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #18 on: January 22, 2015, 07:10:30 AM »

...you have to work with these people and their opinions do affect you so be careful.


Yup, that's the big stickler for me. I've found bringing cash to cover my meal works because everyone will split the remainder on their cards - although sometimes the numbers guy will divide up how much "everyone" owes and announce it!

Craggy13: I definitely have 1-4 covered by being able to not drink without any personal hangups at this point, and sticking to the subway or walking. I actually live about a 30 minute walk from my future office and will be walking and/or biking next year. And I live in a relatively expensive but family-oriented neighborhood for relatively low rent - I think I posted this before, but I live in an apartment owned by a family member and pay a below-market rent. I'm sure there will be even cheaper options, but the catch for me is that this family member gave me my law school loan (at zero interest) which I've begun to pay back this year after working over the summer in 2014, and my rent payments of $1500/month are also being treated as loan payments - I don't think moving would get me any better deals because then I would be adding any new rent TO the loan payments (which are for 2 years of law school, so roughly $130K total).

If you know of cheaper grocery options in the Yorkville (Far East Side, 60s-90s) area do tell - I try to go to Fairway, but taking the subway up to Costco and back with pallets of groceries isn't so worth it for me because I can't carry enough on my own to justify a trip. And Fairway, while better than Food Emporium, is no discount option!

blainem13

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #19 on: January 22, 2015, 05:27:48 PM »
Sounds like you're on a great trajectory.  Re costco, I was referring to doing a big order at costco every 5 or 6 months to fill up on staples like rice, almonds, almond butter, parmesan cheese, toilet paper, tissues, chickpeas, laundry detergent, frozen salmon, etc that are extremely expensive in the local markets.  You could fill up there, and they have cabs waiting at the store that you would take home.  That's like maybe a $15 fare to the east side for saving in the hundreds if you do what MMM does:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/30/is-a-costco-membership-worth-the-cost/

I guess it could be a hassle, but the nice part is that you don't have to lug that stuff home from the store/duane reade on foot.  It could actually be a time saver.  We don't do costco, but we do something similar when we rent cars to visit family outside of the city and stop at the suburban supermarket. 

cashstasherat23

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #20 on: January 23, 2015, 02:45:14 PM »
I don't really have too many suggestions to add to this discussion as there are some great points already, but just wanted to toss it out there that I am also a young 20's woman working in NYC, much more into running and fitness than spending a ton of money on alcohol and expensive restaurants. If you ever wanted to get together and hang out/do mustachian things like go for a walk, I'm down! (It's tough to make frugal friends in the city!) :)

ioseftavi

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #21 on: January 23, 2015, 03:32:46 PM »
YOU GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYS I just wanted to alert everyone that there is a mustachian meetup happening in NYC this weekend.  Check the meetup subforum, or just click here.

sbdebeste

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #22 on: January 23, 2015, 08:50:51 PM »
I've been in Manhattan for coming up four years now, and I haven't found any answers to your questions. Might be coming up on getting an apartment by myself for the first time soon, and the thought of paying $1700 is incredibly daunting. Interested to hear how your situation turns out, though I'll say that you have a huuuuge leg up with housing taken care of.

PinkFrugalRunner

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Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #23 on: January 24, 2015, 03:39:51 PM »
YOU GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYS I just wanted to alert everyone that there is a mustachian meetup happening in NYC this weekend.  Check the meetup subforum, or just click here.

Unfortunately saw this far too late, but I'd love to attend if there is a second go-round.

E_Monkey

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
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  • Posts: 36
Re: Mustachian in Manhattan?
« Reply #24 on: January 24, 2015, 07:02:38 PM »
Most people don't realize it, but NYC is a fantastic city for Mustachians. Why? This is the city where you can get a deal. People will happily tell you about their latest scores. It is AOK to talk about money and ask for suggestions.

1) it sounds like your housing is a good buy. Stick with it. Reduce your utility costs as much as possible.

2) Food. You can really save on groceries by shopping at the big grocery stores. Take public transport there, cab it home. You can negotiate a fee with your driver if it's not a yellow cab.

3) Eat out, but not all the time, and not often at expensive restaurants. Try Restaurant Week and check Chowhound for cheap foodie recommendations. Take your lunch to work.

4) the entertainment is insane here. There are national-level acts performing for free ALL THE TIME. Do your research and you will be amazed. I saw the Neville Brothers perform live--admission two cans of food.

Dial as much down as possible and then get out and enjoy! There is so much great stuff to do for cheap that you won't miss the expensive stuff at all.