Author Topic: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC  (Read 12700 times)

minority_finance_mo

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#GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« on: March 26, 2015, 11:17:11 AM »
Sometimes I just want to scream...



vivophoenix

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2015, 11:31:11 AM »
Sometimes I just want to scream...



what makes me laugh is the use of the ethnic family for the we cant afford our rent, we need a tax return to live  demographic.

aside from that im not sure if its worth mocking, because it so blatantly bad.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2015, 11:35:23 AM »
I work in advertising; the only way they're running an ad like this is if it represents reality for people in the community. I just can't understand how anyone could live in a position where they have a young child and a family, and choose to live in an apartment where they regularly can't make rent... (Emphasis on "this month.") What the fuck?

vivophoenix

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2015, 12:33:05 PM »
I work in advertising; the only way they're running an ad like this is if it represents reality for people in the community. I just can't understand how anyone could live in a position where they have a young child and a family, and choose to live in an apartment where they regularly can't make rent... (Emphasis on "this month.") What the fuck?

a) chicken egg theory probably still at work, lots of demographics are poor and live paycheck to pay check,  brown and white and black people. however i notice advertising makes sure to be diverse when advertising to disenfranchised demographics. I'd be curious to see the make up of the posters advertising wealth management services. 

it may be true that certain demographics buy more of a product, but its also difficult to interpret this correlation, when advertising clearly targets this demographic.
B) it is encouraging destruction in a community that probably could stand to deal with a lot less.


Bob W

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2015, 12:59:49 PM »
As a father who has "helped" my daughter with rent many times I can relate to this.  She works in low paying jobs and barely makes enough to pay, food,  car,  heat and rent. 

Unfortunately this is the reality for many people.   

I know that hand to mouth living is difficult for many people to relate to but in the US you basically have 3 types of people.  The well off,  the decently paid working class and the under class.   We have lots and lots of underclass people in the US.



slugline

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2015, 01:00:30 PM »
Lots of happy landlords out there?

Krnten

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2015, 06:50:04 PM »
In favor of the ad, at least it's directing people to free filing options, probably VITA sites.  I can't tell you how many horrible, shady tax preparers there are here preying on low income people.

MoneyCat

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2015, 07:39:27 PM »
It's hard for people outside of NYC to understand how incredibly expensive it is to live there.  Just to give you an idea of how bad it is, it costs about $2500 for a studio apartment way the hell out in Harlem.  A studio apartment.  I used to work in NYC and I got out of town as soon as I could.  It's insanely expensive to live there.

gimp

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2015, 09:39:24 PM »
I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2015, 10:13:28 PM »
I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

I live in NYC, and have my whole life. If you live in the outer boroughs (which you should be, unless you're making great money), you can find 1 bedrooms for under $1,000 and 2 bedrooms (what we're currently living in) for under $1,500 - we pay $1,200 for our 2BR 1 Bath town house in an outer borough. Sure the commute is an hour by transit, but we understand we can't afford city rent.

dividendman

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #10 on: March 26, 2015, 10:23:05 PM »
Is it just me or do their clothes look super fancy? Maybe if you're not making rent the first thing you should cut back is  your super fancy clothes.

sheepstache

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #11 on: March 26, 2015, 11:12:38 PM »
In favor of the ad, at least it's directing people to free filing options, probably VITA sites.  I can't tell you how many horrible, shady tax preparers there are here preying on low income people.

Yes, the department of consumer affairs is specifically trying to protect people from the shady places. In fact if you see a particularly shady one, hairdressers or bodega with a hand-written sign or something, you can take a pic, note down the address, and call it in, they'd be very interested.

11ducks

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #12 on: March 27, 2015, 04:42:09 AM »
Is it just me or do their clothes look super fancy? Maybe if you're not making rent the first thing you should cut back is  your super fancy clothes.

This was my first thought too- cut down on the scarves and man-manicures and maybe you can afford rent?!

campath

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #13 on: March 27, 2015, 07:03:51 AM »
If I get a refund for more than a $100 I would be pissed off. Why on earth would I give a 12 month interest free loan to Uncle Sam?

sheepstache

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2015, 07:06:38 AM »
Is it just me or do their clothes look super fancy? Maybe if you're not making rent the first thing you should cut back is  your super fancy clothes.

This was my first thought too- cut down on the scarves and man-manicures and maybe you can afford rent?!

Shit, all their stuff probably cost like twenty bucks at H&M. Just because someone's not wearing rags and sackcloth, with grime under their fingernails, doesn't mean they're not poor.

And, again, this ad is actually a psa. They're trying to reach the people the service is intended to help so they portray them how they think of themselves rather than trying to capture how we think poor people should look.

ETA: To be clear, I'm not missing the point y'all are making that advertising affects our self-image but it's a two-way street. It has to be close enough to their existing self-image to hit the target in the first place. If you show some indigents in rags, the family the service is supposed to help looks on by, thinking, oh, that's not me, that doesn't apply to me.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2015, 08:44:55 AM by sheepstache »

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #15 on: March 27, 2015, 08:09:08 AM »
Is it just me or do their clothes look super fancy? Maybe if you're not making rent the first thing you should cut back is  your super fancy clothes.

This was my first thought too- cut down on the scarves and man-manicures and maybe you can afford rent?!

Definitely judging a book by it's cover, but when I saw it I thought the man looked like he was an artist, or a teacher. (Professions that would have a hard time paying rent in Manhattan, but could probably afford rent in, say, Queens or Staten Island).

Eric

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #16 on: March 27, 2015, 10:52:21 AM »
Where'd the pic go?  I guess it couldn't make rent.

I'm a red panda

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #17 on: March 27, 2015, 11:31:53 AM »
If I get a refund for more than a $100 I would be pissed off. Why on earth would I give a 12 month interest free loan to Uncle Sam?

Forced savings, for a lot of people.

It doubly pisses me off that my state makes you pay taxes on your previous years refund.  I already paid taxes on that assholes.  (Two years in a row now we've had exceptional circumstances that made our taxes higher than planned and we got large refunds. Annoying.)

Cathy

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #18 on: March 27, 2015, 11:39:11 AM »
If I get a refund for more than a $100 I would be pissed off. Why on earth would I give a 12 month interest free loan to Uncle Sam?

Forced savings, for a lot of people.

It doubly pisses me off that my state makes you pay taxes on your previous years refund.  I already paid taxes on that assholes.  (Two years in a row now we've had exceptional circumstances that made our taxes higher than planned and we got large refunds. Annoying.)

Which state or states tax your previous year's refund?

For federal tax purposes, a state tax refund is taxable to the extent that state taxes paid provided you a tax benefit in the previous year. The effect of this is just to "recapture" the tax benefit you received from overpaying tax. If your marginal rate is higher in the current year than in the previous year, this does amount to a form of double taxation; however, if your marginal rate is lower in the current rate than in the previous year, this becomes favourable to you. This is different from the state double taxing your refund.

It's certainly possible that a state could have legislation taxing the previous year's tax refund, but I would find this very strange, so I'm curious which states you say do this.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2015, 11:49:05 AM by Cathy »

slugline

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #19 on: March 27, 2015, 12:25:35 PM »
Where'd the pic go?  I guess it couldn't make rent.

I think I found another copy -- and more of the flyers:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/ofe/AboutTaxCampaign.shtml

I'm a red panda

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #20 on: March 27, 2015, 12:45:48 PM »
If I get a refund for more than a $100 I would be pissed off. Why on earth would I give a 12 month interest free loan to Uncle Sam?

Forced savings, for a lot of people.

It doubly pisses me off that my state makes you pay taxes on your previous years refund.  I already paid taxes on that assholes.  (Two years in a row now we've had exceptional circumstances that made our taxes higher than planned and we got large refunds. Annoying.)

Which state or states tax your previous year's refund?

For federal tax purposes, a state tax refund is taxable to the extent that state taxes paid provided you a tax benefit in the previous year. The effect of this is just to "recapture" the tax benefit you received from overpaying tax. If your marginal rate is higher in the current year than in the previous year, this does amount to a form of double taxation; however, if your marginal rate is lower in the current rate than in the previous year, this becomes favourable to you. This is different from the state double taxing your refund.

It's certainly possible that a state could have legislation taxing the previous year's tax refund, but I would find this very strange, so I'm curious which states you say do this.

Iowa. No idea about the other ones. Ohio didn't, and Texas does not have a state income tax. That's all I've done.

If you get a federal refund, it has to be reported as income the next year.  But it was already part of your income the previous year (which is why it is a refund!)

dandarc

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #21 on: March 27, 2015, 12:53:29 PM »
So suggest reading this https://tax.iowa.gov/step-subject/federal-tax-addition-and-deduction

The Iowa federal income tax deduction is based on the amounts withheld / estimated income taxes.  It is not based on actual tax owed.  So if you got a refund, that means your withholding was higher.  Your withholding being higher means you deducted more on your Iowa income tax than the amount of taxes paid to the feds.  Adding the refund in a subsequent year squares that up.

dandarc

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #22 on: March 27, 2015, 01:00:22 PM »
If you get a federal refund, it has to be reported as income the next year.  But it was already part of your income the previous year (which is why it is a refund!)
Putting prior answer another way - no, it wasn't part of your income.  Because Iowa lets you deduct your federal income taxes from your income for state tax purposes.

thurston howell iv

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #23 on: April 14, 2015, 09:53:16 AM »
What I don't understand is why people who live in NYC complain about the COL being too high. If you obviously can't afford it, why not move? Is it really that hard?

MoneyCat

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #24 on: April 14, 2015, 02:32:46 PM »
I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

I live in NYC, and have my whole life. If you live in the outer boroughs (which you should be, unless you're making great money), you can find 1 bedrooms for under $1,000 and 2 bedrooms (what we're currently living in) for under $1,500 - we pay $1,200 for our 2BR 1 Bath town house in an outer borough. Sure the commute is an hour by transit, but we understand we can't afford city rent.

Well, maybe, but not everyone likes having to fight with drug gangs every night when they get home from work.

frugalnacho

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #25 on: April 14, 2015, 02:38:34 PM »
Where'd the pic go?  I guess it couldn't make rent.

Lol.  I've been in this thread and never saw the picture.  But now it is there.  She is a milf.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #26 on: April 17, 2015, 10:19:25 PM »
I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

I live in NYC, and have my whole life. If you live in the outer boroughs (which you should be, unless you're making great money), you can find 1 bedrooms for under $1,000 and 2 bedrooms (what we're currently living in) for under $1,500 - we pay $1,200 for our 2BR 1 Bath town house in an outer borough. Sure the commute is an hour by transit, but we understand we can't afford city rent.

Well, maybe, but not everyone likes having to fight with drug gangs every night when they get home from work.

I'm going to assume that was a joke... Staten Island is probably the safest borough in the city - it's all retired all folks. Parts of it are shady, but they're isolated and far more sparse than any other borough in the city including Manhattan. Brooklyn has some of the most beautiful neighborhoods, and apartments in Sunset Park (for example) are pretty affordable. I can't speak for Queens or the Bronx, but that was a pretty ignorant comment.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2015, 10:21:30 PM by moe_rants »

MoneyCat

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #27 on: April 18, 2015, 07:27:29 PM »

I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

I live in NYC, and have my whole life. If you live in the outer boroughs (which you should be, unless you're making great money), you can find 1 bedrooms for under $1,000 and 2 bedrooms (what we're currently living in) for under $1,500 - we pay $1,200 for our 2BR 1 Bath town house in an outer borough. Sure the commute is an hour by transit, but we understand we can't afford city rent.

Well, maybe, but not everyone likes having to fight with drug gangs every night when they get home from work.

I'm going to assume that was a joke... Staten Island is probably the safest borough in the city - it's all retired all folks. Parts of it are shady, but they're isolated and far more sparse than any other borough in the city including Manhattan. Brooklyn has some of the most beautiful neighborhoods, and apartments in Sunset Park (for example) are pretty affordable. I can't speak for Queens or the Bronx, but that was a pretty ignorant comment.

Well, come on.  Staten Island isn't really NYC.  Everyone knows that.


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chicagomeg

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #28 on: April 18, 2015, 08:47:01 PM »
If I get a refund for more than a $100 I would be pissed off. Why on earth would I give a 12 month interest free loan to Uncle Sam?

Forced savings, for a lot of people.

It doubly pisses me off that my state makes you pay taxes on your previous years refund.  I already paid taxes on that assholes.  (Two years in a row now we've had exceptional circumstances that made our taxes higher than planned and we got large refunds. Annoying.)

To be fair, this ad is targeted at people who will get EITC and the additional child tax credit. To max it out, you need to have 1-3 kids and make around $20-25k. That means their tax refund represents 1/4- 1/3 of their income for the year. That's pretty nuts and makes it harder to plan. Most people don't have the self discipline to spend exactly 1/12 of that every month, let alone keep some as emergency savings.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #29 on: April 18, 2015, 09:00:58 PM »

I have friends who were renting for $700/room in Brooklyn a year ago, which was cheaper than what I was paying in Boston. I dunno, man.

I live in NYC, and have my whole life. If you live in the outer boroughs (which you should be, unless you're making great money), you can find 1 bedrooms for under $1,000 and 2 bedrooms (what we're currently living in) for under $1,500 - we pay $1,200 for our 2BR 1 Bath town house in an outer borough. Sure the commute is an hour by transit, but we understand we can't afford city rent.

Well, maybe, but not everyone likes having to fight with drug gangs every night when they get home from work.

I'm going to assume that was a joke... Staten Island is probably the safest borough in the city - it's all retired all folks. Parts of it are shady, but they're isolated and far more sparse than any other borough in the city including Manhattan. Brooklyn has some of the most beautiful neighborhoods, and apartments in Sunset Park (for example) are pretty affordable. I can't speak for Queens or the Bronx, but that was a pretty ignorant comment.

Well, come on.  Staten Island isn't really NYC.  Everyone knows that.


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I love that attitude, because it lets me save rent while you pay for NYC rent.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #30 on: April 18, 2015, 09:01:59 PM »
For those who are super low-income and have EIC, they likely have a negative effective tax rate. There's no way you can fix that with payroll deductions.

Indexer

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #31 on: April 18, 2015, 09:58:36 PM »
This is a stockphoto image found at http://www.gettyimages.com/creative/middle-class-stock-photos?page=2

The actual name of the image.  "Happy Hispanic family move into their new home."

So this particular family isn't actually using their tax refund to pay the rent.  They are a 'model' family who is suppose to be happy because they just got their first home.  Somehow I doubt they thought the image would be used to represent them as poor.

EDIT:  I removed the image because it occured to me this site wants you to 'buy' the image to use it.  If you go to the link and scroll all the way down you can see it.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2015, 10:17:26 PM by Indexer »

Self-employed-swami

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #32 on: April 18, 2015, 10:21:05 PM »
This is a stockphoto image found at http://www.gettyimages.com/creative/middle-class-stock-photos?page=2

The actual name of the image.  "Happy Hispanic family move into their new home."

So this particular family isn't actually using their tax refund to pay the rent.  They are a 'model' family who is suppose to be happy because they just got their first home.  Somehow I doubt they thought the image would be used to represent them as poor.

EDIT:  I removed the image because it occured to me this site wants you to 'buy' the image to use it.  If you go to the link and scroll all the way down you can see it.


Oh man, just another reason not to sell your photos for stock...

RexualChocolate

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #33 on: April 21, 2015, 11:47:02 AM »
It's hard for people outside of NYC to understand how incredibly expensive it is to live there.  Just to give you an idea of how bad it is, it costs about $2500 for a studio apartment way the hell out in Harlem.  A studio apartment.  I used to work in NYC and I got out of town as soon as I could.  It's insanely expensive to live there.


Yea, the takeaway being living there is stupid. City income tax? Broker Fees? Ridiculous.

$2500 a month is a bit of hyperbole, most people just split large apts so they can live in the nicer areas. Living in NYC is never frugal no matter how you slice it unless you are being subsidized (by parents, taxpayers, or other renters via rent control)

minority_finance_mo

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #34 on: April 21, 2015, 08:59:03 PM »
It's hard for people outside of NYC to understand how incredibly expensive it is to live there.  Just to give you an idea of how bad it is, it costs about $2500 for a studio apartment way the hell out in Harlem.  A studio apartment.  I used to work in NYC and I got out of town as soon as I could.  It's insanely expensive to live there.


Yea, the takeaway being living there is stupid. City income tax? Broker Fees? Ridiculous.

$2500 a month is a bit of hyperbole, most people just split large apts so they can live in the nicer areas. Living in NYC is never frugal no matter how you slice it unless you are being subsidized (by parents, taxpayers, or other renters via rent control)

You're right. NYC is a chasm of wastefulness, where money flows (and burns) like there's no tomorrow, but out of that chaos comes some really great opportunities, if you're willing to take advantage. I love shitty, ineffective systems, because that means there is an opportunity to exploit. If you can make the NYC salary, get frugal housing (it's possible - we own a 2BR in Staten Island for $1225/month), and cook your food at home you effectively have neutralized the costs of NYC and can take advantage of the gains.

Saying it's impossible to live in a big city frugally is a joke. There are a ton of low-income families here living on minimum wage - how do you think they're doing it? Do you think McDonalds workers commute from Virginia for a min. wage job? If they can do it (and, mind you, most of them probably are pretty ineffective at money management), how can it be impossible?

frugalnacho

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #35 on: April 22, 2015, 12:03:30 PM »
What I don't understand is why people who live in NYC complain about the COL being too high. If you obviously can't afford it, why not move? Is it really that hard?

Well, why is the COL so high? It all comes back to gentrification. So if you are a third- or fourth-generation New Yorker and all your roots are there and your entire family lives there, to then have wealthier people move in and drive prices up and then say "if you can't afford it, just move" sounds a lot like "let them eat cake."

No one can afford cake in NYC.  It's impossible.

RexualChocolate

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #36 on: April 23, 2015, 08:08:56 AM »


You're right. NYC is a chasm of wastefulness, where money flows (and burns) like there's no tomorrow, but out of that chaos comes some really great opportunities, if you're willing to take advantage. I love shitty, ineffective systems, because that means there is an opportunity to exploit. If you can make the NYC salary, get frugal housing (it's possible - we own a 2BR in Staten Island for $1225/month), and cook your food at home you effectively have neutralized the costs of NYC and can take advantage of the gains.

Saying it's impossible to live in a big city frugally is a joke. There are a ton of low-income families here living on minimum wage - how do you think they're doing it? Do you think McDonalds workers commute from Virginia for a min. wage job? If they can do it (and, mind you, most of them probably are pretty ineffective at money management), how can it be impossible?

I mentioned subsidies. Rent control and taxpayer assistance is how low wage people make it work.

The fact of the matter is living in NYC is a luxury choice. Yes, you can make other sacrifices (like living forever away in Staten Island) to make it net out to the same, but if you made those same sacrifices in a reasonable city it would cost 30+% less.

I don't think no one should live in NYC, I just want people to realize what they're spending to live in that metro area relative to alternatives.

Hunny156

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Re: #GotMyRefund "We're Going to Make Rent This Month" Ad in NYC
« Reply #37 on: April 23, 2015, 12:17:49 PM »
Born and raised for a good portion of my childhood in the Bronx.  There were, and still are, many nice neighborhoods.  Also, property taxes are relatively low, and proximity to NYC is really good, so the Bronx remains an affordable hidden gem for many.

Yonkers, on the other hard, really annoyed me.  I lived there when I was first able to work, and I got an extra level of taxation on my income.  If you happen to live in NYC and work in Yonkers, you get to pay federal + state + NYC + Yonkers income taxes!  INSANE.

Now, probably b/c I lived there and had access to it all the time, I never got what the big deal was.  I pretty much hated NYC and went downtown as infrequently as possible.  I have heard from my more experienced friends that if you learn where to go and what to do, NYC has a plethora of really good food and experiences for very little or no money.  My guess is that any frugal NY-er who lives or spends a fair amount of time there, knows all the tricks and can really stretch their income to enjoy what the city has to offer and still save.