Memories, on the cheap

An article in the New York Times a few days ago describes the cost-saving tactics of many young New Yorkers. It says, "Every year around this time, tens of thousands of postcollegiate people in their 20s flood the city despite its soaring expenses. They are high on ambition, meager of budget and endlessly creative when it comes to making ends meet."

I'm still not entirely sure how Josh and I ended up in Manhattan (well, I do know. It simply involved a list of the best grad schools overlapped with later admission application deadlines.), but we didn't come because of some long-held, childhood dream of living in the big city. Our cost-saving measures were not so we could stick around, but a necessity for two grad students surviving until graduation. We knew that everything we were spending was actually on loan from Sallie Mae or Citibank, so better to spend less and have to pay back less later on.

This article was both funny and depressing. And familiar.

Read the rest...
Buying a razor and cutting your own hair? Yup, Josh. Getting free haircuts as a "hair model" at Bumble and Bumble? That would be me. Skipping meals? Does eating hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches count? Other listed tactics included giving up long-time, and expensive, dyed blonde hair, flirting for drinks, taking any and all work hand outs...

Honestly, many of the strategies still involved spending money, just spending it less. You still go out for drinks with friends, you just skip a meal so that fewer drinks pack a bigger punch. You still buy electronics, you just buy them on ebay. You still use expensive shampoo or mascara, you just buy everything else at the drug store.

I think we cut out practically all of our non-necessities, but we still did the same thing. We still bought H&H bagels; we just bought the bakery rejects from our local green market. We used to fill a flask with vodka and orange juice and take walks to nearby Rockefeller Center for weekend entertainment. We would walk rather than pay subway fare, skip buying new clothes, try out generic brands of food. We would treat ourselves to a nicer restaurant... and share a meal.

For me, the crowning moment was the Newark bus. I still remember scouring the internet for a cheaper way to airports. La Guardia was easy on public transportation. JFK was a REALLY long subway ride away, but no matter how hard we tried to find a mythical local bus at the end of the A line, we couldn't get around the $7 airtrain. Newark was our genius moment. We figured out we could take a local NJ Transit bus from Port Authority to the furthest out long-term parking lot for $1.70. From there, an airport shuttle took us to the airport. Nice. However, luggage was frowned upon, and timing was excruciatingly slow- a little stressful when trying to catch a flight. So after all that, would I recommend it? No way. Avoid the stress, and just pay the $14 for the direct bus.

Still, if you can get around rent, NYC has a lot going for it for the "economy" budget. Our local veg and meat markets were much cheaper than the grocery store. There were free concerts, Broadway show lotteries, donation-based museums, plenty of ways to entertain yourself on the cheap. It was fun, though, to read the article and remember the creative tactics we took. And don't worry, we are developing a whole new set over here!