Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Look for a basement apartment or a house share with a family. The rent is often cheaper than market. Some of these apartments are illegal, but you'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it to you.
Also, look for signs posted on grocery store windows, poles, etc. in the cheaper outer borough neighborhoods. Without fail, I find those apartments rent for several hundred dollars below the average rate.
IF you don't have health insurance (it wasn't clear from the post): Look into the health insurance programs offered by the "Affordable" Care Act, can't hurt to see if you qualify for subsidized benefits. If not, the upside to your situation is being 22, since those under 30 can select the cheap indemnity plan. It only covers major medical plus a checkup, but having been a 22 year old man myself once upon a time, it's my experience that this is all you need. Another thing: Last I was uninsured here, New York State offered an automatic prescription discount. You don't need any paperwork or anything to qualify. This is a lifesaver if you are on a med of some kind.
Food: Some people who have trouble making ends meet visit food pantries. This may be an option, and if so, don't be afraid to use it. Some charities and churches also offer spaghetti dinners. Also, sign up for Meet Ups and see if you can attend the free ones where food is served. You can fill up pretty well on appetizers and rich snacks at some of the technical ones for example.
Look into increasing the number of exemptions on your tax return if possible. This withholds less tax and increases your net salary. Without knowing your entire situation, I can't say how many exemptions you could take but worth a shot.
NYC Dental School offers low-cost cleanings for the uninsured. If you need oral surgery, however, stay FAR away. They pulled ONE impacted wisdom tooth and screwed it up spectacularly. I was unable to eat solids for a week.
Buy all toiletries, household goods, boxed/tinned food, and spices at 99 cent and up stores or, if you have one close by, a store called DEALS. DEALS is a subsidiary of Dollar Tree. The prices are very low, like you rolled back the clock to the late 90s low. Toothbrushes, floss, shampoo, deodorant, snacks, razors, shaving cream, basic household goods, certain OTC meds, and more will be much cheaper there than at your Duane Reades and Walgreen's, which are simply highway robbery in drug store form. Only thing to watch for is toothpaste. Make sure it says on the box "Made in the USA" or "Made in [State]" (often it's Ohio or something). Some of the dental products at those stores are from Mexico or China, have weird and unsafe crap in them, and tend to be expired.
Look on Craigslist for freelance work and check the back of papers like the Village Voice for medical studies. Taking on side jobs or ways of making money can net you several hundred dollars in fast cash, sometimes quickly.
Saving on MTA fare: If your employer offers pre-tax MTA pass, sign up for it. It's cheaper than buying it at the fare card machine and will also knock down your total taxable income.
Final thing...eating cheaply:
Shop only the cheap grocery stores. That means Fine Fare or Sea Town, not Whole Foods. Buy what's on sale. Chicken thighs and legs are usually on sale for protein. A dozen eggs are cheap.
Buy rice and beans in bulk. You can make a large pot of that, spice it with chili powder and black pepper from DEALS, and have meals for a couple days.
Buy bulk packs of Ramen. Simmer powder with two eggs and diced carrot or whatever veg is on sale. Add the noodles last, boil quick for 2-3 minutes or until tender but firm and serve.
Another fast and filling dish is fried rice. You can make this quickly with the rice, eggs, chopped veg on sale, and chunks of leftover chicken. Soy can be added to taste, it is also probably easy to grab soy sauce packets as most people have a ton of them lying around.
Cafe Bustelo makes a cheap, strong cup of coffee.
When spaghetti's on sale, stock up. Get the cheap, generic brand Parmesan shaker, or better yet is fresh cheese when they have an 8-12 oz. piece for 2 dollars. You can slice this on top. Purchase the canned plain red tomato sauce, it's cheaper than the bottled and avoids the corn syrup and garbage they put in Ragu. Simmer tinned red sauce to thicken, with black pepper, a pinch of salt, basil, and a dash of red pepper until the flavor is how you like it. Serve on bed of noodles boiled till al dente with the Parmesan or the fresh cheese lightly grated on top.
Mac and cheese with a can of tuna, some peas (buy frozen not canned if possible), and thinly diced onion is tasty and filling.
You can often buy large containers of Quaker Oats for breakfast. Cook with dashes of cinnamon (again, get your dollar spices at the 99 cent/DEALS places) and a teaspoon of sugar or more if you like it sweet, makes a cheap and filling breakfast
Apples are coming in season and are some of the cheapest fruit you can buy.
For produce, look for stores that specialize in it. Their prices are often lower than the grocery, even the cheap groceries.
I will post more cheap recipes as I think of them. These helped me eat for very little while poor. Apologies that none of this is government related but I figure anything that helps you save can't hurt.
Wouldn't the obvious suggestion be to get a second part-time job or cut your expenses? There are tons of people making less than that, without assistance.
Hello, i'm a unmarried 22 year old man with no children. I make about $39k before taxes.
Could I qualify for EBT/food assistance? What about any kind of subsidized housing? The more the better. Please let me know.
Thank you
You're in the dreaded gray zone. At 39K you're probably just making it but still a couple of $K away from any assistance. Many will disagree with me but at $39K you can do OK if you don't live in the city and manage money well. SWIM makes $38K, lives in southern Brooklyn and lives a pretty good life. Of course SWIM isn't eating out every day or shopping high end either.
Before I begin, thank you everyone for the responses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cida
Wouldn't the obvious suggestion be to get a second part-time job or cut your expenses? There are tons of people making less than that, without assistance.
Hello, I've thought about a 2nd job but it's not really my preferred lifestyle.
Don't get me wrong, that's an excellent solution for a lot of people but I'm unfortunately not one of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by livingsinglenyc
I love the entitlement the OP feels.
I don't consider myself entitled. I believe that since NYC is so expensive, people in my income range deserve a bit of a boost. It is only fair.
Hello, I've thought about a 2nd job but it's not really my preferred lifestyle.
Don't get me wrong, that's an excellent solution for a lot of people but I'm unfortunately not one of them.
I laughed at your response. You don't make enough money to have much say in your preferred lifestyle. To change that the easiest thing to do, as somebody already mentioned before, is to increase your income (new job, second job) and/or decrease your expenses (grocery shopping + cooking vs eating out).
When I was a sophomore in college I took a year off and worked as a parking attendant in a busy midtown garage and made 50k. I had to work 60-90/hrs a week to do it, but I did it. The fact that you're making less then what I was making at a sh*tty low income job means you're doing something wrong. Go back to school and fix it.
Before I begin, thank you everyone for the responses.
Hello, I've thought about a 2nd job but it's not really my preferred lifestyle.
Don't get me wrong, that's an excellent solution for a lot of people but I'm unfortunately not one of them.
I don't consider myself entitled. I believe that since NYC is so expensive, people in my income range deserve a bit of a boost. It is only fair.
Your employer should be the one to 'boost' your lifestyle.
For things to be fair, few to no one would be receiving large government subsidies which can distort the market.
Unfortunately at your income, you'd be best suited to find employment elsewhere- be it in NYC or to relocate elsewhere.
At that salary the QoL will be worse than someone making 25K.
I don't consider myself entitled. I believe that since NYC is so expensive, people in my income range deserve a bit of a boost. It is only fair.
Really cause I make about 14k less than you and I have no problem paying for everything myself without any assistance. Sure I'd like to make a higher income, would be nice but I can pay all my bills, have my own apartment, eat well, and go have fun on my income. So why do you think making quite a bit more you should get help? I can none and can live a good life.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
