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Ah live your life. Go for the apt if it will make you happy. And remember the beauty of renting... its temporary. If in a year or two when your lease is up you can always move if you realize it doesnt fit your budget.
The general rule in NYC is that your rent shouldn't be any more than 30% of your gross income. For example, my rent is $1600. Based on that, I should be earning at least $64,000. Keep in mind that some landlords decide to set the gross salary higher than 40x the rent. .
30% of gross or 40X rent is the same income. The only difference is the government considers the $1600 the MAXIMUM you should pay for rent on a 64K income and a landlord considers it a minimum.
I totally get that you have to keep a budget in mind when renting, but where do you want to live, OP? There are some that will pay $2200 for a one bedroom that is close to an express train stop while others will pay $1600 for a one bedroom that's near only a local stop or has a bit of a longer walk to the subway. Once you decide the max that you can spend, doesn't mean that is what you should spend.
There are a lot of areas in the boroughs with major swings in rental costs. If saving is your number one goal, I would think it's wise to sacrifice a little commute time in order to be able to save more and to have a bit of a cushion in case something comes up.
I buy what I need and want, as cheaply as I can, and save the rest.
My biggest savings: I do not take vacations. When I was 16 and first drove into Manhattan I said to myself: "If I lived here, I wouldn't need to go anywhere else." It turned out to be true.
Save what you can. Everyone lives a different lifestyle, live in different specific situations, and make different incomes.
For example: I have a minimum automatic debit of $250 at the beginning of every month. I get paid once a month in arrears, so the savings debits pretty much next day. I will bump that up to $300 shortly. That's $3,000 guaranteed without even lifting a finger. I like doing it this way, because it prevents me from "tapping into it" prematurely. Once the money is moved, that's it. Can't be touched.
On top of that, I may add an additional $100 - $250. If I work overtime, or hit bonus, I'll add another another additional $100 - $250.
I do 7% for 401K. Once I hit 30, I'll bump to 10%.
The thing I've been trying to work on is spend less, save more. I still am in the "well, now I have more to spend" vs "let's invest this wisely." Can't lie, it's tough. But I feel roughly $4,000 a year is a decent and realistic start for a moderate portion of us.
Saving $10,000+ on top of 401K yearly would either mean, finding a new job, or eating ramen everyday. Haha.
30% of gross or 40X rent is the same income. The only difference is the government considers the $1600 the MAXIMUM you should pay for rent on a 64K income and a landlord considers it a minimum.
Yes, but the thing is you don't pay your rent based on your gross income. You pay it based on your net income. I always look to pay as little as I can in rent. I played hard ball with my landlord. He was trying to get $2300 for one bedrooms and $1900 for loft studios. I waited until the right opportunity arose and got a multi-year lease so I am locked in @ $1600 until almost 2020. That gives me time to save to buy an apartment and do other things, rather than spending an extra $300 in rent each month.
Yes, but the thing is you don't pay your rent based on your gross income. You pay it based on your net income. I always look to pay as little as I can in rent. I played hard ball with my landlord. He was trying to get $2300 for one bedrooms and $1900 for loft studios. I waited until the right opportunity arose and got a multi-year lease so I am locked in @ $1600 until almost 2020. That gives me time to save to buy an apartment and do other things, rather than spending an extra $300 in rent each month.
Which is why they should just go off of the net and save everyone the extra headache and torture. I'm sure there is some political reason to go off of gross, but to the average Joe, it's worthless.
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That gives me time to save to buy an apartment and do other things, rather than spending an extra $300 in rent each month.
