Help create a budget for me (Union: transplants, lawyers, buying)

[texags02]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Texags, do you know how much your medical/dental insurance is going to be? I don't think you had that in your budget....

I'm not 100%, but I'd guess around the $200-$250/month range. Any averages out there?

[Irish Eyes]

Do you need to pay $3000 for rent? Even with that you WON'T need to clip coupons. Your guess for insurance might be low, I was paying over $300 for my husband and myself and I work for an insurance company(free with his new job yay!). Avoid the pitfalls mentioned - cabs are a GIANT rip off and when your coworkers and neighbors are driving new cars and gettting new toys remember that the majority of people live beyond their means. Don't be one of them. I'd keep the car if you won't need a garage, it's just another myth that no one in this city has a car. Contribute to your 401Ks immediately, don't fall into the trap of waiting until you have "more money". If you don't you'll just start spending it on cabs!

Entertainment expenses can be a whole lot or not - so you can try money saving tips. Sign up for Broadwaybox.com alerts and NEVER pay full price for show tickets. Restaurant week is twice a year and it's fantastic! Save the very expensive restaurants for those 2 weeks. Get on the e-mail list for restaurants you like, with everyone spending less I've been getting e-mails about discounts directly from a couple of places. I'm guessing you'll want dog friendly things - go to the big parks like Prospect and Central and spend the day there for free. Join the App Mtn Club - cheap, you'll see lots of beautiful places and they have dog friendly hikes.

[texags02]

Irish-THANKS for the great tips...seriously. Anything else you can pass along similar to above is VERY MUCH appreciated. As far as the rent, we're looking to spend around $2500-$2800, a lot of which has to do with wanting a W/D in the unit, and having a large dog. As far as the car, we're debating on whether to take one, and if so, which one. I have an older but good Honda that's paid for so all we'd need is liability insurance; she has a newer Toyota that she is still paying for, so that and the higher insurance for full coverage are a concern. I'd personally prefer to keep the Honda because I feel like we won't use the car THAT much to justify making a car payment AND full-coverage insurance vs. just liability coverage.

Seriously though, things like Restaurant Week, tips for dog-friendly activities, Broadway tips....THANK YOU. Like I said, anything else like that for two Texans making the move up there is greatly appreciated.

[Irish Eyes]

I think you have the right idea about which car to keep, but will you lose money on the Toyota? Call Geico and get quotes, if you have good records they have the best rates. You also have to worry about a new car getting stolen. I have a Toyota and Hondas are pretty much the same - they will run FOREVER! You'll also want to take the pooch with you a lot so it will be easier with the car. You can always get rid of it here if you don't use it but why have the hassle of having to buy another car when you just got rid of two perfectly good ones? Don't become one of those people who never leaves the city!! You'll be happy to have it when you pop out to the Jersey Shore for the afternoon or go hiking in PA or Mohonk, maybe a trip to the wineries (free, free). (I don't know why I just assume that everyone who has a big dog hikes lol). Having a washer-dryer would be SO fantastic and will save you time and money. If you can't get that, at least make sure you have a good laundry room in the building. Otherwise you will likely resort to having someone else do it for you.

Another of my favorite cheap things is vinoversity.com. They have wine tastings at Divine Bar and I think it's really cheap. You can meet a lot of people, get hammered and actually learn about the wine!! Brooklyn also has it's own restaurant weeks and Queens might, too. Learn as much as you can about your neighborhood, too. A lot of areas have free tennis courts and there's usually a dog run or two sometimes off the beaten path. In my neighborhood there's a spot where lots of people go to fly kites and a little garden that shows free movies in the summertime. If you're not out there walking around you never find out about these things.

[Viralmd]

Depending on the plan, it could be WAY more than $250/month...the really good ones, where you pay 10% of reasonable and customary, you'll pay over $600/month. And that doesn't count dental.

[mad07]

If he has health insurance with his company, I don't think it'd cost that much. I pay under 40 bucks/month for medical/dental/vision.

[cjma79]

Wow,,, 600 a month.....
Do you know what...
Thanks God I have never paid for insurance. I think most people get medical from their employer, or at least they would pay some portion like 50% or 80%.
That is why I like working for a Hosp. and not private.
We have 2 insurance, one from my wife employer and another from mine.

[texags02]

Yes, my firm will provide medical/dental coverage. I'm not sure what my contribution will be, but I'm assuming it's not something drastic like $600/month.

[Viralmd]

This IS a company plan at $600/month - but it's a Rolls Royce plan: you can choose your doctor, you can choose your specialist, you don't need referrals and you pay nothing for medications.

[ontheGtrain]

Originally Posted by Ace Rock

Don't forget to budget for "six-figure syndrome":

1. Long hours and lack of free time leads to taking cabs instead of the subway, takeout dinners instead of home cooked, laundry service instead of doing it yourself.

2. Long hours and lack of free time also leads to "reward buying". You'll justify your hard work by spending lots of cash on yourself to reward yourself.

3. Peer pressure. The people you work with will have as much or more money than you. They'll have flashy toys, fancy clothes, nice vacations. You'll succumb.

4. Lifestyle upgrades. All of the sudden, that 1 bedroom in the wasteland of LIC doesn't seem nice and the little miss will want a 2 bedroom in the Village. Taco Bell doesn't taste as nice as Le Bernardin. And so on.

This is what I'm talking about. Those of us on here who do not make that kind of money could live like kings on what he says he will be pulling in but from my experience people who come here making that kind of money end up broke at the end of the month like the rest of us because they think they make a lot of money and can have what they want when they want it.
In nyc it is not a lot of money. But the city will teach the newcomer far better than I ever could. It always does.