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$120 a month for groceries? What is she eating? I spent $60 a week.
To be honest if you eat super healthy and natural it's not that expensive. Its all the junk and processed food that adds up. I'm vegan and gluten free and when I stick to basics my bill is low, when I add all the special tasty vegan junk food, my bill sky rockets.
Gluten free is like 3x more expensive I do not know where you shop for cheap food.
$30 a week buys you next to nothing in food. Rice, beans, potatoes and 2 grape tomatoes a day. Maybe some oatmeal.
Yes like I said if you buy the processed food it is. To eat natural veggies, fruits, grains, etc you can get them for $30 a week. Buy processed crap it costs you $$$.
I don't know where you shop and you only get beans, rice, potatoes, 2 tomatoes and some oatmeal for $30. Your getting ripped off.
Rice 20 servings $5
Beans 3.5 servings (x2) .79 cents each so total $1.58
Bag of potatoes $4
Oatmeal 13 servings $3
grape tomatoes $3
Total $16.58
You have enough rice for 3 weeks, Oatmeal for 2 so the next week you don't have to rebuy those and can buy other stuff.
I was exactly in her shoes a year ago before moving to PHX. Graduated college with (manageable) debt & lived in Manhattan on a 40k salary. Saved pretty much none of it, but like the girl in the video, I didn't regret a moment of it, thoroughly enjoyed my time.
For me, this was the norm. Everyone else I knew lived like this. I'm more surprised to run into people my age (early 20s) who were NOT financially struggling. We all had 4, 5, 6 roommates, purchased pretty much everything used or free off FB marketplace or craigslist, took full advantage of whatever perks/benefits our jobs provided (free/discounted gyms, metrocard, museum visits, whatever), did a lot of home cooking and pre-gaming (drinking at home) so we would already be buzzed/drunk by the time we hit the bars.
For some of my friends who remained in NYC during the lockdowns, COVID was actually a bit of a blessing. Since they didn't have to go into the office, not having to spend money on appearance upkeep and maintenance (new clothes, cosmetics) or childcare (stupidly expensive in NYC) meant that they could actually breathe for once.
It's doable. But the caveat: it's probably only doable when you're young. Cuz you're willing to put up with it since it's all "part of the adventure."
This story is part of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which profiles people across the U.S. and details how they earn, save and spend their money.
After graduating from Ithaca College in the spring of 2018, Elena Haskins landed her first full-time job in New York City. But the 23-year-old is far from a novice when it comes to working.
"I've always had part-time jobs," she tells CNBC Make It. "I think it's important to have a side income, even if you have support from your family. You want to have your own money."
The Brooklyn resident lives on $50,000 a year — her salary at PEI — a portion of which goes toward paying off her student loans. That debt isn't stopping her from making the most of her 20s.
"I definitely think you can live comfortably on a salary of $50,000, even in New York City," says Haskins. "It's an expensive city, but I think if you know where your money is going and you recognize what your priorities are, it's totally doable."
MSNBC is pushing more CCP propoganda. They are trying to prepare us to live on as little as possible for when they take over.
Gluten free is like 3x more expensive I do not know where you shop for cheap food.
$30 a week buys you next to nothing in food. Rice, beans, potatoes and 2 grape tomatoes a day. Maybe some oatmeal.
I used to shop at Fei Long Market in Sunset Park when I lived in Brooklyn fulltime. You could definitely make things work on that budget, though you wouldn't have much margin to work with. Cabbage and other veggies well under $1.00 a pound, chicken less than $1.00 a pound, and scores of other cheap items.
I'm guessing that she could shop at any number of cheap Asian supermarkets and make it work. Of course, she still supplements her meals by eating out to the tune of $200+ a month also if I recall correctly.
Cabbage and other veggies well under $1.00 a pound, chicken less than $1.00 a pound, and scores of other cheap items.
Eggplant is 1.79/lb by me and that's at the cheapest price. And chicken breast at the cheapest is 2.49/lb and only 1.49 if there's a special. I've paid 4.15/lb for boneless chicken breast. And all these are at chinese markets. We're not talking Food Emporium/Gristedes or Dag.
Eggplant is 1.79/lb by me and that's at the cheapest price. And chicken breast at the cheapest is 2.49/lb and only 1.49 if there's a special. I've paid 4.15/lb for boneless chicken breast. And all these are at chinese markets. We're not talking Food Emporium/Gristedes or Dag.
Is this a Chinese market in Manhattan? I'd imagine that you'd find better deals at the Chinese markets in Queens and Brooklyn just due to lower overhead alone.
It's not only about what you make. It's about how much you keep. Millennials always make the mistake of spending more than they should.
You don't need starbucks everyday or eat at trendy ethnic eats you just saw on Instagram. That is the biggest money waster that millennials spend more money on coffee than their parents ever did.
It's not only about what you make. It's about how much you keep. Millennials always make the mistake of spending more than they should.
You don't need starbucks everyday or eat at trendy ethnic eats you just saw on Instagram. That is the biggest money waster that millennials spend more money on coffee than their parents ever did.
I'm a millennial. We were raised in a different time. New York City is far more expensive now than it was say in the last 15 years even, which is part of the problem. I buy coffee (not Starbucks, but coffee from specialty places like Blue Bottle, La Colombe, etc.) just about every day and I keep track of all of my expenses. Nothing wrong with it as long as are bringing in enough.
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