Are you thinking of moving to NYC, or are you already living in NYC, wondering if a frugal or cheaper lifestyle is possible?

You're not lonely, and you've come to the right place.

With ascension costs due to the urban center's popularity and really but being an insanely awesome place to alive, living in NYC never came cheap. In fact, many people are ever on the chase for the cheapest places to live in NYC, and that'south considering it's the almost expensive urban center for renting in the state!

The cost of food (eating out, specifically) doesn't come cheap in NYC, and neither does nightlife, entertainment, or ship.

Or does it?

Is there a cheap mode to live in NYC and is at that place a manner to have a budget lifestyle in the city that never sleeps?

Join us in looking at how to relieve coin while living in NYC and tips for how to live frugally in NYC. Before yous know it, you may be living in NYC for free.

Only kidding, we tin't tell you how to exercise it. Only y'all may get close, with these upkeep lifestyle hacks below for easy tips for living for inexpensive in New York City.

Ship on a budget in NYC

Yous've seen NYC yellow taxis in movies all your life, but the less-glamorous (and even more interesting) subway, buses, ferries and gondola ride (aye!) are the ways to get, if y'all want to save money living in NYC and stick to a budget.

Also, what about walking, and biking? These free means to get around NYC will get you far, so let's see the best ways to budget a busy lifestyle in NYC without breaking the bank.

Ever walk

Always, always walk, if yous can. What this means is walk anywhere if it'southward under a mile, and y'all'll save a subway or bus fare. Learn how to walk to exercise all your errands, appointments and daily activities, and if y'all tin, consider living close to piece of work, so that you tin walk and salve money on a daily commute.

Get a CitiBike membership

Always heard of CitiBike? A CitiBike membership is 1 of the coolest hacks for budget ways to get around New York City, or even for commuting.

CitiBike is accessible in a single ride, a day pass or an almanac membership (my favorite). I try to CitiBike to work whenever I tin, and the savings are huge (and the workout is corking, either!). Just bring a helmet.

To learn more than well-nigh CitiBike membership options, check out the website'due south pricing guide.

Even meliorate, get a bicycle

I owned 2 different bicycles in my before years living in Manhattan. I used a bicycle both as a gratis way to work out (I would bike 40 miles a calendar week from my apartment, down the West Side Highway, which is duly ane of our favorite places to run in NYC) and a free way to get around.

In fact, if you tin can score a bike off Craigslist or Facebook marketplace (as well 2 of my favorite places to sell my stuff online) for cheap, you'll be blessed with a gratis manner of transportation that volition get y'all about and far, as long equally you accept a bike lock to lock up when you park.

Have the subway, or a bus

For anyone who scoffs at the subway, you are missing out. The NYC subway is one of the oldest metro transit systems in the world, and it is nonetheless the almost affordable manner to get around NYC or commute.

For a flat fee, you can go one finish (in some parts of Manhattan, this is only a few blocks) or nearly two hours, from the top of the Bronx to the south of Brooklyn or the eastward of Queens. For living in NYC on a budget, this is the way to get, and don't forget that y'all become free transfers from the subway to the bus.

If you plan to accept the subway more than than twice a twenty-four hour period every day of the calendar month, get the monthly MetroPass, which will bring down the price per ride as soon as yous average 2-three rides per mean solar day.

One of the biggest shocks to both me and my wallet was this i night I had to leave a bar in the Lower East Side nigh Chrystie St. and go home to my flat on West 107th Street near Columbus Avenue for $26. And this was in 2013.

Uber fares, Lyft fares and other app-based rides, along with standard taxis, accept increased and increased over the years, and then if you want to stay on a budget, opt for the subway, because it never stops running (or walk or bike, as per above).

Food on a budget in NYC

"Oh my gosh, you lot alive in New York! Isn't it And then EXPENSIVE to alive in that location?"

No, it's really non, if you simply stop eating at restaurants, having $5 coffees and drinking $12 glasses of wine (plus revenue enhancement and tip) at confined. There is a way to live on a upkeep in NYC, swallow great nutrient, never get hungry and be happy with your banking concern business relationship at the same time.

Allow's check out how to do information technology.

Always buy groceries at upkeep grocery stores

The gilded dominion is to always buy groceries at budget grocery stores specifically, and I'll explain this.

When I moved to Manhattan, I was terrible at cooking (or hadn't found a way to love it quite yet), and I dreaded shopping for groceries and cooking lonely in my tiny niggling Manhattan kitchen on bad pots and pans.

I went shopping at places like Whole Foods ("Whole Paycheck"), West Side Market (where everything costs a fortune) and so tried Gristedes (forget about it). Second-best were Associated [Supermarkets] and Key Food, but I still wasn't impressed with what my dollar was getting me.

The win is going to Trader Joe'due south and if yous have seen the light, information technology's clear why this identify always has lines, simply it's clear why the hype stays high and never dies downward for this lovable and budget grocery store.

Now that we live in Brooklyn, we've located some amazing neighborhood grocery stores (the ones with the fruit and veggies outside out front with handwritten daily signage) and nosotros've found our hacks. Nosotros purchase groceries several times a week, e'er take a stocked fridge and we're happy with our grocery budget in NYC.

Endeavour to stay vegetarian, and skip highly-processed foods, ready-made meals and expensive proper noun brands

Back when I hated cooking, I also spent also much coin on candy foods, name brands I was familiar with and a freezer meal hither and there "but in instance I ran out of time."

If y'all commit, y'all'll never run out of time to cook, and that is why there is such a thing called repast prep.

Then in that location's shopping vegetarian, or vegan. Once you lot learn about the health benefits, you'll exist sold, and when yous learn near how much of a hit meat and fish have been taking in your grocery upkeep, y'all may even steer clear of them forevermore.

We tend to shop veggie-vegan, with some canned tuna here and there and a steady stream of eggs by the dozen. Nosotros also consume beans, chickpeas and BeyondMeat as a meat culling.

Never, ever social club in food on Seamless, UberEats, DoorDash or Postmates

A great Instagram post that shares the evil of food ordering apps is one of my favorites, Personal Finance Club and he illustrates the straightforward cost of ordering in food.

In NYC, the price is especially high, as tips are higher, fees are higher, the cost of restaurants is higher and basically everything is higher. I ordered a simple Thai back-scratch the other week for a base cost of around $xiv and the bill was $25 (I was using a souvenir card and paid $0). That'due south the cost of ordering food in, in NYC.

To stick to a lifestyle budget, flake the ordering in! If you want something from a eating house, order it direct online or past phone and do a pickup by walking or wheel, or grab it on your manner habitation. This is how to live on the cheaper side in a large city like New York.

If you desire to eat out, opt for fast casual rather than sit-downwardly

If you lot do eat out at restaurants from time to time, and we sure practise, when we accept occasions to celebrate or splurge, nosotros opt for fast casual for a few reasons.

Starting time, you lot can usually sit outdoors and enjoy a sidewalk meal but as you would at a sit-downwards eatery with waiter service, merely second, fast-casual allows variety and sticking to a budget if you want to go something small, or just a drink, or just a dessert or snack, and still have a restaurant dining-out experience.

Make your coffee at dwelling or at the part

I used to accept a friend whose girlfriend bought coffee at a buffet every single day on the way to work. At $five a mean solar day, that's $25 a calendar week, and $100 a month, and $1200 a year.

ON COFFEE. Particularly in NYC, you lot'll see coffee get expensive, rarely below $ii and ofttimes $4-5 per cup if y'all're getting a nice drink like a latte, or cold brew, or something iced, to-go.

If you're like the states, you've learned how to brew your ain coffee at home and brew information technology well, while enjoying the experience. It's the same reason we likewise brand our ain java when we travel.

Past buying a big bag of java for $12, and each of u.s.a. drinking a cup every morning with our Chemex, we've saved thousands of dollars, based on the math higher up. This is one of our favorite and enjoyable ways to save money living in NYC.

Take friends over for cooking, rather than dining out or ordering in

As we've gotten older (and wiser), we've learned that having friends over for cooking, or some drinks, or snacks on our roof, is one of the most budget-friendly ways to entertain guests and socialize when living in New York Urban center.

When I was younger and living in Manhattan, I loved being busy; however, I let 'busy' and 'having plans' translate into 'going out to dinner at least iii nights a week.'

Can you believe that? I was spending $ten-20 on dinner, three or more nights a calendar week, whereas at present, our grocery spend for two people in 1 week is around $l per person, for three meals a day.

What nosotros've learned is that having friends over our habitation for doing basically anything except dining or drinking out is 1 of the ways to live frugally in NYC, and welcome friends into your home at the aforementioned time.

Endeavor buying groceries on AmazonFresh

Our absolute newest budget hack for NYC living is getting groceries on Amazon Fresh. Is it always an excellent deal? The answer is no, it'due south non always a great deal, but you have to know what to become.

This is where, if yous run into above, we're thankful for our vegetarian lifestyle, because we tin can become several bags of food for $50 or $60, like pantry staples (pasta, rice, peanut butter, etc.) and frozen goods (frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, frozen vegan meat alternatives), delivered to our door, and we also get 5% back with our Amazon credit card.

This one might be our newest and greatest grocery hack of the twelvemonth.

Entertainment & nightlife on a budget in NYC

When yous commencement movement to NYC, you may gravitate toward all the tourist saucepan listing items you never had time for if you only came in for the weekend or for i trip in your life to New York City, in the past.

In reality, living in NYC is regular life: sleep, eat, work, practice fun things, repeat.

At that place is no doubt that entertainment (theatre, comedy, music, off-the-beaten-path types of entertainment) and nightlife (bars, restaurants, outings) will go on you very decorated on the weekends, just is there a inexpensive fashion to enjoy entertainment and lifestyle on a budget in NYC?

Skip expensive shows, concerts and events with encompass charges

Broadway will continue to ever be hundreds of dollars per ticket, and for good reasons: Broadway is the Best.

But, if you lot want to keep lifestyle costs to a minimum, opt for donation-based entertainment or gratuitous shows (there are and then many types of free shows and amusement in NYC parks, for example, in the leap, summer and fall).

Skip the hype, if your desires let it, and spend zero to merely the minimum on amusements for the weekend.

Buy but one drink at the bar, or, become a soda

I feel like I learned in my twenties that going out meant getting one drinkable, then two, then three, then splitting a large group bill, then factoring taxation and tip and worrying if I had diddled my weekend budget in just a few hours past showing up at a political party at a bar.

The secret sauce would've been having one drink and then cutting myself off before buying libations into oblivion, or starting with a soda, having 1 splurge, and so drinking water.

Depending on your preferences, you may head toward the sober terminate of the spectrum or the person who goes wild Friday and Saturday nights, simply if your budget is in the back of your mind, put a limit on your weekend bar budget and stick to a reasonable maximum so that you don't regret backlog spending subsequently.

Get a happy hour expert

There are some cities that don't "practise happy hr" (Boston?), merely NYC is pretty good at happy hr.

Around the metropolis, you'll exist able to pass by bars that are doing $5-6 beers til vi or 7pm, and the information is available online, or right on the chalkboard signs outside bars in the happenin' areas. My favorite happy hour confined are Elsa in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and Juniper on 35th and seventh, if you are in Manhattan.

Have or host a firm political party

When I got a much larger flat, I loved having parties or friends over for dinner. This is a great way to keep costs depression, while living in NYC, and if yous take smart friends who also do not like to overspend, they'll desire to come up over with a bottle of wine in mitt and y'all can have a grand ole time for the toll of i drink at a bar.

My top tip is to pick upwards some fun big bags of snacks at Trader Joe's and put them in nice bowls. It's a cool and appreciated impact when a gathering has big snacks and dips.

Go to performances and concerts in NYC parks

This summer alone I stumbled on and so many wonderful and artistic performances in NYC's parks, from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

In that location is so much talent in New York City (it's incredible) and you can either research shows in advance at websites like Time Out New York, or just happen upon them as you're out for your walk, run, stroll or wheel ride. Typically, they are free!

Hunt downwardly fun & free weekend events and festivals

There are so many gratuitous cultural weekend events and festivals in NYC to go on you lot busy, amused, happy and completely within budget. Some astonishing ones are the Banquet of San Gennaro in Little Italian republic, and Chinese New Year's celebrations effectually January-Feb in Chinatown and Flushing, Queens.

Find an affordable identify to live on a budget in NYC

There is a way to find rubber and affordable places to live in New York, and you tin can get lucky, so to speak. A lot of how to look for a great flat in NYC depends on how you lot exercise your research, and we want to arm y'all with how to find somewhere affordable and keep your upkeep low.

Split an flat with friends, roommates or housemates

Splitting an apartment with roommates is one of the most common ways to alive in NYC for inexpensive, and the further you lot get from the center of Manhattan, the more you'll see rooms for rent in the three digits … not four.

This is non to say that every area of NYC is great, or desirable: that'due south not the case, but splitting peachy apartments with great roommates volition certainly allow you live in NYC for cheaper.

Avoid banker fees at all costs when searching for an apartment

I've never paid a broker fee in NYC, and neither should you. A broker fee for renting an apartment in New York City is usually equal to i month of rent on the lease, so this amounts to paying 13 months of hire in a year, instead of 12.

Yous can search for apartments by filtering for 'no fee,' and you lot can learn more near this in our guide to renting in NYC.

Understand that to salvage money, you'll have to forego some amenities

To live in NYC on the cheap, no one always said you were going to get a roof deck, pool, dishwasher, doorman and renovated kitchen.

To relieve money and live in an affordable (and safe) apartment in NYC, understand and acknowledge that you may take a great location, just the flat may be old, lack amenities or renovations and be rather basic.

That'due south what you sign upwards for to live in a major city with an increasing toll of living, but it is worth it!

Look for the best apartment in an up-and-coming area

While living on Park Avenue is highly-seasoned, the truth is that the best deals for renting in NYC and living an affordable or cheaper lifestyle will come when yous venture out into northern Manhattan, the Bronx, farther-out parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Many students want to know how they can alive in NYC as cheaply every bit possible, and the cheapest mode to live in NYC for the summer will be to find a sublet, probable out toward areas like cardinal Queens, southern Brooklyn or the Bronx.

Or, look at more basic-style buildings in expensive neighborhoods and desirable blocks

Our about recent apartment before now was one of the most basic buildings on ane of the well-nigh beautiful and most desirable brownstone blocks in all of Brooklyn (and by some accounts, all of New York Metropolis). Was it worth it? Aye, for the neighborhood feel, charm, first-class architecture and safety lone.

One way to not interruption the depository financial institution while living in NYC is to go for the smallest or most basic building on a block that you lot really like.

You need our breakdown of how to pick a NYC neighborhood to live in! Bookmark our guide to all the NYC neighborhoods when planning a move.

Sublet, on Craigslist, LeaseBreak, Facebook Market place or Angie's Listing

Subletting is a not bad fashion to salve money in NYC or break into the rental market for inexpensive, so that you tin live a budget lifestyle and not be signed into a lease, if that is not what you are looking for at the fourth dimension.

In fact, my commencement "real NYC apartment" was a sublet, and this makes subletting tips 1 of the #1 best tips for living in New York Urban center. Subletting as well usually will not lock you into the salary requirements of getting your own charter.

Other lifestyle hacks for living in NYC on a budget

At present that we've talked all virtually the cost of living in New York City, forth with cheap places to live in NYC that are also condom and affordable, and now that we've talked well-nigh your grocery upkeep, let's look at other ways to lower your price of living and live frugally in NYC.

Stop shopping

My life inverse when I told myself I had everything I needed and I stopped shopping. Seriously, if you lot take wearing apparel and a place to live, you don't need much else to function and exist content.

Once I stopped passing through wear stores on my way abode from work and buying things, I had a lot more budget left over on my credit bill of fare each calendar month.

The best tip for sticking to your lifestyle budget in NYC is simply to window store: admire windows, get into stores but don't take out your wallet, or do the "30 examination" of waiting thirty days to purchase anything over $30, and reevaluate if you really need it.

In my guide to decluttering, which is tangentially related to stopping shopping, I recommend the Minimalists podcast. Find out how to declutter your apartment.

Find stuff on stoops and flip or re-sell them on Craigslist or online marketplaces

Decluttering your apartment is a wonderful way to make infinite, and selling anything online is an splendid mode to make money.

In many neighborhoods with stoops (by and large in Brooklyn, where there is a neighborhood-y feel) like Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Fort Greene, you'll find excellent things of value left on people'due south stoops. One man'due south trash is some other man's treasure! You tin can bring anything in great condition home, post information technology on Craigslist, and await for it to sell, for some extra cash.

Pick upward low-cost or costless hobbies

In our guide to free stuff to do in NYC, yous'll see there is a complete plethora of complimentary things to do in New York Urban center and some of them stem into awesome hobbies.

Take a few for instance: running, biking, joining a gratis workout group similar November Project, walking with friends, joining free meetups or volunteering. In that location's besides means to visit all the costless museums in the metropolis, document city adventures through photography or learn things online, like learning photography through YouTube.

Avoid lifestyle creep

Lifestyle creep is when you make more money (salary, contracts, any blazon of income) and therefore start spending more money to continue up with a lifestyle that you think fits your income.

It is one of the things that keeps people broke and struggling. When living in NYC, whether you lot get a huge bonus, a large raise or a new job that pays double, aim to keep lifestyle costs abiding, and you'll see how much you can save and put away, focusing on a NYC lifestyle budget that does not rise as your bacon does.

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Cut subscriptions

In living anywhere and living any life, go on in mind that subscriptions are made to make you lot keep paying but forget to keep using, so if you have any doubts that a subscription or membership to a guild, gym or service may become un-used, avoid.

With that actress coin back in your pocket each month, you can do things like shop for items when you need them, rather than subscribe to a monthly manner box and even something like a monthly Metrocard is a buy better spent on single rides if y'all only program to ride twice a week.

Determine if you really demand that gym membership

Gym memberships in NYC can be budget memberships at budget gyms for $39 a calendar month (and some showtime at trials for free or for $19/month for the first month), or $250/month for Crossfit, or if you have the money, $26,000 per year for Equinox on Madison Ave.

There are other ways to work out for free, especially these ways to piece of work out from home.

Remember that information technology's impossible to alive in NYC for costless, only you can strive for a good for you budget

If you are thinking about how to live in NYC for free, think over again. Living anywhere for free would be pretty ridiculous and NYC is as real as it gets!

Your best bet is to exist looking for safe and affordable places to live in New York City, inquiry the price of living and so that you know what you're in for if you are moving hither for the first time and enquiry how to budget for a lifestyle in NYC, similar nosotros've outlined here.

You're on your mode to live frugally in a big city similar NYC, and y'all can fifty-fifty relieve coin while living here if you're smart, put your mind to information technology and create a NYC budget and lifestyle that works for you and makes yous happy.

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Final updated on November 18th, 2022