I am trying to get a realistic sense of how people in the city are saving money since NYC lifestyles seem to vary so widely.
If you are comfortable sharing, I would love to hear:
- How much you are able to save or invest per month after rent, bills, food and other expenses
Optional but helpful:
- A ballpark annual income
- Your neighborhood
- Age and career stage
- Living situation like solo, roommates, partner or family
Please do not shame or judge either way whether someone is saving a lot, a little, or nothing at all. NYC is expensive and circumstances vary. I just want to understand what real life looks like across the city and what even high income earners are saving.
I am not trying to flex or compare. Just genuinely curious.
Thanks to anyone willing to share. š
My takeaways from this year are that I spent a lot traveling and eating out. Iāll be looking to eat out less this year!
35k to ur roth and 401k is incredible brother, love to see it
Just 30! The other 5 to my liquid savings. But thank you
Eating out less!!!
Wife won't be happy about that one.
Dang, 35k saved with Williamsburg rent and travel? Thatās insane. Eating out less will probably free up a ton more.
Yeah I saw my restaurant spend this past year and was baffled. Looking to halve it next year at least!
Way not to cut the travel š«”
Do you have any student debt?
Nah paid that off middle of 2025, another reason why I didnāt end up saving more!
Congrats. Paying off that loan feels great doesnāt it?
Thank you! It's a relief to not even think about it anymore
$64k annual income, mid/late 20s, live in crown heights with 1 roommate paying $1400 each + $200ish in utilities per month. Between 401k and a high yield savings account, I save around $600-$700 per month. I used to save more but I donāt get raises and everything else has gotten more expensive š«
$600-$700 is super impressive
that range with a 64k salary is wild
Yeah how tf do u do that? I feel like with those expenses which is pretty on par for a NY-er thatās hard to do
5% of my pre-tax income goes to my 401k. $300/month automatically goes from my paycheck to my hysa. Iām also paid biweekly, so I calculate my months based on 2 biweekly paychecks, which means that twice a year I get two āextraā paychecks. Those both go into savings.
Iāll be contributing more to my 401k and significantly less to my hysa in 2026 because Iāve finally hit my goal of a year of expenses in the hysa. I moved to the city with $0 in savings after college so Iām really proud of that :)
My big budget categories are $250/month groceries, $250/month all other food/alcohol/coffee, and $300/month shopping/experiences/fun. Anything left over at the end of the month I put into savings.
I grew up with parents who qualified for food stamps but were too proud to take them, so personally this feels like living large. I feel guilty that Iām not saving more and that sometimes I go out to eat and go to concerts. But Iām trying to remind myself that Iām only young once.
no point living in NYC and not taking advantage of what the city has to offer! looks like you've got a really good balance going, keep it up š
at 600/m consistently on your salary - this is fantastic
This is awesome! Great work!
Question for someone looking to move to crown heights, do you live in a 2 bed with your roommate? I haven't found a 2 bed under $3,000 rent, would love to know if that's your case
I do live in a 2BR! We are so very lucky that we have lived in this apartment for almost 4 years and the landlord has not raised rent. Itās definitely under-market now, and Iām dreading when they inevitably jack us up a ton (weāre not rent-stabilized).
Ah okay I'm not just getting unlucky at the options then, happy for y'all!
So many young wealthy people here, omg. Iām envious.
Same, super happy for them but would love to hear from more average salaried people lol
About 62k people have viewed this post, but only 163 have commented. Even if you assume 90% of non-commenters just donāt feel like writing anything, and the remaining 10% are avoiding commenting because theyāre not in a great financial situation, that still implies around 6,200 people in that position versus 163 comments here.
Exactly.
Keep in mind these people are NOT the majority of NYC. I see a lot of these posts from people who make near or over 6 figures, or how to survive in NYC with less than 100k. According to figures only about a third of NYC households make that much
I only started making more than 100K within the last 5 years. Before Covid, it was much easier to get an apartment while making $17 an hour. I still knew plenty of people who had roommates. In 2012 would you believe 1 bedrooms still went for $1200 a month? I paid $850 a month for my first apartment in 2013 and it was a studio.
Iāve lived here for over 25 years! My first place was a 2br in Williamsburg and we each paid $635!
Yeah, true. Iām just so surprised about the ages of these wealthy people. Iām in my 50s and am not near some of these salaries!
This thread is making me feel bad about my salary š¬
Keep in mind even the rich can be depressed. But yea itās kinda wild and Iām a bit baffled that people making big money are just chillin on Reddit lol
Same lol I certainly chose the wrong career path
Never too late to change- but remember tho money can make us happy in like having enough - you can still be miserable with it. I used to make more money in the legal field and I was miserable.
About 62k people have viewed this post, but only 163 have commented. Even if you assume 90% of non-commenters just donāt feel like writing anything, and the remaining 10% are avoiding commenting because theyāre not in a great financial situation, that still implies around 6,200 people in that position versus 163 comments here.
Amen. I was recently laid off from a job in tech that I had for 4 years and which paid well (around 130k, not really outrageous but much more than Iād ever made before and plenty for me to be comfortable), and while I have absolutely no regrets and know that the financial stability it allowed me to build was worth it, Iām at a bit of an impasse now because I just truly canāt see myself signing on to a similar job if I had the opportunity again. The job itself was soul sucking in a way I had never experienced before, but even more insidiously I found myself falling into more and more isolation and depression the more I could monetarily afford to avoid the normal little discomforts in life (living alone, ordering takeout, expensive solitary hobbies). This wouldnāt be an issue for everyone, and is still infinitely preferable to the stress and health impacts of financial insecurity, but nevertheless I am very much struggling with the cumulative mental health toll of this pattern
Barely surviving man
Single, F, mid-late 30s
I save about $2k a month on a base salary of about $170k and a $55k variable bonus. I live alone in a 3br apartment in Brooklyn where Iāve been for almost 15 years so I have a good deal on rent (but am not in a rent stabilized place). I had roommates until relatively recently (last few years). I could save more but I eat out a lot and am happy with my budget.
I saved quite a bit of money between 2020-2024 (about $150k) and the last few years I started working with a financial advisor who manages a significant amount of my savings, including my 401k.
I was able to comfortably take a year off between my last role as a music business executive and my new role in partnerships at a tech company without sweating the cost.
edit: Respectfully, i didnāt come here for financial advice, just to share as OP requested. As I said, Iām quite happy with my situation. Between my managed accounts, my portfolio is valued at close to half a million + another six figures in cash.
Iām very pleased with the service Iāve gotten from my financial advisor, who was recommended to me by a close friend. Love him, heās great! Could I manage my money myself for cheaper? Probably, but I donāt want to because Iād rather pay someone to do it for me.
Good luck out there yāall!
is your financial adviser fixed-fee-based instead of percentage based? if the latter, please please please research them. percentage-based can take a $400k size bite out of your retirement savings vs a fixed-fee based adviser
Also, congrats on the life changes!
This is the best advice for most people. Even a small percentage can mean millions down the line.
Thank you! My advisor came well recommended by someone I trust who has worked with him for over a decade, and I def checked him out before I gave him a single cent to manage. Good advice!
Iām glad you did your diligence! Thatās more than most people and youāre obviously super smart to have achieved all that you have.
I know I sound like a record on repeat, but my previous comment was a bit ambiguous soI want you to have full information.Ā
If your financial advisor charges your percentage based fee (1%), 99% of the personal finance and saving for retirement community advises against them because itās going to cost you like $500,000 by the time you start drawing for retirement vs maybe 10s of thousands of dollars for a fee based one. The results are at the same unless youāre investing amounts like a financial institution.
One day someone who is searching for financial advice will find this comment and it will save them so much money!! Thank you for sharing, I appreciate that youāre looking out for others!
Financial advisors are generally a bad idea. Just put your investments in vanguard index funds and ditch the advisor
Saving 2k a month is badass - why would anyone need to give you advice? Youāre crushing it
Thank you so much! I should know better than to think I wouldnāt get unsolicited advice from strangers on this site š¹
Well youāre doing great so donāt forget that
I try to put $100 bucks away every two weeks. Im single dont go out much or eat out much. I live by myself no debt to worry about and I work 9-5 five days a week.
annual income: $50k
long island city
late 40s; switched careers about 5 years ago
my half of the rent is about $30k/year
i save approximately $0 to retirement/investments
Is that pre tax? Can I ask why your rent is so high and how you afford other things (insurance, food, transport, etc.)?
that is pre-tax.
i live in a fancy building in a very popular neighbourhood. the rent was more reasonable when i moved in in 2008 (and my income was higher, too), but we don't want to move-- we are very happy in this apartment.
i don't have much transportation since i work mostly from home. until they expired this year, i was receiving a tax subsidy on an ACA insurance policy. this year will suck :/ (i am hopeful i will increase my income this year though.)
i did spend down quite a bit of savings in the last few years. in like 2000 i bought $250 of netflix stock, and in the last 5-10 years i sold most of it for idk, $15k? maybe a bit more.
up until 2019 i had been contributing to a 401k, as well as buying a few small investments. since then i have saved 0. i have not taken any money out of the 401k, but i have spent most of the money i had outside of it.
2026 salary is now $145k
Net pay per 2wk paycheck is approx $3,418 (401k pretax deduction at I think 6 percent)
CC Bill can be 1.8k to 3k (trying to get it down). Basically every expense is on that card.
Rent is $2600. Utilities $150-$200
When I feel comfortable, I move another $1k to my HYSA every 1-2 months. So, savings is variable. Could prob do a fair bit to up savings, but I like living free and happyā¦ who knows what the future brings.
Gross $105k per year but only about $65k net after taxes. Late 20s, living alone in manhattan paying $2800/month plus $160ish utilities. Total disposable income is about $2,700/month.
Maxed out my 401k and then put away an automatic $150 per paycheck to savings and then anything else at the end of the month, usually ends up around $750/month total. New York is expensive and I like to go out every once in a while and enjoy the city in general. I pay attention to my spending but I do my best not to limit myself
Wow this is amazing!
May I ask where in Manhattan for a $2800 1BR (presumably)?
28F. ~345k in brokerage + Roth IRA, 55k in 401k, 27k in HSAs = ~427k - 10k (student loans). I've been investing basically since college; I worked part time at 15/hr.
* Made 80->100->120->130k over the course of 4 years w/ a startup, recently jumped to another job 3 months ago so ~200k now.
* I usually had roommates over the years, currently live w/ bf in UES. I've always been super frugal, usually saved 2-5k/month after all expenses. W/ roommates, rent was ~750 - 950 in outer boroughs. Current rent 1250 (2500 total).
*** The biggest takeaway is to invest early. I cannot express enough the power of compound interest. Itās not just about how much you put in, but how long that money has to work for you.***
Jesus this is an insane nest egg for 28. Iām going to guess you like. Donāt buy clothes often or travel often or eat out much?!
Mm...over 4 yrs I've visited Taiwan, London, France, Italy, China, and Japan (the last 5 was over a stretch of about 3 months when I technically lived abroad/was a digital nomad-- the startup job was remote).
Most of the egg is from stock gains right? (I've also paid off about 30k in student loan/debt, which isn't reflected in this). I've been watching the stock market since basically middle school and thinking about things like boglehead/FIRE for a long time now. I've been incredibly lucky to have lived through an insane bull market as I'm also starting my career.
But you're right, I don't tend to buy clothes often. I try to be intentional about what pieces I add to my wardrobe (you can't exactly show up to a 200k job looking homeless). I go out to eat maybe once every 2 weeks? I can't really justify some of the restaurant prices in NYC-- why have a mediocre meal at restaurant prices, we have mediocre meals at home.
Good for you internet stranger!
Thank you, internet stranger!! The funny thing is nobody (other than my bf) actually knows about my salary or nw, not even my parents (I worry my mother would run her mouth lol). And obviously I don't really splash money around so my friends don't know. And talking about $ makes everyone kind of weird. So I can only admit it anonymously to you all here
Iām on ozempic and Iām off food and booze so I save a good deal of money. I maxed out my Roth IRA and make the max contributions to my 401k every year. I have zero consumer debt and I was able to treat myself to a ysl bag for Christmas.Ā
Off food! Wild
Saving so much money!
Good for you!
Slat
Save 1.7K monthly, roommates, 30, Queens
I made 220k (unemployed currently), wife makes 250k. Our rent is 2600. We max out our 401k and IRA. We are pretty frugal but take 2-3 international trips every year. We were able to save 6-8k every month.
What do you do that you make so much??
I was a finance middle management in an insurance company. I was laid off end of October
Wow thatās wild. Sorry for your lay off but damn that much money would set me for life
Thank you. I was stuck at 85k-120k for a long time. I was lucky, I ran into one of my old managers at a conference, we talked and he offered me a job at his new place. It was a big jump for me to $195k, then small raises after that.
I managed to live off 85k-120k for a long time, so even when I made higher pay, my budget was still about the same. My savings plus the stock market investments for the last few years made me feel comfortable enough that I donāt need to desperately find a new job.
lucky you, the wifey can support while you look for something else
My wife and I make about $800K a year, Executive Director at a Bank (me) Senior Associate at a Law Firm (her)
We own on the UWS. We're in our late 30s, she is likely going to make partner at her firm in the next year/two years and I'm sticking around in the Executive Director slot forever or for awhile (not easy to make MD where I'm at but we are comfortable)
We save just about 40% of our gross a year.
will you adopt me? lol
Just curious, any significant student debt? Also curious about how many hours you guys work on average. I know some in big law that work 70 easy.
Honestly 0 lol
For last year I netted 165k. My share of rent and utilities is around 2200. I make smart choices but donāt really track every dollar. I saved 55k of that.
Whatās your gross salary on 165k net? Single person income?
Early 30s, $165k job, $2.5k rent in Brooklyn, single, no dependents.
I can save at least $1,000 month often more unless life gets in the way. 401k maxed. Amount depends on whether I have a big purchase coming or not. I am social but my friends and I have humble taste (dive bars).
Don't care about clothes as much as in my 20s and my style is pretty settled so that's not a big expense anymore.
I like to eat out but most restaurants post-COVID in NYC are not worth the cost so it's rarer.
1000 a month on top of the 401k? or is that inclusive?
that's incredibly low spending for NYC. Impressed
I save around $2k a month regularly that goes between IRA, leisure acct to spend on trips/big purchases/christmas gifts, savings for my mom, a small investment account for meand just a small amount to emergency savings since it's already where it needs to be. I'd put away even more but I still have student loan payments and I'm paying about $2k a month to really pay those down.
How is 47 late career? Do you plan on retiring early?
I'm a journalist. We're all late career since this industry is going to go under any day now.
I aim to save around $1k per month, though it usually ends up being more considering how much I actually spend.
I make ~$75k. I'm in my mid-20s and am relatively new to my career. I live in Bushwick with 2 roommates, my share of the rent is ~$1200. I think what saves me is that I don't really have any expensive hobbies. I'm also too stingy with my money to want to spend it lavishly. Perks of growing up cash poor lol.
I'm in a similar spot. With 2 roommates, do each of y'all have your own rooms? $1200 rent for a 3 bed per person seems really good.
Yeah! We signed the lease in November so maybe the winter market has to do with that? Idk.
So far I haven't seen anything similar so:
I save about 1-2k a month and put them in CDs and index funds. Aside from that max out the employee match for 401k, contribute max to Roth IRA at the end of the year (about 6-7k). Probably could have saved more if I didn't eat out as much, fall into life style creep, etc.
100k/year including maxed 401k
350K income
I do live lavishly though. If I were frugal Iād say about 120k/year
Note: I do not add company stock appreciation to the above. With stock appreciation itās more like 150K/year
Woah. I'd guess you probably take home like $200k after taxes, so to save 50% is pretty awesome.
Hmm I feel I spend too much. About 5K/month living expenses not counting rent and then 1K/month on personal trainer. Rent is 3K/month in Manhattan studio
But the 5K is also cause Iām eating at fancy restaurants multiple times a week and rarely cooking
how old are you?
What do you do for work!?
Nerd at Tech
Whatās your take home on 350K salary after 401k and health insurance contribution?
Im 34. I pay about 1300 in investments per month- only about $200 in liquid savings. Credit card debt is quite a bit though- pay about 400 a month in that but I should be done with it within the next year. 275 a month in student loans but will also finish that within the year. Rent stabilized two bedroom so Iām paying $1900 a month (been here for 12 years) in the Bronx. Earn $125K a year as a nurse .
I try to save $2k in cash for emergency funds and putting in my stock portfolio each month. I also put around $1k each month into my 401k. My salary is $170k and I pay $3,300 in rent (no kids, but married and my partner makes $250k). Age 33.
Invest about $2.5k, $150k, Central Queens, 29 & working the corporate ladder.
-2456
In my 30s, I tried to save $2000/month while maximizing 401k contributions on incomes between $150k-$180k. I got lucky in stocks with NW in 8-figures now, so āsavingā from my paycheck is minimal due to travels, but I do max out on mega-backdoor Roth now, which is about $77k+ per year. I also generate 6-figures in annual income from my taxable portfolio - this serves as my spending money.
I also now own my Manhattan apartment mortgage-free.
what is NW; what is your manhattan property tax?
I think they mean net worth
170k, 30 years old freelancing. I saved 70k this year (solo 401k + self-matching, ira, brokerage).
I pay $3800 rent in Williamsburg with no roommates, but am able to write off part of rent for my home office.
Freelancing what can I ask bc damn that is not common to do that well- amazing
I work as a DIT and video editor for advertising! Itās a bit uncommon to do that well in my field, but Iāve been doing it 10 years and have accumulated lots of clients!
Nice
eating out less, finding easy to make/easy to enjoy snacks so iām not running to the bodega late at night, doing the majority of my shopping at trader joes, teaching myself how to make kick ass coffees from home (i splurge on the fun mochas and oat milks at home and i have perfected it to where a coffee shop doesnāt hit the same), i donāt drink eitherāsaves a literal fortune lol
i think to myself i am paying myself $7 everytime i make my own matcha oatmilk
Will probably delete this tomorrow lol but
Thatās amazing! Happy for you, youāre taking your retirement investing seriously
Thank you!! I do! When I graduated undergrad I didn't know what I wanted to do yet so had a minimim wage job (made like $1250/mo and $900 was rent! Boston) but while I figured out the career bit I also figured I could take advantage of the year by learning everything I possibly could about money and get into good habits. So that's when I got my roth IRA and was putting like $25 a month into just to get started with compound interest and learn how to do it. I read a bunch of books on personal finance and browsed the r/personalfinance sub constantly. So that year I don't consider a waste money-wise.
Personal finance sub credit is so good! Have you checked out Ramit sethi? I love that he talks about how to navigate personal finance, especially the relationship communication skills when you need to combine your different finance philosophies with your partner
Whatās your take home on 200k salary as a single person after 401k and health insurance deduction?
I get between $4100-$4600 per paycheck twice a month into my bank post taxes and deductions! I don't really know why it fluctuates. I think the HSA deposit or insurance hits different times potentially but idk. That's from my base salary and then I get a bonus twice a year and do some contracting work which is really variable.
Which taxable brokerage are you using? Similar age and situation. Looking for tips :)
Vanguard! The tickers are, in order of how much I have invested: VSIAX, VTIAX, VTSAX, VUG, VTI, VEA, VO. They're all index funds/ETFs so have lots of stocks inside. I chose based on my own risk tolerance but in general they're all safe bets as far as index funds go.
Looking at Monarch (what I use to track finances), my savings rate (not including taxes) is 72%. I save about $450k/yr, after taxes and expenses. I spent $168k in 2025.
Impressive! Are the numbers above for your whole household? Or are you pulling in 1M by yourself?!
Thanks, thatās just my income. My wife is currently watching the toddler, but before was making about $100k.
~130K corporate salary (single, 34yo) -$3200 take home per biweekly pay check $3000 rent monthly
Saved 100k emergency fund, so now focusing on investments and saving for specific goals
Usually that translates monthly to: - $250 savings to travel sink fund - $600 to indv brokerage account
My CC bill is usually 2-3K per month (trying to get it down) so depending on that monthās expenses Iāll adjust the monthly savings
I also contribute to 401k up to full employer match, Roth IRA up to annual limit, max FSA annual limit, and opt into almost all employer insurance policies fully.
So not much flex at the end of the dayā¦ I do what I can and leave room to adjust as needed.
How do save at the end of the month it your rent and monthly cc bill is 5-6 k and your monthly take home is around 6500?
this is basically me and my laissez faire way of saving...I dont really save much though and I am feeling stuck. :((
I max my 401k, plus my company match is just a smidge below 50%, so that's $35,250. I save or invest almost all of my bonus ($41,000 in 2023, $37,000 in 2024, and will be $47,000 for 2025 paid first week of January 2026). Plus some overall cash from my biweekly paycheck.
All in all, saving probably around $60,000 per year if not even more, though most of that goes to investments (passive 401k, ETFs, and mutual funds, or active biotech stock picking). I have $50,000 in cash and another $25,200 in treasury bills. But I was making a modest stipend for 7+ years while in grad school, and my first 4 years of work post-PhD ranged from $72,000 to $92,000. Which is nice, especially living in Philadelphia at the time, but not anywhere close to what I make now. If you are early in your career, it definitely will get better as you progress.
wowwww 50% company 401k match??? lucky!!!
The company matches in stock, so if that goes up in value it helps get to a higher match percentage. But overall, even without that help the match formula is very favorable.
I make $155k base salary in medical sales with 7 years experience. My commission goal is $60k annually. (* I also receive a $800/month stipend that pays for my work vehicle & insurance.)
This comes out to about $8k monthly after taxes & 401k deductions. I pay $1750 (+250 utilities) for my portion of rent in a two bedroom in Bed Stuy that I share with my partner.
I have an embarrassing amount of consumer debt that I accumulated living above my means when I moved to NYC on a 60k a year salary in 2020. I make $3k in payments towards this high interest debt monthly. I also have student debt, which I pay $500 towards monthly. I currently save $750 towards emergency fund & $500 towards travel monthly.
I have about $50k in my 401k, and $5k in emergency savings. Hope to increase this significantly, but my current goal is to pay down my debt first!
dare i ask, how high is that debt to have consistent 3k a month payments? surly that can be refinanced?
The $3k includes my car payment for a work vehicle, which is covered in full by a stipend. Consumer debt without car included totals almost $80k, which I pay $2.5k towards monthly. Truly embarrassing. That said, easier to admit now that Iāve changed my ways & am in a place to pay it down aggressively.
Prior to accepting a new job and a 1.5x salary increase in Jan of 2025, I was barely keeping my head above water with CC minimum payments. Iāve since refinanced my debt into personal loan, and throw every commission check towards it. I still have a long way to go, but thereās finally a light at the end of the tunnel!
if i may ... what did you buy to accumulate 80k in cc debt? hopefully you had some fun?
how much is left on the car loan and what rates are you getting on it and your personal loan?
The 80k accumulated over a series of credit card balance transfers, without a plan to pay it all back. I was overspending and banking on commission alone to pay down my card balances. Duuuumb.
It was modest at first, but spiraled during a full year without commission (yay covid) and then a period of unemployment (with zero savings to fall back on).
Oops forgot the second part. Just bought the car in Jan 2025 for new job; previous job provided a company car. Still owe $19k, 7% interest. Would have preferred to pay cash and get something cheap, but to get the full stipend from work, vehicle had to be less than 5 years old.
Rest of debt is around 10-13% APR now. Have refinanced away all the super high CC debt & frozen those cards.
Open to any recs people have. Iāve basically been on this financial literacy journey alone, as Iām the first high income individual in my family. Clearly made a lot of mistakes. ā ļø
$0, or the negative.
I save about $800ā$1,000/month after bills. NYC rent eats most of my income.
Iāve always maxed out my 401k since my first job out of college making around 50k/year. It hasnāt even been 10 full years and that alone is 500k in savings now.
Rent and utilities were about 1k with roommates until I was making 150k. Lived in Brooklyn and commute was typically about an hour.
Cash savings into HYSA started around $750 to 1k/month when I was making 50k. Grew to close to $4k/month by the time I was making 150k.
I lived relatively frugally until recently and got married. Partner had no savings, making about 75k/year. Bought a two bedroom apartment with a large down payment from my savings. Slowly rebuilding cash emergency fund with both incomes until we hit 50k to 75k. Then going to aggressively pay off the mortgage, aiming for under 10 years.
Biggest change in leisure expenses over time was travel, traveling was always a big priority. Spent $3k/year when making 50k. Now comfortably spending $15k to $30k/year on travel. We now spend about $500/month eating out, sometimes we donāt go out at all and then do a meal over $500.
An additional question I'd like to add to this is whether or not these folks had a financial headstart from family through and after college.
Valid question. My dad was in the service but never went to college, so his GI Bill benefit was passed to me. As a result, I was able to go to college for close to free, and as such, I graduated with no debt.
That's pretty much the extent to the major financial help I received from my parents, but that's obviously a massive thing. I wish more people were able to go to college for cheap or even free.
Who pays enough to be able to save? Lmao
$155,000 West Village 40ās Living with husband. My share rent $850.
I save about $25-30k year depending on trips we take.
I make almost nothing, but my apt is rent stabilized. I usually aim to just keep my savings up, although I do save a little sometimes. Actor and sub teacher (freelance). Social services in nyc help a lot- Medicaid , food stamps , etc are life savers. Very grateful to be in a state that helps the low income earners. I used to be a a paralegal back in Florida and made a decent salary but I was miserable. I prefer to actually live life- but I do hope to get something more steady part time. I also have one roommate.
Mid 20s and married. I make 225k, she makes 90k. HHI around 360k after EOY bonuses.
Ā In south Brooklyn, our rent is 2.2k for a rent stabilized one bedroom. I save 1k per week, would be more if not for also aggressively paying off student loans. My wife is able to save most of her take home.
Ā Weāre both pretty early in our careers and are hoping to have enough saved for a house in five years
Whatās your take home on 225K salary after 401k and health insurance?
Depends on pay cycle but around 6k biweekly
$250k family of 4 late career in our mid 30s in an expensive Brooklyn neighborhood and we max my 401k then spend everything else
Big ticket items are
Housing; $5k Child care: $3000 on average Freshdiect: $1.5-2k Medical: $600
We saved a ton before so we are totally fine but this spend for a relatively high earning family seems typical around us.
The people REALLY saving in our neck of the woods are making twice what we do, or living a very different lifestyle with more family support. Maxing 401k is a great benchmark for us.
Late 20ās | $200k base / $50k variable bonus | Flatiron 2bd | $8k rent / 1 roommate ($4k each) | $23.5k 401k / $7k Backdoor Roth IRA / $15k brokerage
Need to do more saving but making the most of my younger years in the city.
I save around $1,000/month, with a goal of upping that to around $1,200/month this year. That comes to about 15% of my annual income.
I'm trying to save 120k a year but it's hard due to a bad housing decision so I'm now paying like 5k a month on rent (Edit: housing is more like $4500/m) instead of the expected 2k a month which has made hitting that target hard. I also have been spending like 700/month on groceries and 1k on random stuff (half amazon half events) which I'm having trouble tamping down. surprisingly, I eat out like 2x a month, at McDonalds or other cheap places,
early 30s. 400k pre-tax. with roommates (I know! I f'd up on my housing). I feel 120k (30%) saved is inadequate given my high income. I want it to be 40% saved since I feel like I should be able to live off of a 100k pre-tax income. . .
unique to me this year is that I replaced my entire wardrobe and had to furnish an apartment from nothing but bed sheets (takes like 15k, I stopped at 8), both tasks are surprisingly expensive!
OP, what is your's?
Youre making 400k, living with roommates AND still paying $5000 in rent? Da hell??
Something is fucked here lol
$700 on groceries for one person is fucking cooked. Obscene shit.Ā
how much is your monthly grocery bill? when I ran the numbers, the lowest you can get is probably around $400 per person. part of my higher grocery costs is due to like 10 pounds of chicken breasts a week
edit: for strength training
Are you strength training because 10 pounds of chicken is wild?
yep!
Another win for vegetarians
700 is not obscene lmao. Especially if you are buying good cuts of meat.
Max out individual Ira + 401k
Am able to put ~40% of the monthly net paycheck into high yield / brokerage accounts.Ā
How would you knowing where I live and how much money I make help your situation? Im genuinely curious
Helps put things in perspective. Saving $500 per month when you make $60k and live in Sunnyside tells a very different story vs. saving $500 per month making $200k and living in Chelsea.
Expenses
I end up saving like 5k/mo from the base (I try not to spend on any lifestyle inflation ever), and all stock comp I never touch (so a 300k year is like 16k/mo)
Trying to save up for a safe retirement so I can work for like the NYPL or a non profit or something fulfilling.
24M single no kids
$135K salary (~$7K monthly take home)
$2900 rent + ~$150 utilities
$325 parking in-building / $380 car insurance
Can save ~$1000 monthly. My trick is STAY HOME lol.
Months where I buy gifts/go out to dinners and bars I save much less if anything.
I also have a lot saved up so helps when big random expenses come up.
Male, 31, single. $175k salary.
Spent most of this year with reckless abandon regarding my finances. Eating and drinking out, traveling on whims, indulging on experiences, watches, electronics, subscriptions. 2025 was big on indulging and I enjoyed it but damn was it reckless. My rent is $3000 and I could be saving a shit ton of my paycheck each month but havenāt been. Goal in 2026 is to be putting $2000/month away in just savings. My credit card debt has gotten embarrassing as well. Just bad, really bad.
paying down cc debt may be a better move than 2k in savings each month; do the math on what you are paying in interest and find the balance. if you are paying a higher rate than your savings yields, you are better off paying that off first.
This is soooo real bc Iām around your age & in similar boat with spending. 2026 is the lock in year!!! Not that you were asking but as your friendly neighborhood CPA I agree w the other commenter saying to prioritize paying down cc debt. Unless you have nothing in savings, in which case get like 10k there first for emergencies
33, 100k salary. I split rent with my husband, I pay $400. We live in Williamsburg. $1.5k goes into my pension/401k, $300 goes into roth, $500 goes into stocks. Every month, $800 goes into my savings account and this go towards trips or big purchases. Extra expenses goes to my 10 month old and my dog, I usually donāt keep track but itās no more than $1k
My husband and I do not combine our salary. I make more than him so I pay for most family expenses but he pays for eating out and some trips
are you saying rent is 800 in williamsburg? how!?
We live in a Mitchell lama building
i mean, i wish that wasnt as awesome as it is (meaning i wish it wasnt so crazy to have affordable rent). sounds great for you tho.
how long have you been there / do you like it / any issues with it?
thats great that it enables you to be able to afford your apt and contribute to savings.
how did you get it?
Age: 29F
Career: fund accounting, 5 yrs at current company
Base salary: 140k in 2025, 160k in 2026
Savings: 1k per month goes automatically in ~3% APR savings account. Last year on 140k I needed more liquidity so didnāt save anything for retirement but this year I will put away ~12k annually in 401k not including employer match. I have around 60k in my 401k at the moment
Rent: I live with my boyfriend, we pay 2,400 each in the east village
The kicker: I have like 12k in cc debt, 15k in refinanced cc debt & 23k in student debt. My annual bonus (which is usually around 30k) goes to debt every year LOL. 2026 will be better though !!!!!
-26F living in queens with ~81k income, receive 3% raise yearly to adjust for inflation
-rent is $2500, am recently single and my ex partner moved out so my rent payment doubled from $1250 previously
-current savings is 50k in brokerage, 50k in 401k, 20k in crypto, 12k in ESPP, 10k in HYSA, 2k in ROTH IRA
-I do an automatic 9% paycheck contribution monthly to my 401k with a 6% company match, I also have 40% to my HYSA which is usually $1600 a month
-received a retention bonus of 37k that was split into 3 payments of 7.6k, 7.6k, and 22k over the span of 3 years
-most of my net worth i built up in the last 2 years. always max out your 401k if you have the option and take advantage of an ESPP if it is offered since youāre buying shares at a discounted price.
2k/mo from base salary of 225k, living alone in LIC. Maxed out retirement contribution from bonus (very variable but almost always enough to max) so additional ~38k this year between pre and post tax. Honestly don't know how much I ended up saving from bonuses this year but probably like 30k additional after retirement and taxes? So total about 90k for the year. Other than rent (4500), I spend like 4.3k/mo pretty consistently. Age range early 30s
I put about $1500-$2000/mo between my 401k and high yield savings account. I also have a pension that I donāt have to contribute to.
$100k.
Bushwick.
I live with my fiance and our baby and cat. We keep our finances separate and split everything 50/50. We make around the same amount.
200K income. Flatiron. Live with partner.
Investing in the market closely.
(edited) Tips that add up every month:
income: 110k (this year - depends on overtime) savings: $30,500 (max tda contribution + roth) investments: ~6 times this year, i added $450 to my brokerage acct. iām risk averse, so i only invest in the S&P. I thought i was doing this monthly, but upon reflection, i def skipped a lot this yearā¦.
I live alone in a small studio in woodside and pay $1700 in rent. Iām 30, and Iāve been a public school teacher for 4 years. This is the best year Iāve had yet, tho Iāve been maxing my retirement the last 2.5 years. I def felt lifestyle creep come for me this year; i need to revisit my budget in the new year!
$130k salary, 36yo and 8 years into my career
Rent is about $3000/month in lower Manhattan, live alone
Saving is tough because my rent is so high, but planning to move to BK in September, hopefully will lower my rent but still want to live alone so we'll see.
I try to put aside $500/month - $250 to emergency/cash savings, and $250 to the S&P. This doesn't always happen, especially during the summer and around the holidays when I'm simply spending more. Once my cash savings gets to $50k (currently at $42k), I'll start putting all my monthly savings into the stock market.
I started my 401k contributions late in my career so it's currently sitting at $68k and my contributions are at 6%. So all in I currently have about $110k saved up.
I auto-invest $300 every week into the S&P 500.
250-270k per year (depends on how well stock is doing, rent is 3500, other expenses about 3500, should invest 80-100k this year after company 401k/hsa match.
About three fitty
ā¢ 110k income, after tax about 65k ā¢ maxed ROTH, halfway through 401k this year, will max out next year ā¢ saves around ~$500-$1000/month? ā¢ Fort Hamilton (mortgage 1200, HOA 900) ā¢ early-mid 30s, manager in construction ā¢ solo living in 1bdrm
Next year Iām hoping to buy less material things and spend more on experiences but I go out maybe 1x a month for a dinner with friends or something. Usually donāt spend a lot going out or try to eat at home first
64k, max out my Roth ira contributions with no 401k. $1700 rent with no car.
I have a very good salary but lots of debt Iām paying down, single, rent is 2600 in the cityāI aim for 300 a month into a savings account and 5% of my salary goes into my 401k.
A lot. Because I am already married and enjoy cooking and being frugal. I love museums and luckily get into those for free, for most of them (others I am a member).
Mid-40s and mid-management in an industry that doesn't pay an awful lot. Live alone in a nice one-bed in Long Island City for $2250/month. $95k income. I don't set aside any of my earnings for anything but bills and spending money, but I have about $400k in investments, so I guess you could count that as savings. I let my investments grow and generally only tap into them for major trips, such as international travel. (I don't deduct from my Roth ever.)
iām in medical school, iām 25f, i live on the upper west side with two roommates, and my rent is $1500 a month. sometimes i wish i had a job already (lol) but after monthly expenses, i am able to save about $1200 a month. this is possible thankfully because i get a monthly payment from a scholarship i receive. i save a lot of it for travel/eating out/fun experiences. i want to start investing in 2026 and i would like to find other sources of income or āside hustlesā though. i lowkey have a shopping addiction š„²
mid 20s, 48k / year, living with parents but paying $200 towards rent. saving $1300 a month bc i just paid off my debt using my entire savings and am now starting over
Income: 68k annual. Living in UWS with 2 other roommates, paying 1400$ rent, 1.5 years into career, graduated college in 2024. I save 1350$/month. Used to save up more but things changed w this current economy ig
Maybe this is normal? Iām not sure if im being stingy to myself, but i love to see the numbers in my savings account.
Age : 22
Iām a J1 culinary trainee in nyc. Spend $1300 a room in queens with all utilities included. $85 phone bill.
Paycheck around $700/week. I put $700 - $1000 in my savings monthly.