Anybody who lives in New York City can attest that you can lose your money in a heartbeat if you are not careful. With all of the advertisements and deals being shoved in your face, you could get lost in a shopping spree in no time. That is why you have to let your money sleep in the city that never sleeps. What I mean by that is – budget as much as you can! By being cautious, you can really save money and watch your money grow. Once you get in the habit of not spending money, your stress levels go down and you will feel a lot more comfortable to do things. Here are some of the best ways to budget when you are living in NYC.
## The basics
It is essential to start by understanding your money and what a budget is. For starters, take the average amount on money that you make per month. That number is going to be the number you base everything off of. Your bills should only take up roughly one quarter of that. This includes rent, car payments, loans, etc. Then you should budget about $300 to feed yourself each month. After that, choose what to do with the remainder. Although, I do recommend saving about 80% of the leftover and the remaining 20% should be for whatever fun things you want to do.
## Groupon is your best friend
Groupon is going to save your money better than you can at times. Not only can you find delicious food for cheap, but you can keep yourself sane with all of the [__incredible things to do__](https://www.groupon.com/local/new-york-city/things-to-do). It is nice because you can search based off of many categories. If you are looking for sushi deals, just type it in. The same goes for clothes, activities, restaurants, trips, etc. Just be sure that before you step out the door, just pull open Groupon and check to see if what you are doing will have a deal on it. The chances to find one for what you are doing is pretty high.
## Get a bike
If you are living in the heart of New York City, chances are that the main places you need to travel to do not require a car. What a lot of people do is ditch the car and car payments, and just grab a bike. It is much healthier for you, and allows you to really appreciate the city atmosphere for what it is. You can also delegate that money that would be used on a car towards other things that could be important for you. Not to mention, you will not have to worry about gas anymore. However, if you do have a car, there are ways you can really budget.
## Parking and gas apps
When using a car, you are going to want to plan ahead as much as possible. Get a [__gas app__](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gbis.gbandroid&hl=en) that can show you which gas stations near you have the best prices on gas. Make sure to always check, because gas prices are constantly changing. Next, you should certainly get a parking app. Not only is it super hard to park in the city, but it can be very expensive. Download your new favorite [__parking app__](https://spothero.com/). You can pretty much cut the cost of parking by 25%-50% when you get these. You can also reserve your spot, making it much easier to get where you need to go quicker. Again, I do highly recommend the bike, but if you have no other option, take advantage of these tools. Also, try to keep your car payments low. The car salesmen are good at enticing you and making you think you need premium features. Just get something that will get you from point a to b.
## Furniture
Buying furniture for your place doesn’t always have to be expensive in New York City. You just have to look for the hidden gems. Sometimes, you can even find your favorite furniture at cheap warehouses. Most would recommend going to a salvation army and checking out the accessories they have there. You can also try [__TJ Maxx__](https://tjmaxx.tjx.com/store/index.jsp), Goodwill, and Ross. Sometimes, you can save your time by shopping online if you don’t mind not seeing what you buy before you buy it. Just always keep in mind your budget when shopping for furniture. If you walk into a real furniture place, you could lose your wallet quick!
## Broadway
Chances are that if you live in New York, you are going to go see a broadway show sometime or another. You might even be a broadway fanatic. None the less, you can save quite a bit of money on Broadway by following one simple task. This is buying tickets at last minute. I know it sounds crazy, but if you take a walk near all of the broadway theatres and try to purchase a ticket at last minute, you might get an amazing spot at way cheaper. The reason why is because they are trying to fill the seats of every show. An empty seat is money lost, so they might as well entice people walking by with some really great deals.
New York City is dying to get your money, but if you are wise, you can knock back the concrete jungle and really establish yourself. Once you start saving up your money, you can start investing money and even win over property in New York. It all starts with being smart with your money though. Good luck on your endeavors!