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I suck at money
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Date: December 14th, 2014 5:57 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Just learned that my bonus, after taxes, will be about $50k. Was thinking this would be enough to pay off my largest loan and take a couple nice trips. Then I checked my credit card balances and somehow in the last few months managed to rack up over $35k…. not sure how the fuck that happened. Was more or less in the same situation last year, except smaller bonus and smaller credit card debt.
Halp? I know I shouldn't have credit card debt when I'm making over $200k in salary. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 1:05 PM Author: provocative scarlet toilet seat (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974314) |
Date: December 14th, 2014 5:58 PM Author: cyan cracking senate hissy fit so you are racking up $30k in CC debt on a $200k salary? How many kids are you supporting? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929621) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 5:59 PM Author: Soggy trailer park 0 kids, wife makes about $35k per year. High cost-of-living area, obviously, but still no excuse. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929629) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:00 PM Author: cyan cracking senate hissy fit Seriously. Is your wife a big spender?
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:01 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Not really. Mostly me… just like luxury things and very nice dinners. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929643) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:02 PM Author: cyan cracking senate hissy fit so ur going to likely walk away from biglaw with no savings? that is a bummer. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929657) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:20 PM Author: Soggy trailer park (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929752) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:44 PM Author: cyan cracking senate hissy fit yeah, but you aren't saving shit, so when you eventually leave, you won't have much to show for it.
just get yourself under control. On $350k a year between the two of you, you should save $100k easily. |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:05 PM Author: Soggy trailer park That's totally unreasonable. Monthly take-home between the two of us is a bit over $15k. Rent (1br in downtown doorman building) is $4800 per month. Another $2k goes to loans. That leaves slightly less than $100k in income for the year.
I get it, we could move somewhere cheaper, but honestly our apartment is pretty basic. 750 sq ft, decent building, has basics that are hard to find in NY, like a dishwasher and w/d. Have no desire to leave the neighborhood, and our rent is not out of line with the area. |
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Date: December 15th, 2014 11:03 AM Author: passionate property Move to a cheaper neighborhood. $4800 is absurd. I'd suggest the UWS. Much cheaper (and very nice) apts available.
Stop spending so much on dinners. Even dinner at EMP, w/ a reasonably priced bottle of wine, shouldn't run you over $800. How many of these are you going to that you're racking up all this CC debt?
What the fuck else are you buying? |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:11 AM Author: Soggy trailer park The apartment is one thing that is non-negotiable for both of us. We aren't going to leave the neighborhood, and we're professionals so the idea of living in a fourth-floor tenement building is not appealing. After rent and loans we still have a little over $8,000 for the month between the two of us, so it shouldn't be too difficult to live on that.
We only have $500+ dinners for special occasions, but probably have dinners out in the $200-300 range (for both of us) twice per week on average. I can see how that would add up, so I guess I can try to limit those.
After that, next biggest monthly expense is probably Fresh Direct. We spend between $600 and $800 there a month for both food and alcohol. We don't spend much on clothing, although I usually buy a new suit once a year or so ($1k).
Probably the biggest area of cost is travel. We often fly business class and tend to stay at nice resorts/hotels because my wife likes them. Looking at my credit card statements over the past year, a lot of the major expenses were travel-related.
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:38 AM Author: Angry maroon abode bbw I don't understand the fancy dinners and the groceries at the same time. I find when I'm doing a lot of one, I have very little by way of the other. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26940347) |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 11:18 PM Author: Soggy trailer park If you eat out twice a week and have take-out maybe once more, that's still four days of needing dinner. And there are two of us. Is that grocery bill really so large? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26945714) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 9:40 AM Author: passionate property you're spending 400-600 a week on dinners out? I can only imagine that a lot of that is alcohol (unless you guys are hitting the chef's tasting menu everywhere you go). That's 2000+ a month on dinners out, plus the odd 500+ meal? You've got to be able to cut that shit down.
And how the fuck is your grocery bill 600-800? A 3 day supply of chicken thighs costs like 10. Are you just hitting those billecart-salmon vintage bottles non-stop?
Staying at nice hotels is credited but business class? Flame unless you're like 6'5" and just can't live w/o dat leg room. Also, how often are you traveling? I though you were a big lawyer. That's like two big vacation a year. |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 1:54 PM Author: Aquamarine trump supporter kitchen Lol at 3-day supply of chicken thighs for $10 in MFH (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26949346) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 2:56 PM Author: passionate property sorry, didn't realize you were on a bulk, bro. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26949824) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:51 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Yeah, I agree about the dinners. Honestly I didn't really think about it until I just looked at my CC statement.
Mostly normal groceries with a fair amount of alcohol and a few splurges. The only grocery stores in the area are expensive so we rely mostly on Fresh Direct.
We shoot for two weeklong vacations per year, although we don't always make them. Usually have at least one weekend trip away per month. We fly coach for short weekend trips, such as to Chicago or Miami, but for cross-country I always try to get us a good deal on business (or we use miles to upgrade when possible). Generally do coach for international flights since the cost difference on those is significant and foreign airlines have much better coach cabins anyway. So we're not ALWAYS flying business/first. |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 12:02 PM Author: passionate property i really do find that it's not the big dinners that get you. it's all the "little" ones where you get drinks at Milk & Honey afterward and then, all of a sudden, you're down like $350.
In a lot of ways it's amazing that lunch at ABC Kitchen will run you nearly the same amount of money as lunch at Jean-Georges.
Got to eat in a lot more. Or hit up criff dogs.
Honestly, 1 weekend trip a month also sounds pretty high. Do you have a lot of friends all over the place or something? |
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Date: December 23rd, 2014 3:41 AM Author: Soggy trailer park Both of us have lots of friends getting married, so half or so of those trips are for weddings. The rest are to visit family members or occasionally friends, and maybe twice per year a weekend trip with just the two of us. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26985106) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:47 PM Author: mauve costumed mad-dog skullcap gas station "We aren't going to leave the neighborhood, and we're professionals so the idea of living in a fourth-floor tenement building is not appealing."
WUT? She makes 35k/yr but is a "professional" and can't imagine living in a walk-up?
Divorce. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 3:55 PM Author: beady-eyed poppy school Your wife isn't a professional is she is making 35k in MFH. HTFH. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26975164) |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 12:37 PM Author: Soul-stirring orchestra pit indirect expression "The apartment is one thing that is non-negotiable for both of us."
well that explains why you have no money |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 12:51 PM Author: Glassy Apoplectic State LOL enjoy poverty for life (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26980366) |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:23 AM Author: overrated galvanic yarmulke $4800 is the mortgage on a million dollar house. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26940293) |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:35 AM Author: Soggy trailer park Welcome to MFH (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26940340) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 11:07 AM Author: puce talented generalized bond lodge Welcome to stupid (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26948111) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 1:41 PM Author: Dashing henna shrine brethren this made me lol (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26949255) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:01 PM Author: Soggy trailer park I get that it's not for everyone. But one of the reasons I went to law school was to be able to afford to live in a good neighborhood, in a decent apartment, in Manhattan. I feel lucky every day that I was able to make this happen even with ITE hitting my first year of practice.
So $4800 pays a mortgage on a $1 million place -- but I'd still need a down payment and sizable maintenance fees. And besides, $1 million doesn't buy much in the city, and we do not want to move at this point in our lives. So we rent…. don't really see what the big deal is. Rent is right around 30% of our take-home pay, which plenty of finance websites say is acceptable. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:04 PM Author: swashbuckling lilac wagecucks Uh....yeah but you splurge on rent, food, and travel.
PICK ONE.
MAXIMUM you should pick one.
Also fuck you, there are WAY cheaper places for same QOL. |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 2:32 PM Author: puce talented generalized bond lodge But do you get that you are a dumb? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26980863) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:01 PM Author: topaz stead degenerate fuck my ass (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929642) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:30 PM Author: White Alcoholic National if you sucked FOR money as well, that could fix a lot of your problems. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929808) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:31 PM Author: Cerise hall associate (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929811) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:45 PM Author: Razzle buck-toothed toaster (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929902) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:53 PM Author: Soggy trailer park (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929945) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 6:55 PM Author: Mint slimy french chef psychic In 'her' early 30s (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26929958) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:18 PM Author: Soggy trailer park women are not the only ones with this problem, i assure you (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930143) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:08 PM Author: nubile locale goyim Can't imagine how big of a faggot a man must be to waste away his entire 200k salary because he can't sacrifice his fancy fine dining faggot dinners. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930068) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:17 PM Author: Soggy trailer park I am man enough to admit that I need help. I didn't realize it had gotten this bad. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930136) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:18 PM Author: Stirring narrow-minded center chad Who the fuck uses credit cards these days? I don't think I ever use mine (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930146) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 7:19 PM Author: Soggy trailer park I like using mine for the miles. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930157) |
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Date: December 14th, 2014 8:40 PM Author: Hilarious church building fat ankles Yeah what? If you pay it off on time, you make money from using it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26930790) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 1:06 PM Author: at-the-ready flirting juggernaut queen of the night FF miles but that's basically it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974315) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:13 PM Author: snowy range (xo 2014 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26978139) |
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Date: December 15th, 2014 11:12 AM Author: spectacular pocket flask make a list of everything you spend money on, and make a second list of all the ways you are a faggot. commit to eliminating one thing from each list every month. by the end of the year you may still be poor but at least you will no longer be a faggot.
don't spend more than $3,000/mo on rent and don't spend more than $500/mo on fancy dinners.
LIFEHACK for cutting major alcohol expense with dinners: drink in ur apt beforehand, and bring ur own bottle of wine. making cocktails with ur girl is fun and starts you off right, and providing ur own wine will save you hundreds. |
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Date: December 15th, 2014 11:22 AM Author: hateful big casino also, buy the cheapest wine possible, then apply your OWN homemade label to it when you take it out.
it could be called "faggot's mystery wine" everyone will ooh and aaah, it will be amazing and cheap.
ywia |
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Date: December 15th, 2014 11:51 AM Author: spectacular pocket flask that's a great idea for the status conscious. sommeliers would literally slob ur knob for a chance to taste a bottle with a MINIMALIST AS FUCK label, black font on white background:
XO Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2008 Case (hand written) __/10 |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:44 PM Author: vengeful orchid boistinker lol
"faggot's mystery wine"
all lowercase
in frenchy cursive that makes it slightly difficult to make out |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:14 AM Author: Soggy trailer park Most decent restaurants in NY charge a corkage fee that makes this plan unworkable.
I don't tend to order expensive wine. In a restaurant setting I wouldn't spend more than $80 or so unless it's a special occassion. |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:36 AM Author: spectacular pocket flask idk I found that I could cut easily $100+ net off of many of my nice restaurant experiences by paying attention to the alcohol: having a drink at home first or bringing my own bottle (even including corkage)
for me this led to saving $300+ per month for a while until I got busy and just wasn't going to nice restaurants much anyway |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 3:40 PM Author: Ivory theater stage international law enforcement agency Dont go out to dinner more than 1-2 times a week. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26950074) |
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Date: December 16th, 2014 1:14 AM Author: diverse black woman theater Balance transfer (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26940245) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 9:44 AM Author: frisky sandwich LOL your wide is a "professional" making $35K. either the ugliest hooker or you don't know what professional means. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26947793) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:21 PM Author: Soggy trailer park She's a couple years younger, so really just starting her career. Has some upward mobility but it doesn't seem like making six figures in her industry (clearly not finance or law) is all that common. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974150) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 11:40 AM Author: french principal's office bullshit (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26948343) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 11:48 AM Author: 180 gunner So you did well in law school. Hit the ole biglaw lottery 160k--NYC, woot woot. Because you've "made it" you now want to live the life you see on TV and movies (Manhattan Apartment, regular dinners at fancy places with a bottle of wine, etc). And now you're wondering where your money went.
Do I have that all right?
If so, here's the solution(s): 1. Reevaluate how great this life you're living really is. 2. Stop spending money. Seriously, there's no magic trick. You just don't spend money. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:47 PM Author: vengeful orchid boistinker nyc biglaw all in comp this year was like $235k three years in and over $300k five years in and then topping out at like $380k.
with these bonuses and the new "retain associates for longer" strategy at firms, i actually feel like biglaw allow you to settle down in MFH for the medium term. |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 12:03 PM Author: shimmering free-loading stage better than "I suck for money." (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26948507) |
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Date: December 17th, 2014 2:03 PM Author: Bateful Volcanic Crater Fanboi you can't really be helped. sure, people can tell you to shave off certain costs here and there, but eventually you'll go back to your spendthrift ways. it's more the overall mentality where you guys live beyond your means b/c you like things that are out of your reach financially (like biz class flights). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26949432) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:29 PM Author: overrated galvanic yarmulke I lived off $30k this year. My gross is over $400k. I ended up saving over $200k net. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974186) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 10:57 PM Author: swashbuckling lilac wagecucks i aspire to be you (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26977980) |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 12:57 PM Author: hairless hairraiser office you're also a faggotpants (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26980383) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:46 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Isn't the solution to just make more money then?
It's true that I am not the only person at my firm like this. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:55 PM Author: lake charismatic corner pistol Cr. You have to change the fundamental way you are looking at your life. You are subscribing to what I like to call the Bourgeois Fallacy, which is that buying certain goods and services can make you a better person. Rather than being a slightly milder version of your current snob self, you need to become an anti-snob. Rather than waking up in the morning and thinking, how can I consume as much expensive stuff as possible, you should ask yourself, how can I consume as little expensive stuff as possible. If you see some dinner to trip that costs a huge amount, be suspicious, not reverential.
You can make a little game out of it. Set a daily or weekly budget for yourself and see how far under budget you can go. I sometimes have "dollarless days," where I go a whole day without letting go of a single Washington. You're emphasis needs to be not how much can I consume, but how much can I save? Once you start thinking that way, you will get the hang of it pretty quickly. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 12:46 PM Author: mauve costumed mad-dog skullcap gas station I agree with the title of this post. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974231) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 1:00 PM Author: Slap-happy bespoke site nibblets I suspect the OP might be flame. That being said, I have never understood why people in NYC routinely spend $250 on dinner. There are literally countless excellent places to eat that cost $15 - 20 pp. The $250 - $500 places are flame restaurants marketed towards AZNgirls and shrews. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26974301) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 10:52 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Not flame, unfortunately. I doubt there's much in the $20pp range (since you wouldn't even be able to have a drink), but I agree we should head down to the Village more often for cheaper. There are some decent places in the EV where it's usually under $100 for us both, even at 2-3 drink pp. We are definitely going out too much near the apartment, to places like ABC Kitchen and Craft, which almost always leads to $250+ bills for the two of us.
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 4:24 PM Author: Blathering chapel dopamine (repulsive faggot) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26981365) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 3:57 PM Author: Adventurous theatre legal warrant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h2wMIfRUb0 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26975175) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 5:15 PM Author: mildly autistic death wish (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26975729) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 10:56 PM Author: Blue space marketing idea if you are going to splurge on rent, then you need to get serious with yourself and not splurge in every other category too (groceries, dining out, travel, lodging). hth. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26977972) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 10:57 PM Author: swashbuckling lilac wagecucks (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26977988) |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:42 PM Author: Soggy trailer park Yeah, this point is fair enough. Although I still don't think $600-200 in groceries per month is that high when you consider that it includes alcohol as well…. that is probably $200 or so of the total.
But it should be fairly easy to cut down on the dining out expenses, which will be my goal for the next year. |
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Date: December 21st, 2014 11:22 PM Author: odious fear-inspiring organic girlfriend You sound like a shitty person. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26978217) |
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Date: December 22nd, 2014 12:56 PM Author: Glassy Apoplectic State Can we give the OP. A hand for great flame!!??!? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2756349&forum_id=2#26980382) |