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Johann

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Johann » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:04 pm

Tiago Splitter wrote:
JohannDeMann wrote: I've lived in Chicago and NYC and the way I live in Chicago that nets me about $5k a month in Chicago would be breaking even or slightly losing money in NYC.
Come on.
It sounds crazy but its true.

1 BR 750 sq foot apartment within 15 min walk of office in high rise with good amenities - Chicago $1750 NYC $3000
look at this shithole - http://www.padmapper.com/show.php?sourc ... 4&src=main which doesnt even include gym, pool, in unit laundry $1250 difference

2 steakhouse/seafood/tasting menu dinners per month - $150 in Chicago per plate/ $325 NYC. $600 vs $1300
https://foursquare.com/v/acadia/4edfec7 ... 46a40/menu
http://cdn.thomaskeller.com/sites/defau ... asting.pdf
$700 difference


cheapest parking chicago garage by apt -$150, NYC $300 http://spothero.com/nyc/monthly-parking ... 96&zoom=14
$150 difference

6% NYC taxes so $500 less per month there

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co ... York%2C+NY
using this cause im too lazy looking up each and every price but this is consistent with my recollection
20 lunches at work that are 15-20% more expensive in NYC = $40/month

That's $2,640 before factoring in ubers, gym membership not included in high rise ($100/month), groceries (probably another $500 difference because there are no fucking grocery stores in MFH), happy hours, casual dining 4x per month, etc, tickets to shows/games. I also travel a fair amount and Chicago is very cheap to fly out of compared to NYC. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... _list.html

It's damn near closer to $5k then people want to realize. Driving in NYC also means getting crushed with tolls. There's just so many expenses that are literally half what they are in Chicago compared to NYC, and you stark with $6k less in NYC, so if you spend $3500 a month in Chicago youre fucked in NYC.

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zot1

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by zot1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:20 pm

A. Nony Mouse wrote:
zot1 wrote:
A. Nony Mouse wrote:Wait, $1500-$2500 for food/going out per month?? for one person??
You mean you don't eat a 100 dollar dinner almost everyday, Nony?
I'm sure I could force myself, you know, for science.
:lol:

I would start with the seafood and three lap dances.

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Johann

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Johann » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:33 pm

more like $10 m-f and then boom $600-1k on a saturday.

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lacrossebrother

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:34 pm

December expenses:
$746 restaurants
$183 grocery

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Tiago Splitter

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Tiago Splitter » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:45 pm

The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.

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lacrossebrother

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:46 pm

Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
city tax makes the car thing a wash.

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:47 pm

JohannDeMann wrote:more like $10 m-f and then boom $600-1k on a saturday.
Fucking hell, dude.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by whysoseriousbiglaw » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:48 pm

anonnymouse wrote:Just stop.

I've tracked every single dollar I've spent since April (every. single. dollar.). Here is how it's possible to save in a high COL. My average monthly spend on COL is $2474.53. That includes:
  • Regular Expenses
  • Rent @ $1052.85 (split a Flex 2 in UES/Yorkville)
  • Mobile @ $32.66 (prepaid and could be lower/nil if I used firm's reimbursement but too lazy to fill out the reimbursement)
  • MTA @ $116.50 (pre-tax so real cost is lower)
  • Haircut @ $25 (barber near my apt, includes tip)
  • Gas/Electric @ $72 (split bill w/gf, high bill of $121 in July, low bill of $47 in December -- amounts are my half)
  • Internet @ $35 (split bill w/gf, TWC 200Mbps)

    General Expenses
  • Groceries @ $156.60 (split w/gf, we cook dinner once or twice midweek, most weekends)
  • General Travel @ $91.62 (trains to visit friends family in NJ, LI, Westchester, day trips in rental car, the occasional cab -- on cabs: I've paid for 5 since April)
  • Clothing @ $93.92 (usually one new item/month)
  • Pharmacy @ $11.43 (advils, cough drops, Rx copays, etc)
  • Laundry @ $17.10 (I do my own on the weekends at the laundromat; also includes occasional dry-cleaning for slacks)
  • Gifts @ $52.80 (bday presents, flowers for gf, etc)

    Discretionary Expenses
  • Breakfasts @ $46.92 (coffee cart 1-2x/wk, cafe on the weekend 1x-2x/month)
  • Lunches @ $141.64 (usually try to target $10 lunches and almost always get 1x free lunch from firm/wk, occasionally eat Seamless leftovers)
  • Restaurants/Seamless at Home @ $276.46 (decent restaurants 1x-2x/month, plus Seamless at home when I'm lazy or local pizza slice/Chipotle)
  • Snacks @ $52.29 (random snacks at home and in the office . . . I don't eat healthy)
  • Entertainment @ $58.93 (the odd movie, video game, books, records, college bball game, UFC PPV)
  • Alcohol @ $39.94 (I rarely go out to drink, mostly beer/wine at home; admittedly this is probably VERY low for typical NYC biglaw associate)
  • Hobbies @ $105.73 (couple Zog leagues, electronics, other athletic shit)
  • Non-Reimbursable Office @ $9.68 (random shit in my office that firm doesn't pay for like plants, photos, etc)
  • Electronics @ $69.98 (got a new phone off-contract which firm paid about half of and bought a tablet on Black Friday discount)
  • Household Items @ $6.56 (random household/decorating shit like small plants, drano when the sink was slow to drain, etc)]
In addition to the above, I had the following monthly expenses:
  • Dog @ $205.01 (mostly due to emergency vet visit, normal monthly expenses are around $55-$75
  • Car @ $208.62 (insurance, registration, some repairs -- I store at a family member's house in NJ; some of the "General Travel" above include train to/from picking car up/dropping car off)
  • Christmas Gifts @ $830.32 (Nov/Dec grand total, not per-month)
Worst case scenario for a new biglaw associate:
  • Monthly income @ $6500 (deductions for 401k, health)
  • COL expenses @ $2500 (shown above)
  • Loan payments @ $3000 ($250k/7.5%/10yr, like I said worst case)
    Still leaves: $1k/mo for saving (on top of the $1.5k/mo of 401k)
Bottom line: if you want to save, you have to prioritize saving. It doesn't even require ramen & lentils or rice & beans 24/7. I live pretty cheap and still get to enjoy nice shit (go to museums/events/music, the occasional nice restaurant, hang out with Zog team friends, play rec sports, did not include vacation expenses in the above budget but obviously there's room for saving $2.5k/yr for a nice vacation).
Huh? Is saving 1k/month a good thing or bad thing? Are you trolling or serious?

No offense dude, but I save way more than you per month and I still think NYC COL and taxes are laughably bad.

And I assume you're a first year - first year, I had no car, no pet, I commuted like an hour to work and paid less than you in rent for a nicer place, and didn't really have any travel expenses. You're not really save much money at all if you're only saving 1k per month, considering you make 160k starting (so like 98k ish post taxes).

So yeah, before you start lecturing us on how to "save" money in NYC, maybe you start saving more than 1k per fucking month....

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by bk1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:49 pm

Johann literally just lacks perspective. Nothing ITT will give him that.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by bk1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:51 pm

whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Huh? Is saving 1k/month a good thing or bad thing? Are you trolling or serious?

No offense dude, but I save way more than you per month and I still think NYC COL and taxes are laughably bad.

And I assume you're a first year - first year, I had no car, no pet, I commuted like an hour to work and paid less than you in rent for a nicer place, and didn't really have any travel expenses. You're not really save much money at all if you're only saving 1k per month, considering you make 160k starting (so like 98k ish post taxes).

So yeah, before you start lecturing us on how to "save" money in NYC, maybe you start saving more than 1k per fucking month....
Reread his post.

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lacrossebrother

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:51 pm

bk1 wrote:Johann literally just lacks perspective. Nothing ITT will give him that.
the title of this thread is "Student loan payments: Actual numbers," so I'd argue that
-he represents one perspective
-he's contributed a far more detailed perspective than you have
-this is a great thread to provide him that.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by whysoseriousbiglaw » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:54 pm

not sure what's wrong with johann's posts - Chicago COL is like half that of NYC COL.

So before more people coming in lecturing me about saving in NYC....let's get some perspective shall we? Saving 1k/month on a biglaw salary is absolute garbage.

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Johann

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Johann » Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:57 pm

Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.

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Tiago Splitter

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Tiago Splitter » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:01 pm

JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.
But the point is that it's not a sacrifice in NYC the way it would be anywhere else.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by whysoseriousbiglaw » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:04 pm

Tiago Splitter wrote:
JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.
But the point is that it's not a sacrifice in NYC the way it would be anywhere else.
It's not a sacrifice if you were born and raised in NYC and have never experienced anything else. But "sacrifice" is relative based on experiences. For those of us who grew up in the burbs, drove a car at 16 etc, living in NYC is a huge sacrifice.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by bk1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:04 pm

whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:not sure what's wrong with johann's posts - Chicago COL is like half that of NYC COL.

So before more people coming in lecturing me about saving in NYC....let's get some perspective shall we? Saving 1k/month on a biglaw salary is absolute garbage.
Reread the fucking post. He did not claim to be saving 1k on his budget, he merely noted that someone in biglaw who wasn't as frugal as him could save 1k WHILE PAYING 3K TO LOANS. If you think that's "absolute garbage" then I commend your frugality.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:06 pm

i don't get how not being able to leave your island whenever you want isn't a sacrifice :lol:

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Johann

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Johann » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:06 pm

Tiago Splitter wrote:
JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.
But the point is that it's not a sacrifice in NYC the way it would be anywhere else.
i use it to leave the city in the summer and go to secluded beach/lake houses. maybe thats possible in NYC to the hamptons or something but somehow i doubt they have good transport to places 1.5/2 hours outside the city. i rarely use the car to drive around the city.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by whysoseriousbiglaw » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:08 pm

bk1 wrote:
whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:not sure what's wrong with johann's posts - Chicago COL is like half that of NYC COL.

So before more people coming in lecturing me about saving in NYC....let's get some perspective shall we? Saving 1k/month on a biglaw salary is absolute garbage.
Reread the fucking post. He did not claim to be saving 1k on his budget, he merely noted that someone in biglaw who wasn't as frugal as him could save 1k WHILE PAYING 3K TO LOANS. If you think that's "absolute garbage" then I commend your frugality.
Meh, he's more frugal than most of my coworkers, but not compared to me. I save more than 4k a month, in part because I don't want to work until I'm dead. If you're okay with working until you are dead, then NYC is a fine place to live.

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Tiago Splitter

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Tiago Splitter » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:09 pm

JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:
JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.
But the point is that it's not a sacrifice in NYC the way it would be anywhere else.
i use it to leave the city in the summer and go to secluded beach/lake houses. maybe thats possible in NYC to the hamptons or something but somehow i doubt they have good transport to places 1.5/2 hours outside the city. i rarely use the car to drive around the city.
Now I'm really wondering if you've ever lived there.

Obviously you make sacrifices in NYC. I didn't grow up there and found it to generally be a shithole in a way that was worse than, but not totally different from, Chicago. But a first year biglaw associate is not going to net 5k more in Chicago unless they are making brutal sacrifices in Chicago or hardly making any in NYC.

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lacrossebrother

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:12 pm

JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:
JohannDeMann wrote:
Tiago Splitter wrote:The focus on having a car in nyc makes me even more skeptical. Nyc beats everywhere else on transportation costs.
i mean i wouldnt have a car in NYC. just like i wouldnt live in a nice apt 10 min walk from work. but my point is people living in NYC make these sacrifices all the time without realizing it. i think they live rats/paupers. but good for them they dont think that.
But the point is that it's not a sacrifice in NYC the way it would be anywhere else.
i use it to leave the city in the summer and go to secluded beach/lake houses. maybe thats possible in NYC to the hamptons or something but somehow i doubt they have good transport to places 1.5/2 hours outside the city. i rarely use the car to drive around the city.
but dude it's not a sacrifice --you just get on a bus at the port authority, go through tsa at jfk, and then hop on your jetblue flight to ACK when you want to get out of town for the weekend in the summer!!

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by bk1 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:14 pm

Just rent a car?

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:08 pm

bk1 wrote:Just rent a car?
Yeah, the idea you can't get anywhere decent for the weekend from NYC is weird. Remember, midwesterners, everything in the NE is close together.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by lacrossebrother » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:17 pm

A. Nony Mouse wrote:
bk1 wrote:Just rent a car?
Yeah, the idea you can't get anywhere decent for the weekend from NYC is weird. Remember, midwesterners, everything in the NE is close together.
You guys are weird at remembering arguments.
1. "in New York you have to sacrifice not having a car."
2. "It's not a sacrifice since everything is walkable."
1. "Yea well it sure as shit makes it harder to take a trip off the island."
2. "Just rent a car then!" [therefore not a sacrifice??]

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Tiago Splitter » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:18 pm

lacrossebrother wrote:
A. Nony Mouse wrote:
bk1 wrote:Just rent a car?
Yeah, the idea you can't get anywhere decent for the weekend from NYC is weird. Remember, midwesterners, everything in the NE is close together.
You guys are weird at remembering arguments.
1. "in New York you have to sacrifice not having a car."
2. "It's not a sacrifice since everything is walkable."
1. "Yea well it sure as shit makes it harder to take a trip off the island."
2. "Just rent a car then!" [therefore not a sacrifice??]
I said it's not a sacrifice the way it is everywhere else. Not that it's not a sacrifice.

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