Strapped for cash? Aren't we all.
When we're all basically offering up an arm and a leg in rent to our landlords every month, we've got to save cash in this city whenever we can.
We've got to life-hack New York City's cost is basically what we need to do. We've already hit you up about game-changing tips, like grocery shopping in Harlem, Brooklyn, or the Bronx for an altogether less expensive grocery shopping experience.
We already advised you against ever, ever, ever going to bars with covers. We've already informed you of the necessity of coming to said bars with cash in your wallet, so you'll avoid all the pitfalls of bar minimums on your credit card.
We think you should attend free events whenever you can, actually (gasp!) use the kitchen in your apartment for cooking, and bring your lunch to work.
If you follow all these tips, you will literally save hundreds of dollars a month. Then you can drop that hundred dollars on really responsible pursuits, like eating chicken pad Thai and buying clothes at Urban Outfitters.
We're kidding, sort of. Read on to find out 7 more excellent ways to save money in NYC.
1. Join a NYC recreation center
There's no need to spend over $100 a month on a gym membership. If you're crying because you already purchased your gym membership for the next six months, don't worry. You can join an NYC Recreation Center when the six months is up. Just don't forget we told you this.
NYC Recreation Centers cost $150 for the year, or $75 for six months. If you join a center without an indoor pool, you can join for $100.
These centers have gyms and indoor tracks, cardio and strength fitness machines, fitness classes, and indoor pools. They're located all throughout the five boroughs.
Find the NYC Recreation Center closest to you here.
2. Make friends with Venmo
Thank the lord for Venmo! If your friends don't have Venmo, you need to immediately de-friend that person (yes, we mean de-friend them IRL) until they've downloaded Venmo.
In the prehistoric days before this wonderful app, in the days where people lived in caves and didn't have Venmo, you had to rely on the off chance that your friends had cash for them to pay you back. You had to "cover the cab," and just hope your friends would "cover the next cab."
Now, paying someone, or getting paid back, is as simple as a couple clicks. Enough of that "I'll pay you back later," nonsense. With Venmo, your friends can pay you back as you're exiting the cab.
You need to demand that they do this. You can't be covering cabs and drinks for people without getting refunded. It's an actual jungle out there.
3. Get an unlimited MetroCard
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Buy an unlimited MetroCard. Just do it. We've said it before and we will say it again until we're blue in the face.
We'll spell it out for you. If you're riding the subway twice a day in a 30-day month and you're spending $2.75 per trip, it'll wind up costing you $165. The monthly MetroCard costs $116.50.
Also, we're sure you're going to take the subway more than just twice a day during the week. Odds are, you'll sometimes ride the subway on the weekends. Odds are, sometimes you'll ride the subway three or even four times on a weekday.
Take it from us. Buy the unlimited MetroCard at the beginning of the month, and then just forget about it until the end of the month. Okay?
4. Don't take cabs
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We know we mentioned earlier that your friends should pay you back after cabs, and we stick to that statement.
However, we'd like to advise you against taking cabs whenever you can avoid it. If you're in the moment, straddling the convenience of a cab and the affordability of the subway, just human up and walk to the subway.
Exercise is great, and you're a tough New Yorker. You can do this. You'll save easily $10 or more every time you take the subway over a cab, and that's just lovely, wonderful justification for the next time you want to splurge on pad Thai or pizza.
A more realistic goal is to relegate your cab riding to the weekends. If cabs are a weekend treat only, you're much more likely to actually stick to this goal.
,5. Be a "hair model" for student stylists
Why would you drop $60 or even $100 for the same haircut you could get for $20?
There are hundreds of salons throughout the city who are training younger stylists, and they need someone to practice on. That's where you come in.
Most of these stylists are licensed cosmetologists or junior stylists and they're overseen by head stylists or salon owners. So the risk truly isn't as dire as it may initially seem.
Salon Apprentice is a database where salon students and owners post ads for hair models. Join this site and watch the money in your bank account add up.
6. Get a water bottle
If this sounds obvious, it's because it is. We all need water to survive, and dropping a dollar (or more) a pop on bottles of water throughout the day can be a serious strain on our bank accounts. Fill up your water bottle with your free tap water in the morning, and watch your money pile up.
This also goes for portable coffee mugs. All coffee mugs are, strictly speaking, portable, but you should invest in the kind of coffee cup that's easy to carry around.
Spending $7 or so on coffee beans that'll make 20 or so cups of coffee is a much more fiscally responsible option than spending $7 on one cup of coffee at that fancy new coffee shop they just built on your corner.
7. Always get cash back
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Never click "no" when the cashier at a grocery store or a drugstore asks you if you want cash back. Always say yes.
Why would you ever click no to this question? If you say no, you don't want cash back, you'll be stuck withdrawing money from an ATM whenever you need cash.
Trust us, you'll need cash in this city. Then, you'll get stuck paying upwards of $3 to get your own money.
There's nothing more depressing than paying money to get your money, especially when you're struggling for bills. So always, always say yes when you're asked whether you want cash back.
Check out 10 Basic Ways to Life Hack the Hell Outta This Expensive City.