<p>Food is the biggest expense. The NYU meal plans are not cheap, and NYC food is very expensive. Its not that difficult to blow $75-$100 a week on food if youre not on a mealplan.</p>
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<p>Then I wonder what I'm doing trying to find a summer job at a law firm, where they might not even take me, and if they do, I'll actually have to do real work. Maybe I do hate myself.</p>
<p>It is possible to survive on $20/week, given little entertainment. Then again, once classes are in full swing, you probably won't be spending THAT much on entertainment, I don't think. If you have no meal plan, and you cook, $10 can get you groceries that will last you anywhere from 2-7 days. If you're willing to go the extra mile by taking the 7 to Flushing to get cheaper groceries, you'll save even more money. Laundry costs depend on how much laundry you accumulate. I tend to reuse my clothes a lot before washing them so that I only have to do my laundry once a week (about $2.50 wash + dry each time). Book expenditures kill you. Really. Unless you go out and look for secondhand books, which are usually available (unless it's a new edition you have to buy, which would suck).</p>
<p>At the moment I'm living on about $300-$400 a month, which I think is pretty fair. Of that, I can spend $30 a week on groceries + snacks, and the remaining goes to eating out, shopping, movies, plays, etc. Pretty decent.</p>
<p>Just try not to eat out so much, since that tends to be the source of a lot of people's money depletion. Take advantage of your kitchen and cook! It's not hard to learn. Before I came to NYU I had almost NO experience with cooking (unless making pancakes / boiling eggs counts), but I just learned by throwing random things in the pan and cooking them altogether. It's really therapeutic.</p>
<p>OP - Take advice from someone who has lived in NYC for 5 years, not 1 semester.</p>
<p>Many of the previous posts are completely false. Textbooks can be found on many sites (many schools use same textbooks) for example, Student</a> for Student - sell and buy college textbooks from and to fellow students or amazon for a fraction of the price the schools bookstore charges. I do not attend NYU, but live in the west village, and I will tell you $25 is not going to get you dinner and a movie, unless you are going to some nasty places. I would expect to spend around $800 per month on personal expenses (with a tight budget.) that excluding shopping on the weekends.</p>
<p>I would advise against not wearing clothes multiple times to save on laundry. That is disgusting and people will notice. I do agree with the learn to cook thing. I would not go to the outer boroughs to save money on groceries however. There are many many inexpensive local places, you just need to get out there and look for them.</p>
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A good tip re: money, put EVERYTHING you can on ONE credit card. If you pay it off right away, you'll get rewards and stuff for spending, and the accounting is done for you already. It's much easier to track where the hell all your money goes when you put it on a credit card. It also builds credit history, which is oh-so-important when you graduate.
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<p>No, put them on no credit cards, credit cards have interest rates. Unless you are going to be responsible enough to pay your bills in full on time you will most likely end up spending your money and abusing your card, not having enough to pay the bills off at the end of the month. Use cash or your debit card wherever you can. Always carry cash in case of an emergency. in NYC it is easy to cut deals when using cash, most small businesses and shoppes prefer cash because cash transactions are not reported to the IRS></p>
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If you're willing to go the extra mile by taking the 7 to Flushing to get cheaper groceries, you'll save even more money.
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<p>Forget Flushing. Go to Chinatown via the 6 and get off at Canal Street. On Mott Street and Canal, they sell high quality veggies and fruits for much less than grocery stores. Chinatown is much closer than Flushing, and I'd bet the prices are quite similar to what you'll find in Flushing.</p>
<p>I've lived in NYC for 5 years too... and $800 seems kind of high to me. I don't think I ever spent that much during school - there are so many good & cheap restaurants (my favorite's the $4 bahn mi sandwich! Or the $4 'over rice' dishes you can get in Chinatown).</p>
<p>If you're responsible, credit cards are a great idea. You can buy stuff today, keep money in the bank (earning interest!), and then pay off bills in 30 days. Totally worth it~</p>
<p>when did you go to school in the 1970's? It is fairly difficult to live of of $800 in manhattan unless you are willing to be a cheap skate. Remember that going out and socializing (networking) is just as important, if not more important than your grades (it's not what you know, it's who you know.) You will want to spend the extra money to go out and meet people, especially working adults who are out often (who can be a huge help when it comes time to find internships and jobs.)</p>
<p>Don't forget birthdays, textbooks, school supplies, unexpected expenses, random purchases to make life easier (usb flash drive, hat, umbrellas), these expenses add up, $800 seems a bit shy of what it may cost. </p>
<p>If you can budget well, by all means, $800 may get you by. Ask your folks to allocate some extra $$ into a savings accounts in case you have a big expense and need some extra cash.</p>
<p>I would advise against using credit cards, unless your parents are willing to take care of the bills for you. An 18 year old can go wrong many ways with a credit card, these companies are sharks and are out to get you. Until you are a bit more familiar with finance, compound interest and budgeting I would suggest merely becoming an authorized user on your parents accounts and using that card for emergencies. I know many students who have had difficulty with credit cards and had to call their folks to bail them out.</p>
<p>Hi, I am an incoming freshmen...and Im considering getting a part time job as soon as I can. Im going to CAS in the pre-law program.
Is that a smart thing to do?</p>
<p>Umm, while I agree that networking is good, I highly doubt that you're going to meet people at a bar that will be willing and able to help you get a job. If by networking, you mean networking with peers and upperclassmen, then yes, it might be helpful later on in life.</p>
<p>I live off ~$1000/mo right now (not including rent), and that includes random purchases like a new pair of boots or a plane ticket and so on, so excluding that definitely gets me below ~800. If you're not buying a huge load of things or paying rent, food + misc living expenses really shouldn't be all that much if you're responsible about your money.</p>
<p>Also, as I said before, credit cards are great if you are responsible about using them. I got a credit card the summer before coming to NYU, and I've always paid it on time, in full. Builds good credit!</p>
<p>nch239: I don't know exactly what you mean by 'smart thing' to do... if it's a job that doesn't require 20+ hrs/week, you'll probably be fine. It's not like the prelaw program is that demanding (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't even think NYU really has a prelaw major/curriculum...)</p>
<p>hi , i want to study in NYU but im from Peru, but i dont know , how could I study there , i’ve been thinking the best way is get a stipend , but i dont know how !!! PLZ help me !!! send me your answer by email plz, <a href="mailto:diego25_1991■■■■■■■■■■■■">diego25_1991■■■■■■■■■■■■</a></p>
<p>Is $500-$600 a month good enough?</p>
<p>This includes frequent $4 subway trips, occasional taxi use, take-out about two-three times a week (I have a meal plan but still…), no plane ticket back home, and just the VERY occasional shopping/grocery?</p>
<p>assuming your tuition and board come out to 49k give or take
–most people will have a 10 meal a week meal plan
–assuming everytime you get hungry, you get some chicken and rice</p>
<p>Daily Coffee = $1-$5 ( about 7 times a week )
Chicken and Rice = $5-$6 ( about 5 times a week )
Snacks = $10$ ( about 3 times a week )
Thursday Night parties ($20-$50)<br>
Friday Night parties ($20-$50)
Eating out on the weekend ($10-$20)
Grocery ($20-$50)</p>
<p>thats the average NYU student. If you end up playing games at home on thursdays and do not go out clubbing and such, its cheaper</p>
<p>so typically a week’s expense is about on the upper end is about $150
on the lower end if you don’t eat out much and cook its about $50</p>
<p>these are only estimates. Personally i didn’t spend more than $30-40 dollars a week my freshman year. When i started working junior year, thats when i started spending $300+ a week.</p>
<p>^ With that budget during freshman year…did you still have fun while still spending all you needed on necessay costs?</p>
<p>yeah its fine. Even with no money, NYU has a lot of events every week and its all free.</p>
<p>Actually I belive yearly housing/tuition/dining plan/ school basic insurance </p>
<p>goes over $60K</p>
<p>Since my Fall 2009 Semester Balance is
TOTAL CURRENT TERM BALANCE $30,487.50… yea…</p>
<p>so do the math</p>
<p>Okay - so NYU is expensive…but how much does it REALLY cost with financial aid?
Is it true that if they want you, they will give you good financial aid?</p>
<p>use the search function to search this board, because this question has been asked a lot. i’m only saying this because you’ll find a wide range of answers and perspectives in the archives.</p>
<p>i was on the site, and like it showed before awards and scholarships, it showed up to be like a total of $60,000 something</p>
<p>But if you already have a place to live, its 37k for a year??</p>
<p>I spend about $600 a month and that’s just on food and the occasional subway pass.</p>