A Week In New York City On A $250,000 Income

Occupation: Associate
Industry: Finance
Age: 25
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $250,000 ($100,000 base, $150,000 bonus)
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): ~$3,000

Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $1,482.17 (I bought a small one-bedroom/studio apartment about three years ago.)
Maintenance: $949.91 (This covers building fees, property taxes, doormen salaries, electricity — a significant portion of it is tax-deductible.)
iPhone Payment: $49.91
Health Insurance: $277
Dental Insurance: $13.70
Cable: $49.99
Phone: I'm on a family plan, but work reimburses me $40/month. This covers the full cost of my service, so I Venmo it to my parents.)
AMC Stubs: $19.99
Gas Bill: ~$20
Commuter Card: $285 pretax
Gym: ~$150 (This includes storage locker and laundry.)
Spotify: $2.50 (I'm on a family plan!)
ClassPass: $51.21
Itunes Storage: $0.99
Netflix: I use my parents' account.

Annual Expenses
WSJ Subscription: $116.97
Amazon Prime: $119
Homeowners' Insurance: $450
Savings: My 401(k) max comes out of my annual bonus (and ~95% of the rest of my bonus goes to a brokerage account). Then $300/month goes to the brokerage account and Albert savings. I have ~$25,000 in a high-yield savings account, ~$80,000 in my 401(k), and ~$150(k) invested via brokerage accounts.

8 a.m. — I'm working from home today (which doesn't happen often), so I take full advantage and wake up later than usual. It's pretty sunny and warm, so I head out for a three-mile run along the river.

9 a.m. — My boyfriend, S., calls as I'm finishing up — he has a couple weeks off before starting a new job, so he's at home today, too. I walk over to his apartment, and we decide to walk to get a quick breakfast. I don't have much on my plate yet work-wise, so I can just answer emails that come in from my phone. We head over to Daily Provisions (a favorite) for an indulgent breakfast and get bacon, egg, and cheeses and two crullers (maple and strawberry) to share with an iced coffee. S. pays, but the total feels like a lot, so I Venmo him $16.50. $16.50

10 a.m. — We head back to my apartment with breakfast, where we eat and I then shower. S. does some reading while I'm on calls for a few hours, and then it's time for a break. My hours vary a ton, so I love work-from-home days where I don't have too much to do. I take a quick break to order a couple cases of seltzer, olive oil, and some snacks (really, Cheez-Its and cereal) from Jet before going back to work. $41.46

3 p.m. — Neither of us is really hungry for lunch, so we snack on some apples and crackers while we work/read. S. heads out to go back to his apartment/hang out with some friends tonight.

6 p.m. — I have a "reunion" with some high school classmates tonight, so I make a quick dinner before heading to the bar where we're meeting. Dinner is Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi with some sautéed spinach, topped with cherry tomatoes and pesto. Easy but good!

7 p.m. — I walk over to the bar where a few people are already waiting. We spend a couple hours catching up, and I have two Brooklyn Lagers. I pay for one, but an old classmate buys my second. $8

10 p.m. — It's still nice out, so I walk ~20 minutes home, where I watch an episode of Dead to Me and then head to sleep.

7:30 a.m. — Sadly, I can feel the two beers from last night, so I wake up later than usual (and skip a workout) and then get ready quickly.

8:30 a.m. — Once I get to the station, I buy an iced coffee and rush over to the right track. I can't handle the train without an iced coffee, so this has become a non-negotiable part of my budget. Once I'm on the train, I eat some egg muffins and an orange I brought from home and get some work done. (I work in a suburb outside the city.) $4.36

9:30 a.m. — It's a busy morning back in the office, so I have a morning filled with calls.

12 p.m. — I try to pack lunch, since healthyish options aren't available walking distance from my office. Fridays are tough, depending on what's left in the fridge, but I still have some salad ingredients left. I eat a spinach salad with baked chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and the olive oil and balsamic I keep at my desk.

5:30 p.m. — The rest of the afternoon flies by, and the office clears out quickly. I walk over to the train with some coworkers, and we chat for the train ride back to the city. It's a nice night, so I walk home from the train station once I'm back.

7 p.m. — I'm getting close to the end of Dead to Me, so I watch one more episode before getting ready for dinner with a friend, A.

8 p.m. — I'm planning on having an early night, so I throw on a T-shirt dress and sandals to walk to dinner. There's a chance of rain, so we sit inside. I have two glasses of rosé and a lobster roll (first of the season!). A. is one of my closest friends, but it's been way too long since we've seen each other. $71

1o p.m. — A. and I are on the same page and not feeling another drink — we still have more to catch up on (and it's not raining), so we just walk around the neighborhood for an hour or so. Her boyfriend's apartment is nearby, so I eventually drop her there and then walk home to go to sleep around 11:30.

8 a.m. — I'm feeling well-rested and wake up around 8. I clean my bathroom and pick up the apartment before heading to a workout class.

10 a.m. — I walk over to the Y7 studio (hot yoga set to hip-hop) for a class I booked with ClassPass. I run a lot, but it's hard on my joints, so I've been trying to get more into yoga. The heat helps! I remember to bring a reusable water bottle, but I don't have a mat at home. A mat and nonslip towel are $5 combined. $5

11:30 a.m. — I have a free coffee at one of my favorite coffee shops, so I stop and grab a free iced coffee on my way home!

12 p.m. — I'm super hungry after class, so I quickly shower and then make some fried eggs and toast. I'm meeting S. later, but I have a scheduled phone call with my mentee since we couldn't get together in person this weekend. She just took the PSAT, so we talk about how that went and how she can prepare for the future/college visits.

2:30 p.m. — A couple hours later, I walk over to S.'s. He's recovering from a boys' night out and still needs some time to be ready for the world. While he gets ready, I download the Citi Bike app and fill in the code he gives me. It gives me one free day of unlimited Citi Bikes!

3 p.m. — We find bikes nearby and head to the West Side Highway for a leisurely ride uptown. We have to stop along the way, because I can only have the same bike for 30 minutes at a time.

5 p.m. — A couple hours later, we've reached the UWS and stop at the Boat Basin for a drink. I buy a frozen margarita for myself and a beer for S. Afterward, we wander around the neighborhood for a bit and stop in a couple stores. I try to get S. to try on a couple shirts on sale, but he's not feeling it. I give up, and we decide to walk across Central Park and bike back down Fifth Ave. There's some serious construction going on, so it's bumpy, but we make it back in one piece. $24

8 p.m. — We're super hungry after all the biking, so we head over to Baohaus for dinner. We get a couple baos (pork belly and fried chicken) and share a rice bowl. S. recently introduced me to Baohaus, and I can't stop going! He pays.

9 p.m. — We stop on the way home and get a bunch of treats at Milk Bar — I've never had the Crack Pie, so I'm excited to try it. Not as good as I expected. Once we're back, we watch Wine Country on Netflix and go to sleep early. $20

8 a.m. — We wake up to lots of rain and lie around and watch Instagram Stories for a bit. I have a friend's birthday in a couple hours but no real rush to get up. S. gets hungry, so he orders a bagel and coffee to eat while we watch some TV.

11 a.m. — Around 11, I finally brave the outdoors to go home and change. It's still rainy, and we're just hanging at my friend's apartment, so I put on jeans and a sweater. I take a shared Lyft downtown because of the rain, and no one else gets in! $4.28

11:50 a.m. — I stop at a coffee shop and get some treats for the birthday girl — a lemon-and-raspberry loaf from Maman ($4) and some macarons from a bakery nearby ($17). $21

12 p.m. — I hang out in a liquor store until the clock strikes noon and then buy a bottle of Champagne to make mimosas ($17). I meet another friend, and we head up to my friend's apartment, where we make some eggs/toast and eat some of the fruit and treats we brought. Then we hang out under furry blankets for a few hours. $17

3 p.m. — Another friend is heading home, so we grab a cab. My friends and I tend to just cover smaller expenses for each other and figure it all evens out in the end. S. has to get a cast off at the doctor, so I go to wait with him. The appointment is over relatively quickly, and we head back to Baohaus...I'm not too hungry, but he orders extra for me, too (which I end up fully eating). I Venmo him $15. $15

4 p.m. — S.'s friend is running late to watch a game with him, so we grab a beer while he waits for him (S. pays). I consider going to watch with them, but it's still raining and I decide to just go home.

5 p.m. — I get home and dry out. I've been reading Becoming by Michelle Obama and am almost done, so I read for a bit before doing laundry. I go down to the basement to throw laundry in (I put $40 on my card every eight weeks or so) and then make some egg muffins for this week. I usually meal-prep several foods, but I'm traveling for work this week so I skip the rest. Once laundry is done, I get in bed early and fall right asleep.

7:30 a.m. — I wake up to go for a run, but it's still raining, so I fall back asleep and wake up an hour later. I don't want to walk to the train station, so I take the subway. (I put $40 on my card every few weeks.)

8:15 a.m. — On the way to the track, I grab an iced coffee per usual. I drink it and eat the egg muffins while reading on the train. $4.36

9:10 a.m. — I'm in meetings for a few hours as soon as I get to the office. I order a delivery BBQ chicken salad since I didn't go grocery shopping yesterday, and it arrives right as I finish up with meetings for the morning. $12.50

1 p.m. — The afternoon flies by as I finish up materials for a meeting tomorrow.

6:30 p.m. — Around 6:30, I walk to the train and finish up some work on the ride home. I order a greens-and-grain bowl from Cava for pickup and grab it once I'm back in the city. $13.30

8 p.m. — Once I get home, S. comes over and hangs out while I eat my dinner. We watch The Bachelorette, then take a dessert break to eat some of the ice cream he brought over. We head to bed once the show ends at 10.

5:15 a.m. — I'm heading out of town for work today, so I wake up and quickly shower. I grab an Uber to Newark. ($90 expensed)

7 a.m. — I'm going to have to work on the plane (no extra sleep...), so I grab a parfait and an iced coffee at an airport restaurant. I can expense meals up to a certain amount when I travel for work, so this is also expensed. I board my flight and work throughout the trip. ($12 expensed)

12 p.m. — Once we land, my colleague books an Uber and we drive an hour or so to the company headquarters. They have lunch for us when we arrive, and meetings go straight through to dinnertime.

7 p.m. — I'm exhausted after the travel day/meetings. For dinner, I have a salad and crispy snapper, along with a couple glasses of wine. (The company pays.) My team hangs around for way too long drinking by the pool, discussing the day's meetings, and we finally head in around 11.

6:30 a.m. — We're not starting until 9 today, so I wake up early to run along the water. It's a four-mile route over the bridge and back, so I do that and then stretch for a bit in the hotel gym.

7:15 a.m. — I quickly shower and then work on an interview case study while my hair air dries. Hotel hair dryers never work, so I do my best to make it look decent for work. Once I'm ready, I still have a few minutes, so I sit down for some coffee and yogurt in the hotel restaurant and keep working. ($15 expensed)

9 a.m. — Meeting starts, and we again work through the day. We take a quick lunch break, and I eat the Cobb salad I ordered with the rest of the group. We finally finish up around 4:30 and head back to the airport (and find out our flight is delayed two hours on the way).

6 p.m. — We manage to get on an earlier flight, but we still have around an hour before we board. We sit down at the Chili's next to the gate, where we share some chips and salsa and each have a beer. Someone else expenses it, so I don't see the total.

9:30 p.m. — We land at Newark, and I grab an Uber home ($90). I haven't eaten dinner beyond chips and salsa, so I order Thai food (pad see ew and chicken curry puffs, $25) via Seamless to arrive at the same time I get home. ($115 expensed)

10 p.m. — The food arrives, and I eat it while I work on the case study. I head to sleep around 11:30, hoping for a good interview tomorrow.