How to Survive in NYC on $20 a Week

This week I will be chronicling my broke ass best friend’s journey as she takes on the Surviving on $20 in NYC Challenge.  For five days – Monday through Friday – said friend will have only $20 to her name (per her usual), and will attempt to eat, drink and travel in the country’s most expensive city with only the aid of handy mobile apps like Scout Mob, Groupon and LevelUp.  This is a budget of only $4 a day for a 26-year-old woman who thoroughly enjoys food and relies heavily on caffeine as she is studying for the Bar Exam, in hopes of someday not having to spend only $4 a day on food.  I will stand idly by, offering only moral but no monetary support, in hopes of capturing the secret to cheap yet enjoyable living in NYC.  My goal is to prove that you can not only survive but eat, drink and be merry for next to nothing in a city known for being overpriced.  Join me on this journey into broke ass-ness and outsmarting the economy one mobile app at a time.

Day 1:

Budget – $4.00

Morning coffee –

To start her day off right, our subject uses the LevelUp mobile application to search for free credits at a local Bodega.  She finds that she has a $1.00 credit at the local Houston Village Farm Deli, located on the corner of E 4th Street and First Ave.  The cost of a small coffee with milk and sugar: $1.00.

Amount Spent: $0

Remaining budget for the day: $4 

Lunch –

After a morning of rigorous studying, our subject again turns to the LevelUp app to search for an appetizing lunch option.  She finds that local favorite Luke’s Lobster Shack has a $2 credit and a shrimp roll (yuck!) costs $8.  Lucky for her, she received a free $5 credit just for signing up with LevelUp, so she combined this with Luke’s $2 credit and ended up paying only $1.  Her notes on lunch: “This is freakin delicious.”

Served “Maine” style; shrimp served cold atop a 6″ buttered & toasted bun with a swipe of mayo and sprinkled with lemon butter and secret spices.

Amount Spent: $1.00

Remaining budget for the day: $3.00

Dinner-

For dinner, our subject went with an old New York favorite, pizza. Using the app of the day, LevelUp, she purchased a slice at Proto’s Pizza for $3.25 with a $2.00 credit, spending only $1.25 and coming in under budget for the day thus far. Impressive work.

A generous slice of their delicious Margarita Pizza

Amount spent: $1.25

Remaining budget for the day: $1.75

So at the end of day 1 our subject has feasted on fresh seafood and classic comfort food and still managed to come in well under budget. Today’s remaining money will be carried over to tomorrow, so she can really splurge. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s entry to see how she holds up on day 2 of the broke ass challenge!