Budgeting across cities

When moving to different cities, it can be quite overwhelming to realize the difference in cost of living. Even within the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT there are huge variances between living in the lap of luxury and living "on a budget" which can be difficult. Today I found an interesting budgeting article from LearnVest which talks about the "2010 Graduate Checklist"regarding post-college budgeting. There was an eye-opening budgeting chart between 4 major cities and I found it fascinating how different each box was from one section to the next!



Although I've mentioned how rent is outrageous in New York, the general expenses are as well. Food, entertainment, transportation and even things that shouldn't cost more like fitness-related expenses or eating healthy are more expensive! So, at the end of the day, it is so important to understand where you are spending your money and what you can do. Even little things like bringing lunch to work can add up over the course of a year. I used to walked 20 blocks from my office to my apartment and that saved me money on transportation and I got about 30 minutes of extra walking/exercise in my day.