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New York is among the most unaffordable cities in the world. $1,000 a month will get you a closet-sized bedroom in Manhattan. It’s not unheard of to easily spend $150 or more in a weekend just to stay entertained. This is where www.nycheapskate.com comes into play.
This site is built with the notion of posting regular specials and deals to help you save a lot of money on entertainment, lodging, dining and travel. After all, not all of us are Bernie Madoff and have billions in swindled cash.
As proof, here’s a simple example of how you can save more than $2600 a year in entertainment in New York City:
First, assume you spend $150 a weekend in entertainment (that’s $7,800 a year based on 52 weeks). Second, take two typical Manhattan bars (Professor Thom’s near Union Square and O’Lunney’s in midtown).
Every Friday, go to Prof. Thom’s, and order 6 Bud Lights. They’re $4 apiece, not bad you’re saying to yourself.
Then...
Every Saturday, go to O’Lunney’s in midtown, and order 6 Bud Lights. They’re $5 apiece, not too bad for Times Square area.
That’s $30 and $36 a night, respectively, assuming you tip $1 with each drink. Keep up that routine and you’ll spend $3,432 per year on your 12 Bud Lights per weekend. But you’ve also gotta eat.
Burgers are easy enough to compare, so you get a cheeseburger both nights of every weekend (we don’t recommend it, unless you want to have a massive heart attack).
At Prof. Thom’s, the cheeseburger with fries is $9.95. At O’Lunney’s, you’ll pay $11.95. That’ll be about $12.50 and $15 with tax and tip, respectively. The grand total for 52 weeks will be $1,430 for your burgers.
Now, using NYCheapskate.com’s extensive list of dining and drink deals, let’s look for ways to save some money.
On Friday night, go down to Chambers Street to the Patriot for a divey good time. There you’ll find $3 bottles, but you can go cheaper if you want pitchers, which start at $9 on weekends, $6.50 during the week. For food, they have $1.50 sliders and $1 hotdogs.
On Saturday night, since you’ll be in midtown, go to Rudy’s Bar and Grill. Sip on $3 Bud Light bottles, or go even cheaper with your friends and enjoy $9 BL pitchers. For food, enjoy Rudy’s free hot dogs! No healthier than a burger, but awesome bar food, nonetheless.
So, assuming you’re doing this routine every weekend, you’ll spend $3,432 at the typical, non-expensive bars, and $2,496 on drinks at NYCheapskate.com’s bars. You’ll spend $1,430 on burgers at typical bars, and $520 on food at NYCheapskate.com’s bars, assuming you have five sliders and enjoy the free hot dogs at Rudy’s.
COMBINED ......
You’ll spend $4,862 on food and drink for just two nights out a week at Prof. Thom’s and O’Lunney’s, versus $3,016 at the Patriot and Rudy’s. That’s $1,846 in extra cash you have right there.
Add two annual trips to Boston that you can find on our site for cheap ($2.50r/t=$5), versus Acela Express ($158 r/t = $316), one weekday dining deal savings ($5.50/wk*52=$286), and savings from having your parents stay in one of NYC’s best discounted 3-star hotels for a weekend versus the lowest listed rate ($174), and you’ve got $2,617 in annual savings.
As it pays to be cheap, you can take that money and …
buy a 52" flat panel LCD Samsung HDTV for $2,499 at Best Buy, or six roundtrips for you and your GF or BF from JFK to Orlando during the winter, or you could just enjoyhaving that cell phone bill paid for 3 and a half years.
NYCHEAPSKATE.COM
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