Budget for life in NYC

I am almost there. I am still hemorrhaging cash as I complete my move to NYC, but very soon that process will be over and then I will have to finalize and stick to a rather strict and limited budget. Most of my moving expenses are already "baked into the cake", with all of my possessions en route via UPS and my plane ticket ready for departure tomorrow morning. I have set aside cash in my brokerage account to cover all of the credit card payments. I'll spend $2.50 to take the bus to Sea-Tac airport, $7 to take the train from JFK to the city, spend some money at Bed Bath & Beyond and Duane Reade for some stuff for the apartment, spend a little on some new clothes and shoes, get my New York State ID, buy a new phone, and maybe have to buy a new air conditioner. At that point I should be "set" and ready to get back on a budget track. I also have to budget keeping my old voicemail for a month or two and paying final utilities for my old apartment.

I already did work out a budget a month ago, but I will have to revisit it and validate my assumptions.

The good news is that I will no longer have to struggle to budget two annual trips to New York City with sky-high hotel rates. There is plenty of stuff to do for free or cheaply in New York City, and Atlantic City is just a cheap casino bus ride away. I can even go to Washington, D.C. reasonably economically. I prefer the Amtak train, but the bus is fine with me as well. I look forward to being able to travel to Boston and Washington, D.C. without having to go near an airport.

-- Jack Krupansky