A Week In New York City On A $70,000 Salary

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Today: a sample coordinator working in fashion who makes $70,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey.

Occupation: Sample Coordinator
Industry: Fashion
Age: 27
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $70,000
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $1,800

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,110 (I share a three-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side with two other girls.)
Student Loan Payment: $0 (Shout out to my parents, who saved enough to pay for me to go to college.)
Spotify: $3 (I'm on a family plan with four other friends.)
MetroCard: $121
Internet: $23 (F*ck you, Spectrum.)
Medication: $15

10 a.m. — I wake up at T.'s apartment. He's a guy I started seeing two weeks ago. He's a doctor, so even though it's the Monday of a holiday weekend, he has to work at 11. I bum around his apartment for a bit and then take a cab home. It's not too far from my place, but it's about 10 degrees outside. $12

2 p.m. — Despite all of our varying social calendars, my friends and I managed to get it together enough to go axe throwing in Brooklyn this afternoon. I'm not terrible, but not great either. I put everything on my credit card but everyone Venmos me after. Plus I get two beers, because drinking and throwing heavy weapons mixes well. $40

8 p.m. — Exhausted from the late night activities, weapon-throwing, and two beers, I don't feel like cooking anything and remember there's leftover mac and cheese in the fridge from last night because my roommate is a goddess in the kitchen. I heat it up and watch the Hulu Fyre Festival documentary before passing out embarrassingly early once it's over.

7 a.m. — I try to run three times a week, but with these frigid temps recently, it's been a bit of a challenge since I run outside. I manage to get up and get it done today, and on the way back I grab a spinach and egg white wrap from Starbucks. I have a large carafe of iced coffee in my fridge — I make it about once a week because I drink it every single day. I throw some in a to-go cup and head to work. $6

12:30 p.m. — Because I got up and ate breakfast so early, I'm hungrier for lunch earlier than usual. I won a $25 gift card through my company's holiday raffle (it was a massive deal to me, since I never win anything), which I use to buy a way-too-pricey-but-worth-it tomato and mozzarella sandwich from the cafe next door ($12).

7 p.m. — I meet up for drinks with two girls I'm still friends with from our college fashion program. We pick a nice wine bar, where we all split a bottle of red and a cheese board and talk about our jobs and dating life in NYC. One of them lives with her boyfriend and suggests setting me up with one of his friends. I'm intrigued but not hopeful, because, if you've dated in the city for more than five minutes, you know. $30

9 a.m. — As soon as I get into work, my boss asks me to run a sample down to a photoshoot, but I don't mind because one of my friends is working on set today and I haven't seen him in a while. I take a cab down (expensed), deliver the sample, chat with my friend, and bum some iced coffee and breakfast off the catering spread before heading back. ($15 expensed)

2 p.m. — It's a slow afternoon at work, so I browse online for bathing suits to buy for my upcoming trip to Florida to visit my grandparents. I spend more than I planned, but a few were on sale and I've been needing some replacements for my rattier suits. By rattier, I mean I still have a black bikini top from Delia's (RIP) that I've held onto. I needed these. $120

6:30 p.m. — My mom is my best friend, and once a week she drives down to the city from Westchester to have dinner with me. We try to find cute new places in different areas, and tonight is Empire Diner in Chelsea. She always treats (I'm very lucky), but in exchange for the free meal, she rips me a new one because I tell her I sometimes still miss my toxic ex-boyfriend. We split a s'mores mousse and all is right in the world.

8 a.m. — I wake up early and go to my endocrinologist's office in midtown. I've had hypothyroidism for the last six years, and while it's super mild and under control, I have to go in every four months for blood work to make sure the meds I take are still working. They are, and my doctor who's about 900 years old tells me my thyroid is looking "textbook perfect." I pay my copay and walk to work. $25

12:30 p.m. — Again, because I was up earlier than usual, I am starving for lunch sooner than planned. I couldn't get my act together to bring a lunch, so I begrudgingly schlep to Chop't (for the 400th time since starting this job) and get a salad. I bump into a coworker there who I've recently become friendly with, and we have a nice chat while walking back to the office. I eat at my desk because I'm trying to plan a trip to South Africa next year and use this break time to do that. $11

6 p.m. — I ask a few friends if they want to go to a Rangers hockey game in a few weeks, and manage to get enough of them to say yes, despite the ticket price. I haven't been to a game since this hot lawyer I used to hook up with took me last year, and I have been wanting to go back ever since. I put all the tickets on my credit card, but everyone Venmos me. I have cereal for dinner tonight because the ticket was a steep expense. $110

7:30 a.m. — Tonight, I'm going to a happy hour for my friend's birthday, so I give myself enough time to curl my hair in the morning and put on a more done-up face than my usual. This means black eyeliner instead of brown, because despite being a 27-year-old girl living in NYC, I have absolutely zero clue what to do with makeup. I buy an iced coffee and yogurt so that I don't have to lug my big Thermos in my purse when we go out tonight. $9

7 p.m. — My friend's happy hour gets aggressively rowdy. Fast. I am there for only one hour before putting three rounds of drinks on my card. I then put two final shots on my tab (one for me, one for the birthday girl) before closing it out and chugging water for the rest of the night. We take pictures in the bar photo booth (she pays so she can keep the hard copy) and then I leave. The scary bar tab total makes me take the subway, even though I'm an hour away from my apartment. $60

10 p.m. — As soon as I put my key in my apartment door, the hot lawyer texts me asking if I want to grab drinks. I live on the east side and he lives on the west, but I'm bored so I bite the taxi fare and cross the park to his place. We have shitty beers and chat about sci-fi books before passing out at 2 a.m. $16

11 a.m. — I wake up at the lawyer's apartment and have coffee with him before leaving (earlier than planned, but the law doesn't rest on the weekend, and he has work to do). I pass a Barnes & Noble on the way to the subway and pop in to get the book he recommended last night, Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, which is soon to be turned into an Amazon series. It's phenomenal. This guy never disappoints, except when it comes to his commitment issues. $18

2 p.m. — I get home and tell my roommates about where I've been and all the choices I've made before going for a run. When I get back, my arches are throbbing (I have extra high ones due to many years of ballet), and I realize I'm way overdue for a new pair of sneakers. Since I don't pay a monthly gym membership and need a lot of support for my feet, I buy new ones and feel okay about the price I pay for them. I walk home and take a few extra blocks because the episode of Alec Baldwin's podcast Here's the Thing I'm listening to is so good I don't want to stop. $80

9 p.m. — My roommates and I want to move to Brooklyn when our lease is up, so once a month we explore new neighborhoods we might want to move to. Tonight's hood of choice is Boerum Hill, and we check out the divey-est of dive bars ever, Floyd's. I buy the beers, and one of my roommates buys a grilled cheese for us to split at the next place. $15

10 a.m. — We got home last night at around 3 a.m., so I am wildly exhausted and decide to sleep in a bit later than usual. Then I head over to my favorite bagel place around the corner from my apartment and treat myself to a bagel and iced coffee. On the walk back, I call my grandparents, and we talk about all the wild activities they have planned for me when I come visit in a few weeks. (Mini golf, tacos, and a beach day are in the works.) $6

6 p.m. — T. is leaving on vacation for a few days tomorrow and wants to hang out before he goes, so we meet up for drinks in the West Village. It's another freezing night, and I don't feel like taking public transportation, so I give myself enough time and Uber Pool down there. He's already there, and I make him tell me all the insane things that happened in the ER today. He had to give a rectal exam to a homeless man and worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. $9

1 a.m. — We get back to T.'s apartment, watch Bird Box, and chat for a bit before I realize how late it is. I don't have my work stuff for tomorrow, and T.'s flight is at 8 a.m., so I decide to head home. He kisses me goodbye, and says we'll chat when he gets back (again, not hopeful, but he's been nice thus far). I take a cab home because of how late it is. $13

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