Money in New York

Money

My family has endured major financial hardship since 9/11, so I have been self-supporting since I was 17. Going to New York for the summer was completely unsupported by my parents- financially and emotionally. When they took me to the airport in Dallas, they were screaming at me, “Why do you have to go to New York! What’s wrong with Texas? How in the hell are you going to pay for this?!?”

Honestly, I had no idea how I was going to afford such an endeavor. I had saved about $900 from my two jobs in Austin and I had a Mastercard with a spending limit of $4000.

By the end of two weeks in New York, I found myself broke, my credit card maxed out, no resources and still without a paycheck. In desperation, I took on a weekend job waiting tables (I will talk about it later). Sucking up my pride, I also asked my parents for a little bit of money.

I squeezed for about three weeks surviving basically on the tips I made at the restaurant and the little bit of money my parents could give me. I was so joyous to receive my first paycheck at my internship.

Everything is so expensive in New York. An average meal ranges anywhere from $10-25. The necessities that I had to buy from K-Mart and Duane Reade were so much more expensive. Toothpaste, a luxury that I can go to Wal Mart and purchase for $.99, was a mere $4 for the cheap brand.

Still in debt, I am determined to pay off everything before Christmas.