First-tier cities have high expenses, but are they really unable to save money?

The following answer comes from my Zhihu answer

Why do so many people prefer to earn a monthly salary of five to six thousand, commute to and from get off work on the subway, and have little money left after removing miscellaneous things? Life in a big city?

Directly oppose a group of first-tier cities’ remarks about high expenses. Spending in first-tier cities is clearly exaggerated.

Based on my three years of experience in Beidong, I will talk to you about how to control expenses in first-tier cities. No matter where you live, food, clothing, housing and transportation are the basic requirements. Next, I will calculate the expenses in first-tier cities separately for you.

When renting a house, you can find someone to share a room with. Rent a master bedroom that sleeps two people. Take a place in the Fourth Ring Road in southwest Beijing as an example. The maximum monthly rent is 2,500 yuan, and the minimum rent is 1,500 yuan. The per capita income is only 1,000 yuan. Basic bathroom, kitchen, air conditioning and other facilities are complete. Of course, two people may be of the same sex or of the opposite sex. How to find the right roommate is up to you.

Let’s eat. You can make three meals a day by yourself. Especially under the current epidemic situation, everyone can bring food legitimately. Due to strong demand in first-tier cities, generally speaking, vegetable prices are not much different from those in third- and fourth-tier cities. And big supermarkets like Wumart have special prices on vegetables at night. Vegetables, meat and eggs cost up to 100 yuan seven days a week. I occasionally eat takeout a few times a month, which is more than enough to spend 500 yuan on food a month.

Based on my personal experience, 20 RMB for food a day is enough.

Morning: 250ml of homemade hand cakes, egg and milk, cost 3.5 yuan

Lunch: Fried pancakes with shredded pork and bean sprouts/fried meat with green pepper and rice, cost 5 yuan

Dinner : Spicy hot pot/braised chicken/pasta cost 8 yuan

In terms of transportation, there is nothing to say. Just take the subway. Generally speaking, most tickets in Beijing cost 5 yuan per trip. Because of the preferential rules, the monthly subway fee is only 170. Counting the occasional outing once a month, 200 is enough for transportation expenses per month.

Snacks/clothes/travel. All of the above are easy to say. This kind of highly differentiated expenses really determines whether you can save money. Some people say that there are many temptations in first-tier cities, which leads to high expenses. I don’t think this is a problem in first-tier cities, but a people problem.

Eating snacks can easily lead to weight gain, so I recommend not eating snacks.

For clothes, one piece a month is enough. Cheap brands such as Baleno/Uniqlo/Chengyi. Maximum monthly expenses are 200. If you are a girl, you can consider adding some expenses as appropriate. If you are a big man, 200 yuan a month for clothing expenses is really a bit rich.

Travel. Let’s take Beijing as an example. Tourist attractions in Beijing are really cheap. Let me recommend a few places worth visiting for you to experience:

With so many people working in Beijing, how many can dare to say that they have visited all the scenic spots in Beijing? Traveling is nothing more than going from a place where you are tired of staying to a place where others are tired of staying. There is no such thing as traveling once and your life will be sublimated, your knowledge will be profound, and your knowledge will be broad.

I don’t recommend traveling across provinces because it costs money. This monthly expense is calculated as 100. After all, we don’t travel every month.

These three add up to a monthly budget of 300.

Hobby/books/study, investing 200 yuan a month for your future is not bad.

Let’s summarize the items listed above.

Such a rich life only costs 2,200 yuan a month. Except for higher housing expenses, I don’t think other expenses are 20% higher than in third-tier cities. The questioner mentioned a monthly salary of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. If we make a compromise and calculate it as 5,500 yuan, we can save 3,300 yuan a month. Can the monthly salary in the county town reach 3,300?

As you can see from the above analysis, in first-tier cities, except for housing, other expenses are not much different from those in third-tier cities. The living standards I just mentioned are very suitable for young people who come to first-tier cities to work hard.

It can not only maintain a certain level of comfort, but also reduce expenses as much as possible, allowing you to save money. Generally speaking, if you want to save money and go to first-tier cities, it’s absolutely fine. Don’t just listen to some people’s horrifying calculations about expenses. People who eat out at restaurants three times a day (including pancakes and fruit) and people who travel during holidays are destined to be unable to save money.

If you say that you come to first-tier cities just to live comfortably, without wanting to save money or lower the quality of life. Then I think you can become a moonlighter according to your own situation. Many of my colleagues around me pay 5,000 a month to rent a house, and their quality of life is excellent.

The world is fair. If you want to save money, there are ways to save money. If you want to be comfortable, there are ways to be comfortable. But remember, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Only by understanding your own needs can you live comfortably.