People often say, “How can you live in Boston and save money? It’s so expensive!” I believe you can have a great life in Boston by only spending $30,000 a year.
Even after I got married, I still only spent $30,000 a year. (We spent $60,000 as a couple)
The breakdown of our 2020 expenses as a couple is right here.
The breakdown of our 2019 expenses is right here.
Below is the breakdown of my expenses when before I got married.
Rent- $1500 a month
I used to live a nice 2 bed apartment in the Symphony area for $3000 a month with utilities.
I had a roommate, so I paid $1500 a month. Rent will be your biggest expense so it’s important to get a roommate to cut down this expense!
I lived right in the center of Boston. I could walk to the bus/train station in 2 minutes, and I could walk to work in 2 minutes.
Restaurants- $300 a month.
Boston has many great restaurants that cost $30 for a meal or less.
If I ate meals that cost $10, I could eat out 30 times a month. If I ate meals that cost $30, I could eat out 10 times a month. I tried to mix it up.
Here were some of my favorite restaurants:
- Giacomos- Great Italian- $20-$30
- Petit Robert- Nice French Bistro- $30
- Symphony Sushi- $10 for their lunch specials
- Cafe Mami, Sapporo Ramen, Dig Inn, Greco, Tasty Burger, Bon me, and Blaze- $10 or less.
- Numerous Chinese restaurants in Chinatown- $10-$30
- Numerous Korean restaurants in Allston- $10-$30.
Now I didn’t always eat at cheap restaurants. With a $300 budget I could splurge on $100 restaurants once in a while!
Groceries- $200 a month
The best place to get high quality but cheap groceries is Costco or Wegmans. Buy and bulk and freeze items! Since I didn’t have a car, I had Instacart deliver groceries from Wegmans.
Here is a sample of the groceries I often bought:
- Wegman’s Chicken Thigh- $1 a pound, or $0.33 cents a serving
- Wegman’s Ground Beef- $3.99 a pound or $1.33 a serving
- Veggies- $2 a pound, or $0.50 a serving.
- Rice-$30 for 15 pounds, or $0.10 a serving.
- Oatmeal- $11.39 for 4 pounds or $0.14 a serving.
My meals usually consisted of rice, some kind of meat, and veggies.
Here is a sample of my meals:
- Breakfast- Oatmeal and a banana- $0.50
- Lunch- Teriyaki chicken thighs with rice and broccoli- $1.25
- Dinner- Thai spicy ground beef or pulled pork with rice and string beans- $2.25
Eating like this only cost $4 a day, or about $120 a month!
Now you could say, how boring! What if you want to eat steak, fish, and snacks! Keep in mind I still had another $80-$120 to spend each month to buy steaks, fish, and snacks on occasion.
If you think I’m cheap, check out Savingsherpa.com (another early retirement financial blogger who lives in Boston). He only spends $80 a month on groceries!
Transportation- $100 a month.
Boston is really small so you don’t need a car. Since I lived in central Boston I could walk or take a bus/train to almost anywhere in Boston. It only cost $2 to take a bus or train. I often took Uber Pool which was really cheap.
Personal Items- $50 a month.
$50 a month covered personal items such as toiletries, soap, paper towels, etc.
Misc.- $3600-$5100
I was free to spend $3600+ a year on whatever I wanted! I spent it on vacations, entertainment, clothes, and special night outs.
The great thing about Boston is there are so many things you can do for free or that costs very little.
Some of my favorite things to do: Explore different charming neighborhoods, walk through parks, visit museums, hotels, all kinds of festivals, free concerts at music schools, bike rides and more!
You get to spend another $500-$1500 a year by simply signing up for a credit card! You can get details from thepointsguy.com