Girl look at that body

As a dancer I am a big fan of cross-training. While dancing is a workout in and of itself, it's a lot of stop and start, making it hard at times to develop consistent cardio. Pounding the pavement by the Hudson or through Central Park are great ways to fit in a cardio session, but running can be hard on a dancer's ankles and knees. I am a big fan of the elliptical, because it is a machine that allows you to run impact-free.

What I am not a big fan of are the prices of NYC fitness centers. 

Going to the gym can be expensive. Some gyms in the city can be upwards of $80 per month, causing you to feel guilty about those months when you're just a little too busy to make that monthly fee worth it. My first year in New York I was a member of one of those $80 per month gyms, and I cancelled my membership four months later. On a student budget, I just couldn't make that kind of financial commitment work.

This summer I was determined to make it back to the gym once again. This time I found a place for $20 a month.

And the name of this gym, you ask?

Blink Fitness has everything that I need in a gym: cardio machines, weights, strengthening machines, and a designated stretching area. I have specific places that I like to go for my Pilates and yoga classes, so for me, the fact that they did not have classes was not a problem. 

There are two types of memberships at Blink:

1. The BLUE Membership 
This is the membership plan that I signed up for. It is $20 per month, with an annual maintenance fee of $40. The price of the start-up fee will vary; I joined at a time when the fee was $0, but I am told that they routinely have special offers in terms of this fee. According to the website today, the start-up fee is at $5. This membership allows access to all Blink locations, one free personal training session, and unlimited guest privileges. This membership does require a full-year commitment, so should you choose to cancel your membership early, you would be required to pay a fee. 

2. The GRAY Membership
This membership is $25 per month, with an annual maintenance fee of $30. The start-up fee according to the website today is $15 but again, this price will vary, and may be negotioable. This membership allows access to a single location, and one free personal training session. This membership monthly fee is five dollars more because it does not require a full-year commitment, so members can cancel at any time (giving the gym 45 days notice) without having to pay a cancellation fee. 

If you're looking for a simple gym that's easy to join and easy to use, I highly recommend Blink. It's an ideal gym for a Penny-Pincher, since the monthly fee is the same price as a restaurant dinner. Joining Blink means spending one less night a month eating out, which is a pretty healthy sacrifice if you ask me.

Don't forget your water bottle, lock, and towel. There are plenty of lockers throughout the gym to store your belongings, but the lockers are not monitored. Make sure to bring a lock, since the gym isn't responsible for anything stolen. There are showers in the locker rooms but towels are not provided, so make sure to bring your own if you're rushing off to a hot date... or the office (both equally thrilling I have no doubt). 

At the Ballet

For fans of ballet, art, culture, or just dressing up and feeling fancy, there is nothing like a night spent at Lincoln Center. And while tickets for certain seats in the David H. Koch Theater or the Metropolitan Opera can get pretty pricey, there is a very budget-friendly way to see a performance.

Enter Student Rush. 

 Let's start with New York City Ballet. NYCB spends four seasons at Lincoln Center. For the fall, winter, and spring seasons, Student Rush tickets are available. On the Monday of each performance week, the website will list which shows will have student rush availability (not every show does). Students can then purchase tickets from the Box Office on the day of the show, with their valid student ID. The earlier in the day you can purchase the tickets the better, as they are often sold-out right before the show. The tickets are $20, with a limit of two tickets per student. The fourth season is dedicated to George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, and Student Rush is not available for these performances (regular tickets start at $29).

American Ballet Theatre performs at Lincoln Center usually around the end of May through the beginning of July (the rest of their seasons are spent in other locations). Students can purchase tickets at the Box Office on the performance day for $25 in the Orchestra, or $15 in Family Circle. Again it is best to go early in the day as tickets do sell out, especially since their season at Lincoln Center is not long. Their website does specify that students must be under the age of 26 to receive Student Rush tickets. I'm not sure how strict they are with this requirement; I think it would be worth a try, but know that they may ask to see your state ID as well as your student ID. 

If your eyesight is less than stellar, you might want to consider bringing binoculars, or opera glasses. Some of the rush tickets are pretty far back in the theatre (I've received tickets to the very last row on more than one occasion), which is great for seeing patterns but not so great for recognizing individuals. The viewing pleasure will be just as enjoyable without them, but binoculars are a tool to consider if you'd like to see faces. 

If you are not a student but still looking to see the ballet on a budget, then I recommend buying the student in your life a big cup of coffee, listening to them complain about the horrors of final exams, and then convincing them that a night at the ballet is all they need to relieve their stresses. It works, I swear.

Eleven Stores That Offer Student Discounts

There are a surprising number of retailers that offer discounts to shoppers with valid student ID. On the days when even the pinky promise you made to only window shop falls through, you might want to check out some of these stores.

Carolina modeling Top Shop apparel

11 Stores That Offer Student Discounts

1. Ann Taylor- 20% off 
2. Apple- prices vary
3. Banana Republic- 15% off
4. Charlotte Russe- 10% off
5. Club Monaco- 20% off
6. J. Crew- 15% off
7. The Limited- 15% off
8. Madewell- 15% off
9. Top Shop- 10% off
10. Eastern Mountain Sports- 15-20% off
11. Goodwill- 10% off

This list varies in terms of what kind of budget each store falls into. Goodwill is of course going to be more affordable than Club Monaco, but if you're looking to make places like Club Monaco and Top Shop a little more budget-friendly, this is the way to do it.

Remembering 9/11

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my roommate at the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial. I hadn't been to the site since the memorial opened in 2011, so after the spire was recently added to the top of One World Trade Center I decided it was time.

The memorial consists of the North Pool and South Pool, the museum (not yet open), the tridents within the museum (not yet open), and the Survivor Tree. The site is surrounded by the tall buildings of the World Trade Center, including 1776-feet-tall One World Trade Center, and 977-feet-tall Four World Trade Center. Between buildings Two and Three will be the WTC transit hub. Although the site is not finished, we were able to get a good look at what has been done so far.

The North and South Pools are located where the original Twin Towers stood. Along the perimeters of the pools are the names of the victims of 9/11, as well as the names of the six people who were killed in the bombing of the WTC garage in February of 1993.

The Survivor Tree is a Callery Pear tree that workers recovered (in stump form) at Ground Zero. The tree was replanted in a park where it could grow, but today resides once again at the World Trade Center. You can touch the bark (but not the leaves) when you visit the memorial.

When the museum opens it will feature two steel tridents, recovered from the North Tower facade. Other artifacts from the original site will also be featured.

The memorial contains electronic directories that allow visitors to look up victims from the attack, and then locate their names on either pool.  Visitors can search the name, flight number, or hometown of the victim; my roommate comes from a very small town, and we were surprised and saddened to find that someone born there had been a passenger on Flight 77.

Memorial Museum

In spite of the tragedy that occurred on September 11th, the memorial that honors the victims and heroes of that day is quite beautiful. I highly recommend taking a trip down to see it, and I look forward to returning when the museum is open, and the surrounding buildings are complete.

Let's Talk Logistics.

• Cost The memorial is free to the public. Visitor passes can be acquired at the site itself (which requires a long wait in line), or you can reserve passes online for a $2.00 fee. We chose the latter option because it was hot outside and we didn't want to be stuck in line, and I'm very glad that we did!
• Security The security is like that of an airport. You will need to remove your watches, keys, and sunglasses, and make sure you don't have a pocket knife on you. Ladies keep your purses small, as bags that exceed 8"x17"x19" will not be accepted. 
• Transportation The 1/2/3/4/5/6 trains all stop close to the location. The M5, M20 and M22 buses are also options. We took the 1 train to Rector street, and it was a quick walk from there to the memorial's entrance. 

Check the forecast ahead of time to visit on a day with good weather. It is pretty amazing to sit on one of the benches and look up at how tall those buildings really are...

Been working on the railroad

On a day when you feel like being outside, not spending a lot of money, and reconnecting with nature, NYC has got you covered. The city boasts a good number of parks that each vary in atmosphere, and that are all free and open to the public.


Today we're going to talk about the railroad.

The High Line is a park built on an old rail line, that runs above the Meatpacking District up to 34th street. It is a somewhat narrow strip that overlooks the Hudson, and gives walkers a good look at some architecturally unique buildings. The tracks are still visible in locations throughout the park, decorated by the plants growing around them.

This park is great for a morning, afternoon, or evening stroll (the park is open from 7:00 AM-11:00 PM). In summertime, especially on weekends, it can get pretty crowded during the day, so plan on walking at a pretty leisurely pace. The park is a good spot to bring some reading, as there are benches and lounge chairs for the taking; this is also a great way to get some sun if your skin is looking a little, well, paler than you'd like it to.

The park is completely free but there are a few snack and souvenir stands along the way, so try not to be lured in by these tempting sights if you're looking to Penny-Pinch. Whenever I walk the High Line I like to make a detour down to Chelsea Market on 15th street, and browse through the various shops there (strictly window-shopping of course).


Along the way you'll find some artwork, mostly in the form of sculptures. This morning while walking the High Line I saw a video projected along the side wall of an underpass. There was also a sculpture of a nose inside a wheelbarrow (find the deeper meaning in that) and a woman wearing sunglasses that I've posted here.

18 Miles of Books

I have a guilty pleasure, one that I pursue on days off when I have a few hours to myself.

It's Pretty Little Liars. 

Woops did I write that out loud? Okay well maybe I have a few guilty pleasures, and today I'm going to share with you my personal favorite. 

I love buying books. I love buying reference books, usually about improving your writing. I love buying books about health, and nutrition. I love buying books about the food industry, books written by comedians, books about dance, and fictional books from a whole array of genres.

It's kind of a problem. 

But even more than buying books I love browsing through bookstores, and Strand Bookstore is without a doubt the most magical bookstore in the world. Well, at least in New York City.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Strand:

The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway at the corner of East 12th St) in the East Villageneighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. The Strand advertises that it has "18 Miles of Books", and is well-known among New Yorkers for its collection of publishers' overstock, used, rare, and out-of-print books, as well as the chaos on and around its shelves. The store houses the city's largest collection of rare books, and is also a contender for the title of world's largest used bookstore, its major competitor in this regard being Powell's Books of Portland, Oregon. The Strand occupies 55,000 square feet of space^[1] while Powell's flagship Burnside location has over 68,000.^[2]

A family-owned business with more than 240 employees, the Strand was opened by Benjamin Bass in 1927 on nearby Fourth Avenue, in what was known as "Book Row", which was established as early as 1890, and which had at the time 48 bookstores.^[3][4] Bass's son Fred took over the business in 1956 and soon moved the store to the present location at the corner of East 12th Street and Broadway. Fred's daughter Nancy is co-owner of the store, and is also married to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. The store occupies three and a half floors, using half a floor for offices and one additional floor as warehouse space. As of December 2011, the store has 2.5 million books..

My roommate checking out the $2 goods

What this entry does not mention is the books for sale that are on display outside of the store, on shelves 

that line the perimeter of the building. These books, Penny-Pinchers, are not to be passed by. They typically cost from one to three dollars, and though it may require some dedication to leaf through a good number of books, you are sure to find something worth your while. Last year I found a used copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma for $3.00 that had hardly been worn in, and this year I bought a 1991 copy of The Writer's Handbook for $1.00. For bookaholics across the city, it's a dream come true. 

I decided to tack a sentence on to the end of the second paragraph of the entry, mentioning these affordable books:

The store occupies three and a half floors, using half a floor for offices and one additional floor as warehouse space. As of December 2011, the store has 2.5 million books. The store sells used books that can be found on shelves outside on the sidewalk, that typically range from one to three dollars in price.

Inside the store, I recommend browsing through the rare books floor, and checking out the half priced fiction on the main level. For those of you who are artists, there are some great books on dance, music, photography, painting, opera, etc. I also like to check out the cookbook section, and I'll usually pop down to the basement level for foreign lit and books on writing. For Penny-Pinching purposes, I try to keep to 'window shopping' in these regular priced sections. 

We all scream for (how much we pay for) ice cream

I have a pretty serious sweet tooth. Unfortunately, in a city where a slice of cake is $6.00 and a frozen yogurt can easily be $5.00, the cost of dessert adds up. My sweet tooth is dangerous for my wallet, and dangerous for my waist line.

Alas, I have a solution. My friend PJ (check out his band Manner Effect) introduced me to a dessert that is cheap, easy to make, vegan, gluten-free, and tastes exactly like ice cream. Oh yeah, and it's good for you. The secret? Frozen bananas. 

Peel them, slice them, put them in the freezer, and then blend them in a food processor until it looks like ice cream. If you want, you can stop right there and eat it as is. I highly recommend adding peanut butter, or any other kind of nut butter; it tastes like peanut butter ice cream and it is fantastic! 

Since the ingredients are just bananas and nuts, you can eat it for breakfast and not have to feel guilty about it; when I told my friends at ballet that I had eaten ice cream for breakfast, they did not mask their shock! If you don't like nuts, you can add other ingredients too. I think it would be good to add fresh fruit as a garnish, or maybe you could try adding things like cinnamon or vanilla to the mixture as you're blending. I'd love to hear your comments if you've tried something out that you liked.

The best part is that bananas are cheap. Stop by a fruit cart and grab two bananas for 50 cents, and you've got yourself a big bowl of ice cream (depending on the size of the banana, one might even be sufficient). That's looking a lot better to me than that $5 cup of frozen yogurt...

A Night out at the Movies

Last year, when I saw Titanic in 3D, I cried. It's hard to say though, whether those tears were from the scene at the very end of the movie where Rose and Jack reunite (ok I'm sorry, I'm a girl, it gets me every time), or the fact that I paid $17 to see the movie.

Yikes.

Movies in the city are not cheap... at all. But I love going to the movies, especially on a summer night when you can't think of what to do. Luckily, there is a way to see movies for cheap when you're in the city for the summer. More than cheap, the movies are actually free. Parks across the city hold outdoor screenings of movies throughout the summer (see the schedule here). Last year I sat by the Hudson and saw an outdoor screening of Horrible Bosses. Granted I left to take a phone call halfway through the film and missed the second half (I swear every time I sit down to watch that movie something comes up and I miss the end—I'm assuming they don't actually kill their bosses but I really couldn't tell you), but it was fun to be out there on the grass with everyone and their picnic blankets.

Plus you really can't beat a free movie.

These outdoor movies are also a great thing to do on a date. Take a look at the schedule to see if anything strikes your fancy. I know I'll be at Pier 63 on July 31st to see Moonrise Kingdom, which if you haven't seen yet, I highly recommend.

That dreadful moment when you decide to check your bank account...

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have for you my #1 most effective money-saving strategy in New York City. Drumroll please. That strategy is... Leave the city and go home for a week! (I'm only half kidding.) As I relish this week of home-cooked meals and in-house laundry machines, I have decided to take the time to do some research from afar. Today I'd like to review a website that I mentioned in my first post, Mint.com. 

How does it work? Mint.com is a website that helps you track your income and expenses (or your slow descent into poverty in my case). You can hook your Mint account up with your bank account login, and Mint will instantly sort through and categorize your expenses. I was hesitant to hand over my bank account password, but after reading through the security section and talking to others who had used the service I determined that I was safe.

The best part about Mint is that you can set up budgets for yourself, and decide how much you want to spend on things like restaurants, groceries, movies, and shopping per month. Since Mint categorizes your expenses, it is easy to track your progress and determine if you're working effectively with your budget. Another feature I've enjoyed is the "goals" section of the website. Here you can enter something that you'd like to save up for (in my case, it's a trip to visit a friend in Brazil), how much it will cost, and when you need to have the money by. Mint will then calculate how much you need to save a month, and subtract that from your monthly budget. 

What Mint does not do, naturally, is deal with cash. So it is up to you to enter in how much cash you earn and spend, and then what you spend it on. If you withdraw money from an ATM, then you also need to go back through and specify what all of that cash was spent on, lest it remain "uncategorized" on your Mint transactions list. This was the hardest part for me, because I hate holding onto receipts from your cash purchases (and was therefore having trouble remembering where my money had gone). Luckily Mint has an app that allows you to enter transactions on the go, which I've now been doing faithfully. It works like the apps for Chase or other banks, in that your information can only be accessed when you are logged in, rather than being stored on the phone itself. 

Overall it's a service that I highly recommend. It's a no-nonsense way of determining right away where you spend your money, and in what areas you need to find better ways to save. I learned that I spent almost all of my money eating out in the month of May, so I'm devoting June to cooking and groceries. More on saving money on groceries in upcoming posts...

A quick note about quality and quantity...

So here's the thing. If you wanted to, you could go to one of NYC's many dollar-a-slice pizza shops three times a day, and spend a total of $3.00 a day on food. Multiply that by seven, and you've got $21.00 a week. Subtract $2.00 for sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday and only having two meals a day (hurray for brunch) and we now have a grand total of $19.00 a week on food. Pretty budget-friendly.

That is a meal-plan recommendation that you will never, ever find on here.

I believe that a huge part of evaluating your purchases and maintaining your budgets is taking into consideration the quality of what it is you're paying for. I'd much rather spend $20 on an umbrella that lasts me two years, than spend $5 on one of those umbrellas they sell on the streets that break as soon as the wind hits them (you know exactly which umbrellas I'm referring to... I mean really, those things should not even be legal). At the same time, we can't forget about quantity altogether. Spending $300 on a pair of 'high-end jeans' versus spending $300 on three pairs of jeans from Madewell (they offer a 15% student discount for those with valid ID) is a no-brainer to me. Certainly there are places with lower priced jeans than Madewell, but it is a good example of a place known for quality that offers discounts to students.

As this blog progresses, I'll do more direct comparisons between restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores, thrift shops etc., and take into consideration both the quality and quantity of what is being considered. This blog aims to make the most out of your money, and to me that means finding the highest quality for the lowest prices. We all have moments when we choose the cheap umbrella because we're low on cash. We all also have those moments when we spend $100 at Whole Foods for what seems like two days worth of food. The goal is to find the happy medium, and I hope that you will find the balance between these extremes demonstrated in this blog.

Your Daily Dose of Culture

For the visually inclined New Yorker, the city's museums are a great way to spend the day, and not the contents of your wallet. MoMA, or the Museum of Modern Art, is a personal favorite of mine. If you're looking to do this museum on a budget, you have a few options. The museum is free to everyone on Friday evenings between 4 and 8 pm, which is a great time to go if you want to check out the museum without paying a cent. If you're anything like me, however, the crowds are a little claustrophobia-inducing. With a student ID you can pay $50 a year to become a member. The membership allows you to visit anytime for free (including early members-only hours), and gives you discounts to the store (which is where I do all of my Christmas shopping!) with additional member benefits. This membership makes sense if you plan on going more than three or four times a year, since student pricing per visit is $14. Students and staff from select universities in the city can also receive free admission. Look here to see if you fall under this category.

I spent this afternoon on the second floor of the museum, which includes the Contemporary Galleries, Prints and Illustrated Books, and Media section of the museum. Below are a few photographs I took of some of the works.

El Anatsui 

Bleeding Takari II

Tauba Auerbach

Untitled

Wolfgang Tillmans

Suzanne & Lutz, white dress, army skirt

There are other museums in the city that offer "recommended" admission costs. Look out for a later post on $1 trips to the Met...

May the Savings Begin!

New York City. What's not to love? If you asked me this when I first moved here a week after my high school graduation, my answer would be nothing! I discovered that everything from scrambled eggs to Insomnia cookie cakes could arrive at my door with a simple phone call. I could buy a cup of coffee on almost any corner. Craving food from Ethiopia? India? Mexico? Brazil? Restaurants from every ethnicity are waiting for your arrival! The world was at my fingertips, and I was eager to indulge in every opportunity that I could. Then one day, as I gave the cashier at Trader Joe's my credit card to ring up for my weekly groceries, I found something not to love about New York City. After a panicked phone call to my mother (which may or may not have involved tears on my end) and a declined credit card, I came to accept an unavoidable conclusion: this city is really dang expensive!

I've gotten better about my finances since that first summer, but the truth is, I'm still not a budgeting saint. After signing up for mint.com this past month (and fainting when I realized just how much money I spend on restaurants a month) I realized that it's time once again for a budget overhaul. In an attempt to hold myself accountable—and what better way to do it than to publicize your goals on the billboard that is the Internet—I have started this blog as a resource for budget-friendly happenings in the city. From affordable restaurants, to discounted movie tickets, to free activities to do on the weekends, I will blog about ways to save in a city that charges $4 for water (it happened, I swear). I'll be posting a few times a week so check back often, and feel free to leave comments if there is a subject you'd like to know more about. In the meantime, happy Penny-Pinching!