I Almost Moved Today

Last night Emily and I found an amazing apartment on Craigslist that is in the exact location we want to be. As it turns out, they were having an open house today and we thought, "Why not?" Since we had nothing better to do (well, Emily did but I of course, did not) we went to check it out.


Needless to say, the place was amazing. Each apartment was nicely laid out and had a lovely little terrace accessible from several rooms. I was instantly in love with the bath tub (which was perfectly slanted for optimum bath time enjoyment) and the kitchen (which was dark, sleek and sophisticated). It's a good thing I don't have 50k to throw around because if I did I would have bought an apartment today! Oh, well.

The thing is, though, seeing that apartment made me realize a few things about my financial situation. I bust my butt to save a good portion of my paycheck each month (I put away 50% of what is left after all my utilities and rent are paid, or about 23 percent of my post-tax income). At this rate of savings, I will be able to afford the down payment on the apartment I saw today in about 20 years (not considering inflation), a thought I find to be truly depressing.

Anyhow, I need to earn more money. I hate to say it like that outright as it sounds so materialistic, but I don't think my desires are unreasonable. I would like to be able to buy a place (renting is a very bad financial decision) in a safe neighborhood that is decent (the places we saw today were very nice, but not extravagant). I want to have enough money to take classes from time to time, and I want to be able to save 20% for retirement. In order to do that comfortably in NY I think I need to make twice what I make now.

Seriously? No wonder nobody wants to join in on the "real world" fun.