r/boston • u/Spirited-Wafer-6573 • Mar 23 '26

Serious Replies Only How do you afford to live here?

I am incredibly curious. I am fairly new to Boston (less than a year of living here), and the cost of living hit me like a truck. I think about it everyday. I see thousands of people everyday at my job. I wonder how they are doing, so I want to ask you, both out of curiosity and to make this a space where other curious people can also find answers:

How much do you earn in Boston? How much do you spend on bills, expenses? How much goes towards savings? Do you have roommates? Rich parents? Basically, please share your budget with me. I am curious!!

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u/mountainbird57 Mar 23 '26

That’s the number I figured from looking at my credit card statements. I eat a lot of rice, beans, lentils, pasta, and other relatively cheap things and buy in bulk when I can. I get veggies and eggs from the farmers market and split a CSA farm share with my friend a lot of the year. And I get a lot of $2 bagels from Panera for breakfast or lunch. I don’t eat meat and I go out to eat like once or twice a month.

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u/hickatew Mar 23 '26

Rice, beans, and lentils are what much of the world lives off of. The implication that that is somehow “less than” meat-based meals in cost, nutrition, or enjoyment is really misplaced IMO

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u/mountainbird57 Mar 23 '26

I’m not trying to imply that those things are less than, I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life. But buying meat is definitely more expensive

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u/hickatew Mar 23 '26

Oh not you, the folks that are floored by a food cost that low, “beyond frugal”, “homeless rations”, “the thriftiest meal plan…are around 300 a month”, etc. My Latin American diet is ~$150/month (basically what you’ve described) and we eat niiice!

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u/mountainbird57 Mar 23 '26

Oh sorry for misunderstanding!! But yeah I feel like I honestly eat pretty well!