How to move up like the Jefferson's in NYC for under $40

Two months into my first NYC summer I realized a few things pretty quickly. $$$ = poop bc you pay a ton to eat out, scoutmob/living social/nonsense nyc and pretty much every other workaround to full price is your friend, and that sometimes its better to stay inside of your $2.5K/month brownstone apartment then to venture out into the cash suck that a NYC social life can be.

Fear not my friends, I like many of you, am not committed to giving up my social sally, dora the explorer ways BUT I am committed to doing it a bit differently; case in point my Upper East Side outing yesterday with my good friend Chisara. Now Bed-Stuy and UES (is that a thing?) are like night and day, so I had to get over my initial shock but I came to in just enough time to give you dudes and dudettes a few tips on how to do a fancy day or date in NYC, impress your friends or beau, and still have enough money to pay the rent! Here they go:

1. Find things that have one price, regardless of how many people. The Loeb boathouse in Central Park charges $12 for up to four people (perfect for a double date) to spend an hour in a boat. Need a little extra smooch time? Each additional 15min is $3. TIP: Head to the ATM before you go it's cash only.

She smiles beautifully while I wonder how I ended up rowing first

We probably sucked 15min just getting off the dock lol

Nothing like a selfie with sunglasses on

Chisara looking like a GO NYC ad

Selfie #2 con sunlight

Chisara getting some sunlove

I was a bit excited to reach the bridge

You couldn't pay for these views - well you could but you'd be silly

2. Time your day/date for parking. Now I know most peeps aren't driving in NYC but in the event that you do, take into account that most Manhattan street parking restrictions end sometime between 4PM and 7PM. Arriving within the 15min before the restriction ends gets you a sweet free spot and an unhappy parking attendant. Win = You.

3. Incorporate dessert rather than dinner: Chisara and I had the bright idea that we wanted to nom on something sweet before we hit the rowboat. Thanks to Foursquare (also your friend) we discovered a beautiful place that everyone but us already knew: Lady M Cake Boutique. Now this isn't your average bakery, this place was F-A-N-CEEEE Fancy. I mean beautifully decorated, handsome foreign servers to explain each dessert with an accent, and mind your vehicle so you don't get ticketed. They even had a menu outside. But the beautiful thing was all the pomp and circumstance did not mean uber pricey. We got a slice of Green Tea Crepe Cake and a slice of Banana Mille Feuille for $5 each. That's heaven on earth for Foodtown prices!

I don't know what's better in this pic, the beautiful bags or the free parking space

Tasted like sex, but better "Banana Mille Feuille"

I must admit, I didn't think this would be so wonderful "Green Tea Crepe Cake"

4. Lastly, for the folks who need something to wash this awesomeness down with, time your day to end around Happy Hour. We rolled out of Central Park and over to Blockheads in just enough time to catch a $4 margarita which in NYC is either like gold or tastes like water. This place had the former. For $1 more you can add flavor:) We split some nachos (another great tip, sharing seems more intimate anyway) and rolled out feeling both tipsy and full for less than $25 alltogether.

Ever the religious architecture lover, I snapped this right after happy hour

Our total money spent: $12 rowboat, $5 fancy dessert, $25 dinner + drinks = $42/2 = $21 each
That's about the same price you spend to wait in a long ass line at some skeevy LES nightclub and not have nearly as much fun:)

I hope this post is helpful for people ballin' on a budget, I know it made me smile just thinking about the next time!

Ciao