Brooklyn Software Engineer Details Living Costs on Six-Figure Salary

Devonte Duncan, a 27-year-old Brooklyn-born software engineer earning a base salary of $159,000, describes the financial pressure of living in New York despite a six-figure income. His two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with parking costs $3,450 a month; his fiancée contributes $1,000 while he covers the balance and about $500 in utilities. After taxes, his monthly take-home is $7,752, supplemented by a YouTube channel that now brings roughly $100 monthly.

Duncan dropped out of City College, completed a year-long fellowship at Marcy Lab School, and now finances a 2019 Subaru Outback while paying $450 car loan, $208 insurance, and $90 gas. He spends around $600 on food, $300 on his civic-tech project OpenBorough.NYC, and recently spent $3,000 on a Japan trip. To manage debt, he took a $30,000 consolidation loan at 17% interest, paying $947 monthly, and saves about $700 each month by automatically allocating 10% of his salary. He plans to invest in personal projects once debt-free.