Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Are Young Foodies "Squandering" Their Money On The Good Stuff?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 13, 2013
Modified Jan 13, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jen Chung / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 13, 2013
Modified Jan 13, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
How much is too much to spend on food? In a story that was totally planted by your parents in Friday's New York Times, columnist / foodie scold Ginia Bellafante marvels at how a 23-year-old could blow half of her salary on eating well in New York City's best restaurants.
"Every generation of young New Yorker finds its own way to squander its meager earnings, and this one seems content to spend the money it makes on expensive, curated food with little sense that it is really squandering anything at all," Bellafante writes, immediately after she squanders 62 of her 913 words telling us, in a single sentence, that HBO's Girls doesn't touch on foodies and isn't that strange?
Bellafante hones is on 23-year-old Yaffa Frederick, a production assistant at MTV who makes $30K after taxes and is seen in this photo being spoon-fed (literally) Foodie Lies that are preventing her from becoming a Serious Adult.
Typically, she told me, she spends about $250 a week eating in good restaurants, which amounts to about $13,000 annually, and this does not include the additional $50 to $100 a week she spends on cooking classes, wine tastings and cheese pairings. Because about half of her salary is given over to food, she works an additional 10 to 15 hours a week tutoring and baby-sitting to supplement it.
At least she's paying and taking responsibility for her habits, which runs counter to the "Freeloading Parental Remoras" narrative that's so very popular. What should Frederick be spending her disposable income on?
It surely comforts modern parents who have spent fortunes educating their children to know that these children are spending money on pork belly and not, for instance, cocaine. But what solace can it offer to realize that $300 a week put into an S. & P. 500 Index fund over the past five years would have provided an annual rate of return of 10.34 percent and grown to $100,354 today? Even saving $300 a week at a 6 percent rate of return would have yielded about $91,000, Mark X. Chemtob, a financial adviser at Ameriprise, said, adding that in both cases, the sums would qualify for a down payment on a starter apartment in New York.
Everyone loves hanging out with the friend who says, "I can't, I haven't met my $300 minimum contribution to my money market fund this week." Handcuffing yourself to a "starter apartment," investing in the stock market, finding the mythical 6% Interest Bank, all of these things are better than blowing your money on food. Also: law school tuition.
Tagged
expensive tastes
food
foodies
ny times
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
Where are the cheapest drinks in NYC? A new report details the city's average prices.
The median price of a cocktail in the city is now $16, and $9 for a draft beer.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 19, 2026
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .