Single Mom Juggles $1,700 NYC Rent Like It's Circus Acrobat Act
KEY POINTS
- •Massiel Lugo, 33, took over her aunt's below-market two-bedroom lease in Jackson Heights, Queens, when her second child was born.
- •She juggles multiple jobs and graduate school costs while managing $1,700 rent and $7,000 credit card debt amid soaring NYC living costs.
- •Despite NYC mayor's new initiatives like free buses and affordable childcare, Massiel's family struggles continue in the increasingly unaffordable city.
Massiel Lugo, a 33-year-old single mom of two living in a Queens two-bedroom inherited from her aunt who escaped NYC’s brutal rents for Georgia warmth, still pays a 'reasonable' $1,700 monthly rent—below the $2,900 market rate—by moonlighting as a teacher assistant, autistic child therapist, and juggling grad school costing $1,300 a semester. Her daughter Jalene's paid internships and grandparents aid, but high NYC food inflation (68% in 10 years!) and a $7,000 credit card debt from occasional kid perks put her survival skills on Olympic display. Meanwhile, NYC mayor pledges free buses and stores, though little help hits her doorstep yet.
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(1 of 3)Living proof that juggling multiple jobs, $1,700 rent, a $7,000 credit card, and two kids in NYC isn’t a superpower but sheer survival desperation.
Congrats to NYC for inventing the gold standard in adulting: sacrifice all sleep, skip meals, and still barely scrape by!
Remember, folks, NYC is not just the city that never sleeps, it’s the city that never stops bleeding your wallet dry.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/5/2026 | Author: Eliza Relman
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