<prompt> Human: Im moving to NYC for work soon and am looking for places. Im a recent grad though so Im not making that much and following the budgeted 30 of gross monthly income is really limiting my search. Do any of you go above by a bit and then cut back spending in another category? Thanks!  <response>: Those rules arent laws, they are just suggestions. No one is going to come after you if you spend 40 of your income on rent. If you have to exceed the suggestion, the only thing that you have to do is make sure that you are still living within your means overall, which is the point of having these types of guidelines and rules in place to help people plan to live within their means.I personally live in a high cost of living urban area right now; I spend a good deal more on housing than the 30 suggestion, but because its a city with strong mass transportation infrastructure I barely spend anything to get around on a day to day basis so it offsets that a bit. You might find similar efficiencies living in NYC. As long as you arent getting into debt just to survive on a day to day basis, your personal allocation between rent and other monthly expenses doesnt matter as much as the big picture.Hope that helps. 