His “Barely Surviving” experiment revealed both the creativity and compromises of budget living in one of the world’s most expensive cities. (Image Credits: Instagram)
New York City is notorious for draining wallets faster than subway trains zip through tunnels. But an Indian content creator, Aabir Vyas, has left the internet buzzing after proving that you can, in fact, scrape by in NYC with just $20 for the entire day. His viral video titled “Barely Surviving – $20 budget in NYC” has already crossed over two lakh views on Instagram, sparking both admiration and disbelief.
In his video, Vyas introduces the challenge in Hindi, translated to English as:
“Welcome to an episode of Barely Surviving with Aabir. The challenge is simple: manage breakfast, lunch and dinner outside, all within $20.”
Armed with only a prepaid subway card for transportation, he set out to stretch his limited budget while exploring the city. For breakfast, he picked up five bananas for $1 and a whole wheat bagel with egg for $3. “That was my first meal of the day. The protein is low, but the carbs give enough energy to get going,” he explained.
Sticking to his budget wasn’t easy in one of the most expensive cities in the world. During the day, Vyas opted for a protein bar at $2.29, followed by a splurge — a coffee costing $6.17 where he also chose to sit and edit his work. “I needed a good coffee and a place where I could sit comfortably,” he justified.
Before leaving for a meeting, he used leftover bananas and a sparkling water he had bought for just $0.48 to keep himself full in between meals.He kept the sauces to a minimum and had a chicken and rice dish from a food cart for less than $7 for dinner.
By the end of the day, he had successfully completed the challenge with a total of $19.94.
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The video sparked a wave of reactions online. Some applauded his creativity and discipline, while others poked fun at his spending choices.
One user commented, “That cart chicken rice is the best thing I had in New York.” Another joked, “Bro drinking a seven dollar coffee in a twenty dollar budget!” A confused viewer asked, “Where are you getting sparkling water for 48 cents?”
Others highlighted how tough the challenge really was. “Surviving on 20 is crazy,” wrote one viewer, while another added, “This is creative and relatable.”
Vyas’s series “Barely Surviving” could well resonate as a relatable guide for budget-conscious travelers — or simply serve as content that makes people laugh at the absurdity of big-city expenses.
