City brief New York City The subway is the plan. Midtown is the expensive version of everything — including a $28 salad. Loading the printable brief… VacationMath orientation — not live rates When to go February, early March, and the back half of January after New Year’s. Top money-saving tips Skip a Times Square hotel unless you like paying for the neon. Pod / citizenM / a Brooklyn train-stop room is Lean.Bodega egg-and-cheese or a bakery breakfast. The hotel dining room is a Midtown salad with a room-service tax.A 7-day unlimited or OMNY cap beats a week of single swipes if you ride twice a day.Staten Island Ferry is the free skyline. Skip a paid harbor loop on Lean.One museum with pay-what-you-wish or a timed free night. Do not stack three observatories.Midweek flights. Friday into a holiday weekend is the expensive version of the same seat.Jackson Heights, Flushing, and Chinatown over Midtown for dinner. One borough per night.Broadway rush / lottery before a full-price orchestra. Stretch is a reserved seat, not three shows. Build a hard-budget plan