From friends in SF, the rent is similar to that of NYC where I live so I'm happy to share my experiences to see if it's similar to yours. When both my co-found

From friends in SF, the rent is similar to that of NYC where I live so I'm happy to share my experiences to see if it's similar to yours. When both my co-founder (formerly in Investment Banking) and me (previously in Public Relations) left our jobs, we split our savings of $70k where the majority went to rent, food and other necessities living in a big city like New York. We also began to set up the necessities of the business, i.e. legal entity, website development, etc. and then went into product mode. We managed to start the company and live off our savings for thirteen months before we took outside funding. The biggest thing to think through regarding savings, like cpercviva mentioned, is figuring out where the largest amount of your money needs to go. For us, and any other person thinking about taking the leap in New York, is usually rent. I'd map every single expense you've had in the last year in a Google Spreadsheet so you can trim any "financial fat".