The Hidden Costs Of Working On Wall Street

Yes, you make a lot of money when you work on Wall Street, but you're going to have to spend a lot of money to stay there.

To go to work every day you'll need to look the part — the suit, the shoes etc. To live every day with a banker's schedule, you'll need people to take care of you — maid service, dry cleaners etc.

And then there are the social obligations — trips, schmoozing, memberships ...

Wall Street is full of Joneses, and as the saying goes, they're hard to keep up with.

Here's how much money it takes to try.

Prepare to drop $3,000+ on an apartment in the Financial District

Rents may have slightly declined in Manhattan in 2012, but the average rent is still more than $3,300 a month according to Citi Habitats.

We searched two-bedroom apartments in the area and turned up a few for less than $3,000, but they were few and far between.

Luckily, the Financial District/Battery Park City area saw the biggest drop in asking prices –– down 12 percent at the end of the year from October.

And given the beating Superstorm Sandy subjected the area to last fall, you'll definitely want to budget for flood insurance.

Men need at least $200 to invest in a solid pair of dress shoes. That figure doubles for women, who will need at least two pairs.

What good is a $5,000 suit if you're rounding it out with the same pair of kicks you used to hit the streets in as an intern? 

Men, invest in a solid pair of black or brown dress shoes (like this classic pair from Johnston & Murphy) that meet these three critera: They won't scuff easily; they'll hold up to daily beatings running around the office; and you can go from work to cocktail hour without having to change. 

Ladies, unless you're willing to teeter over potholes and cracked sidewalks in 4-inch Manolo's, you'll need a sturdy pair of flats to trek to and from the office as well. 

Trust us. Nothing ruins a $300 heel faster than a puddle of mystery Subway sludge. 

And it costs at least $20 per month to keep your soles from caving in.

Unless you've nabbed a private office with a view by now, chances are you're not in any hurry to burn cash on shoe replacements every few months. 

For a few bucks, turn over your weary kicks to the plethora of time-tested cobblers on Wall Street.  Judging by dozens of glowing reviews, few are as beloved as Minas Shoe Repair. 

"[Minas Shoe Repair] is the only place I take my designer shoes for repair," writes one Yelp reviewer. "It can get pricey, but paying a little under $100 for resoling and re-heeling and fixing up a $700 pair of Chanel flats definitely beats shelling out another $700 for new ones." 

Wall Street's also one of the few places you can pop in for a $3 shoeshine at the corner drugstore.

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