Expensive NYC mistakes: 5 common ones to avoid 🤑

Hello,

In case you’ve been in hibernation since Saturday, the New York Knicks officially won their first NBA title in 53 years. The city has been riding an absolute high, which will crescendo with Thursday’s ticker-tape parade in downtown Manhattan.

I’ve been an avid sports fan since I was a child, and have never seen a team I follow and love actually win it all. I’m still mostly in shock, but have loved every moment of the experience.

Sports are the great equalizer and unifier. NYC is at an all-time high. Enjoy it if you’re here. 🏀

And now…

In this week’s newsletter:

🎫 Events We Love This Week: June 17-24 - Juneteenth celebrations across the city & the Mermaid Parade on Saturday 🧜‍♀️

🐖 You’ll Have to Check It Out - Filipino-inspired dishes (with massive portions) in a no-frills setting

💸 5 Common (and Expensive) NYC Mistakes - Including the fastest way to blow through your budget

Tap in and let’s do it. 👇

Notes: As always, this email was written by an actual human who lives in NYC, not artificial intelligence. 🥸

And as a subscriber, you can always access all your free NYC resources here.

Events We Love This Week: June 17-24, 2026

In the city this week? Here are some fun events we’re keeping an eye on.

Juneteenth Celebrations - All Across the City on June 19th & 20th

Recognized as an official holiday in 2019, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Here in New York, you can catch events all across the city this coming weekend:

• NY Parks will put on a celebration on the Great Lawn on Friday

• Broadway will celebrate at Duffy Square on Friday

• A parade, fashion show, and festival will be held Saturday in Brooklyn

• And many, many more events can be found here

44th Annual Mermaid Parade - Saturday, June 20 @ 1 pm

Coney Island is known for, and leans into, a certain level of weirdness. The Mermaid Parade is a culmination of all that wild energy into one self-expression-inducing parade.

With over 3,000 participants vying to be King Neptune and Queen Mermaid, you’ll find exotic costumes, unique floats, and a healthy dose of getting weird.

Get all the details here.

You’ll Have to Check It Out - Pig and Khao

Having lived in the Philippines for two years, I can’t get enough of their delicious cuisine.

Pork adobo, ube ice cream, sizzling sisig.. 🤤

At Pig and Khao on the Upper West Side, their head chef Leah Cohen pays homage to her Filipino upbringing with a variety of Southeast Asian dishes and flavors.

The portions, as part of their family-style meal, are MASSIVE. And the vibes are laid-back, perfect. 👌

Don’t skip the crab fried rice!

Check out Pig and Khao here.

5 Common (& Costly) NYC Mistakes Visitors Make

If this is your first time (or even your third or fourth) visiting NYC, you should be aware of some common mistakes to avoid!

Mistake #1- Thinking you must stay in Times Square.

Mistake #2- Thinking you need to take a taxi/Uber/Lyft everywhere (or anywhere)

Want mistakes #3-5 and how to avoid all of them? Click below. 👇

Prefer video? We’ve got that, too.

Go New York, Go New York, GO,

Ashley & Devin from Better Together Here 🏀

PS- Know someone who loves NYC? Forward this email. 🫶