How far can $40 get you on a weekday in Chicago?
CHICAGO (WLS) -- According to SmartAsset, Chicago is more affordable, compared to other major cities, like New York City, Boston and Washington D.C. But, it's still not considered a cheap city. So can $40 make a perfect day?
ABC7 Chicago's Angela Chen decided to test it out.
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She decided to get a cup of coffee, lunch, do an activity and end her day with dessert, similar to what an average person would do in a day. According to the National Coffee Association, seven in 10 Americans drink coffee every week.
She picked a random weekday, and headed out with $40.
Chen first went to a local coffee shop. thrd coffee had a specialty menu that didn't feature prices.
She said she should've checked. The matcha latte cost $6.75, and oat milk was an extra dollar. Adding in 11.75% tax and $1 tip, the latte came out to $10.14. She spent 25% of her budget on a matcha blueberry cream latte.
With the latte in-hand, Chen took the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
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The bus cost $2.25, and the zoo is free. The Lincoln Park Zoo is a nonprofit, and is free year-round, with a wide variety of animals. She said she easily spent two hours walking around, seeing lions, monkeys, giraffes and even a seal demonstration.
After getting her steps in, she left for lunch at Sultan's Market. It was a little over a 10-minute walk from the zoo, and rated the "best bang for your buck."
She ordered a lamb shawarma. It was flavorful, filling and cost only 4 cents more than her "morning mistake." The lamb shawarma cost $10.19, and was a better deal, she said.
From there, Chen took the bus to the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Normally, a Chicago resident ticket costs $19, but it was free on Tuesday.
This is just one of several free museum days across the city, and there are multiple free days year-round. The museum had paintings, installations, a gift shop and even live music in their courtyard.
Nearby, there's a cookie store. At Chip City, for $5.51, Chen got a hot honey cornbread cookie, bringing her total cost to $30.34.
She said she definitely got her steps in, and it might not have been perfect, but she thought she got a decent bang for her buck.
