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Malika Kamboj | Varanasi ✈️ New York

@malikamboj

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💁🏻‍♀️If udna chahti hu, daudna chahti hu bus rukna nahi had a face
📇Marketing/Cultural Identity
👸🏻Documenting my journey

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Highlighting this as a rough estimate based on ASSUMPTIONS! P.s. this is not my salaried breakdown.

1. Take-home: $102K after taxes. That’s $8,500/month.

2. Fixed costs: Rent: $3,400.
Insurance, utilities, phone, internet: $700. Groceries: $900. Left: $3,500.

3. Actually living
Weekends out, dinners, getting around, the random $40 here and there: ~$1,500/month. Left: $2,000.

4. You’re paid to absorb stress others can’t handle. Higher salary often means you’re the escalation point when things go wrong.

5. Your circle changes. Not everyone understands the grind and some will quietly resent the result. Be prepared to lose friends and face silent competition

The money is real. But so are the stress, responsibility, and trade-offs.

Disclaimer: This is just one example. Everyone’s situation is different, and people choose to spend, save, and invest their money differently.

Before chasing a salary number, ask yourself:

With the paycheck, are you also ready for the responsibilities that comes with it? And the prepare yourself to perform always.
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#NYC #NewYorkCity #Salary #CareerGrowth CorporateLife PersonalFinance MoneyMindset ImmigrantLife IndianInAmerica H1B ProfessionalGrowth WorkLifeBalance CareerAdvice FinanceTips NYCLife SixFigures YoungProfessionals LifeInAmerica Adulting Success taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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4 months ago

A special thank you to the @indiainnewyork and @binaysrikant76
The warmth, the people, the conversations, it genuinely felt like a little piece of home thousands of miles away from India. 🇮🇳❤️
And @riteshagar for sharing lessons worth remembering!
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Indian founder, Ritesh Agarwal, OYO, PRISM, startup lessons, entrepreneur mindset, Indian entrepreneur, Indian in NYC, Varanasi to NYC, founder advice, business lessons, startup ecosystem, India USA corridor, leadership, networking event, career growth, women in business, immigrant journey, personal growth, dream big. by @malikamboj

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4 months ago

1. Soft skills: Learn how to communicate, network, and carry yourself in rooms that intimidate you. Read books. Watch interviews. Study confident people. Your communication will open more doors than your degree ever will.
2. Real estate: Sooner or later, you realize this is how real wealth is built. Even learning early changes how you think about money, freedom, and stability.
3. Stocks & passive investing: You don’t need to become a Wall Street expert. But understanding basic investing, index funds, and long-term wealth building is life-changing.
4. Community — not just friendships. Living abroad can get lonely fast. Build genuine relationships, mentors, industry connections, and people who truly want to see you win.
5. Faith in something bigger than yourself. God. Prayer. Manifestation. Gratitude. Rituals. Anything that keeps you grounded when life feels uncertain.Because moving abroad will test your mind before it tests anything else.

Some of the best investments I made had nothing to do with luxury.
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Indian immigrant woman, Indian girl in NYC, immigrant life USA, Varanasi to New York, women investing, immigrant success, brown girl career, Indian women abroad, self growth, wealth building, real estate investing, stocks for beginners, women empowerment, immigrant mindset, NYC creator, Indian women in Americ taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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4 months ago

⚠️ The Consulate General of India in New York has itself issued advisories warning about fraudulent calls.
1️⃣ REPORT IT.
If you’ve received a similar scam call, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Save the phone number, screenshots/messages and any other information you have about the interaction. The FBI asks people to include those details when reporting impersonation scams.
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Indian in USA, Indians in America, Indian Consulate scam, scam calls USA, government impersonation scam, Indian community USA, Indian students in USA, NRI, Indian professionals in America, FBI IC3 taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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4 hours ago

Meal prep got SO much easier when I stopped trying to make 5 different recipes every Sunday. 🤍

Now I just follow the same 5-step formula every week:

1. Grab airtight glass containers
2. Pick a base — greens or grains
3. Add a protein
4. Pick 2–3 veggies
5. Finish with the 3 extras rule: 1 sauce + 1 topping + 1 wildcard ✨

Same formula. Completely different meals every week.

And I added my Trader Joe’s shopping list at the end so you don’t even have to figure out what to buy. 🛒💗

SAVE this before your next grocery run + send it to your meal-prep bestie. 🫶🏼

#MealPrep #MealPrepIdeas #HealthyMealPrep #TraderJoes #TraderJoesFinds TraderJoesMeals TraderJoesHaul HealthyEating EasyMeals HealthyRecipes LunchIdeas WeeklyMealPrep MealPrepSunday HighProteinMeals EasyHealthyMeals taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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2 days ago

Save this carousel. Pick your 5 lock-ins. Come back to it every Sunday until December 31.

And send it to the Indian friend abroad who needs to lock in with you. 🇮🇳✈️

#OctoberLockIn #IndiansAbroad #IndianAbroad #ImmigrantLife #LifeAbroad IndianWomenAbroad CareerGrowth CareerGoals MoneyGoals PersonalGrowth 90DayChallenge IndianProfessionals DesiAbroad WomenWhoWork taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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2 days ago

Nobody talks enough about the woman you have to become when you move abroad.

You become your own support system.
Your own motivation.
Your own “figure it out.”
Your own “it’ll be okay.”

You learn patience from visas and waiting.
Strength from missing home.
Courage from starting over.
Independence from doing things you once thought you couldn’t do alone.

And somewhere between the homesickness, career pressure, tiny wins, breakdowns and starting-again moments…

you realize you didn’t just build a life abroad.

You built a stronger version of yourself. 🤍

For every woman creating a life miles away from home — this one is for you. 🌍✨

Indian women abroad, Indian girl in USA, immigrant women, moving abroad, life in USA, Indians in America, women living abroad, immigrant life, starting over abroad, Indian women in USA

#IndianWomenAbroad #IndianGirlInUSA #ImmigrantWomen #LifeAbroad #IndiansInUSA LifeInUSA WomenAbroad ImmigrantLife DesiGirlAbroad StartingOver taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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6 days ago

1. You’re stronger than you think.
You’ll cry, crib, say “I can’t do this” and somehow still figure it out.
2. This country will teach you patience.
Visas, jobs, paperwork, life. A delay doesn’t mean you’re stuck.
3. You’ll miss family in the smallest moments.
Not just festivals sometimes just sitting together doing nothing.
4. But you’ll build another family here.
Friends become emergency contacts, festival partners and home away from home.
5. You’ll become really good at figuring things out.
One day, you realize you’ve become the person everyone calls for help.
6. Your definition of success will change.
Peace, financial independence, good relationships and a life outside work start mattering more.
7. You don’t have to become less Indian to grow here.
You can evolve without losing where you came from.

Moving abroad doesn’t make you strong. It shows you how strong you already were. 🤍

Save this for one of those “why did I move so far from home?” days. 🇮🇳🇺🇸
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Indian women in USA, Indian girl in America, Indians living abroad, moving to America, immigrant life in USA, Indian women abroad, life in America, desi girl abroad, building a life abroad, Indian immigrant experience taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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7 days ago

1. Wear your Indian outfit even without an event.

Put on your kurta, saree, lehenga, or salwar suit. Add your favourite jewellery. Let the colours and familiarity take you home.

2. Host friends and recreate the celebration.

Decorate with marigolds and diyas. Play cards, make a rangoli, organise a puja, or gather for a bhajan baithak(do it while respecting the norms of the country you are in). Share the traditions that make the season special.

3. Cook the food that reminds you of home.

Call the family member who knows the recipe by heart. Recreate that festive dish, the one that fills the kitchen with familiar aromas, memories, laughter, and second helpings.

Sometimes, home isn’t a place you can return to right away. It’s a feeling you carry, recreate, and share wherever you are.

What festive tradition have you carried abroad? Tell us where you celebrate, who you celebrate with, and the ritual, dish, or memory that makes you feel most at home.

Share your story below. Let’s celebrate the many ways Indians around the world keep home close. 🤍
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#FestiveSeason #IndianInNYC #IndiansInUSA #DesiDiaspora #IndianCulture FestiveFeels HomeAwayFromHome NRIStories IndianTraditions DiwaliVibes CelebrateTogether taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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9 days ago

1. We have money we don’t touch. Some cash and assets are our foundation. If we want more, we focus on making more rather than dipping into what we’ve built.
2. We have a money date the first weekend of every month. We talk about what came in, what went out, and what’s coming up. No hiding numbers or feeling embarrassed to ask questions.
3. We give our money a job before we spend it. Bills, investing, travel, fun, each has a place. Otherwise it’s way too easy to look at your account at the end of the month and wonder where it all went 😂
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Indian couple in USA, Indian couples in America, how couples manage money, money habits for couples, budgeting as a couple, monthly money date, saving money in the USA, investing in the USA as an Indian, financial planning for couples, building wealth as an immigrant couple taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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8 days ago

two cups for me cause one is never enough ☕️☕️

Just shiva, oslo and me 🪬

this is us. shopping is never just shopping when Oslo is with us

ghar ka sukoon >>>

the face before i decided i need another skincare product

me trying to get one kiss in before oslo changes his mind

pit stop

Double trouble

didn’t need it. tried it anyway.

Sometimes you need to walk through the life you once wanted, just to feel grateful for what you have and hungry for what’s next. taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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9 days ago

For a few beautiful days, our little home in America felt exactly like India.

Maybe that’s what life abroad teaches you: home isn’t always a place. Sometimes, it’s the traditions you carry, the people you gather and the faith you refuse to leave behind.

Ganpati Bappa Morya! 🙏
Pudhchya varshi lavkar ya. ❤️

#GanpatiBappaMorya #GanpatiInUSA #IndiansInAmerica #IndianDiaspora #GaneshChaturthi LifeAbroad NRIStories DesiInUSA IndianInNYC taken in New York, New York by @malikamboj

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11 days ago