I wish I were a wealthy yuppie. If I were, I wouldn't be sitting here
asking whether I can save money by using primer instead of paint. Or,
come to think of it, I wouldn't even be painting the walls myself - I
would've just hired painters to do the work for me.

Unfortunately, most things in Manhattan are uncomfortably expensive,
and not everyone's salary here (including mine, heh) fully accomodates
the higher cost of living. I don't even live in a hip, desirable, or
particularly expensive neighorhood, at least not by Manhattan
standards. It's just the price you pay for living where everyone else
wants to live (or at least thinks they do).

Anyways, I digress.. The alternative I have to not painting is living
with bright orange paint through the extremely hot, humid upcoming
summer, and considering how much heat a color like that could hold, I'd
rather cough up the money and do a good paint job. Thanks again to
everyone for all the invaluable advice.