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How do you survive on minimum wage?

marsmellow

marsmellow

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
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I was wondering how is it possible to survive on minimum wage. How does somebody do this?

Okay, here's a budget

$700 for rent and utilities
$150 for food
$100 for car insurance
$100 for gasoline
$250 for health insurance
$150 for entertainment

That's like $1500 a month. I think people who get the minimum wage earn about $900 a month. So how is it possible to live on such a small amount of money?
 
Its all about budgeting. If you dont have the money you cant spend it! What i did when i had some tough times was pull back for 6 months and have some savings so i could relax more after it when things came up eg: concerts ect. i could just grab the tix

and it isnt always possible to live on small amounts of money! but somehow people get by
 
Cornishman said:
Couldn't you minus $350 from that bill? Since you can walk/cycle everywhere and you don't need entertainment to survive?
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Yeah, you could probably cut the entertainment category, but not the car-related expenses. Because in many areas you are fucked without a car, because things are so spread out and there's no public transit. But even if you can cut both, you are still spending more than $900 a month.

I guess you would have to live without health insurance, and live with some roommates. Or get a second job.
 
your budget is weird.

800 for rent.
100 for weed or a new video game.

Work in a restaurant, steal all the food you need.

Get a roomate and life can be booming. 400 extra dollars a month. you could invest to gradually become rich or get super fucked up all the time.

You can't get the jobs that require the commute. But that's fine. I work in a mall and know half the people there. it's like a community. that's where your entertainment comes from.

budget for your 450 paycheck to survive, but hope that you score some overtime. then it's party time.
 
$580 for rent
$0-$30 on food (I work at a grocery store so I take all of the damaged out goods home for food/I get $10 a day in food when I work).
60-70 bucks for utilities
$55 for a bus pass

To save money I rent movies from the library, cook with friends (to get a diversity of food in my diet), and pick up a second job when I need more money.
 
It isn't possible. Read Nickeled and Dimed: On not getting by in America. The author travels up and down the east coast working minimum wage jobs.

The people I know who work minimum wage either have a few room mates or live at home with their parents.
 
Live in a van, don't rent an appartment.

Health/Car insurance? Lol, yeah, right! Don't get sick, and sure as fuck, don't get pulled over!

Food, 2 TV dinners/day, at $1.00 a pop cuts the food bill in half.
 
Hmmmm...
For food, I'm sure you qualify for food stamp, and a lot of churches will have day's where they give out free food, (canned goods, noodles, glass jars)
For housing, Section 8 housing projects
For entertainment, learn how to play spades, and hearts.
For gasoline, You might be able to make do, since your saving a lot with the other stuff.
Car insurance, Liability only
Health insurance, There's usually a non-profit hospital somewhere in your area, and a lot of medicine company's will give you a card to get free med's.

If you ever decided to go back to school, check into "Vocational Rehabilitation". These people will pay for your school, books, and give you gas $. You can also check into "FASFA" (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), cha ching! The money is there for you, you just have to look for it.
 
Bedhead said:
It isn't possible. Read Nickeled and Dimed: On not getting by in America. The author travels up and down the east coast working minimum wage jobs.

The people I know who work minimum wage either have a few room mates or live at home with their parents.
Click to expand...

I'll ditto reading that book... it totally reaffirms the reality of working poor and largely refutes the whole notion that poor are poor because they're 'lazy' or 'incompetent'.
 
I am about to move out on my own so I am interested as well. Although I was fortunate to find a job that pays $9 an hour at full time, plus a little money in tip jar. So I should be making roughly $1200-1300 per month. But if you are working min. wage, I guess you could either try to find a higher paying job while working your current one, or pick up a second part time job/find ways to increase income. Even if you can make like 50 dollars a week in extra income doing some side work, that could make a big difference.

But you budget seems a little high. $700 for rent an utilities seems absurd if you are working min. wage. $500 seems more practical for living in an apartment with 1-2 roommates within a city. Your food and car insurance seem about right. $100 for gas seems steep. Walk/bike/take the bus more. I lived in Phoenix, AZ where gas cost can really increase due to the large metropolitan area, but I don't think I ever spent $25 a week in gas. Skip health insurance or try to find something cheaper, can't you get access?? You could reduce in entertainment as others have said.

New budget:
$500 for rent and utilities
$150 for food
$100 for car insurance
$75 for gasoline
$100 for entertainment

Total- $925 per month. Full time at $6 per hour after taxes is $960 per month. It would be pushing it, but looks like it could be possible.
 
Wages have not adjusted to or kept up with inflation and the cost of living.

Living on minimum wage is virtually impossible.
 
By budgeting.

Depending on where you live being on minimum wage can mean having very little spending-money but if you're smart with it you won't go hungry.
 
1500 a month for everything! thats fucking steep. unless your like living in NYC or something i have never come close to paying that. I used to have a pretty large heroin habit and still afford my own apartment working at 9 an hour. i know thats a bit more than minimum wage but having a habit cuts a lot of funds away.
 
it obviously depends on where you live. splitting rent with my gf for our apartment in Greenville NC was only $285 each. I actually did survive making minimum wage for a while.
 
As someone said it depends on where you are but a good way to supplement your income is working odd jobs where you get paid in cash.
 
marsmellow said:
I was wondering how is it possible to survive on minimum wage. How does somebody do this?

Okay, here's a budget

$700 for rent and utilities
$150 for food
$100 for car insurance
$100 for gasoline
$250 for health insurance
$150 for entertainment

That's like $1500 a month. I think people who get the minimum wage earn about $900 a month. So how is it possible to live on such a small amount of money?
Click to expand...

I am curious where you got these numbers.

Someoen on minimum wage should be living with two roommates, thus making rent and utilities $500 a month.

$250 for health insurance seems steep. A basic plan should be around $150 a month.

But, $150 a month for food? How can anyone eat on $5 a day?

And, $150 for entertainment??? How do you just add that on there in order to show that one cannot live on minimum wage?

I mean, how can someone live on a million dollars a year -- look at the budget -

Food - $1000
House - $5000
Various other things - $100,000
80 foot yacht - $1,000,000

See? It's impossible....

Or, wait a minute.....
 
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