OT: Can You Live On?

[Atrocities]

Spend your life working then in one fair swoop, its all gone.

[AMF]

Imagine how much harder it would be if you had a kid or two...I'm going to avoid the less obvious political statements I could make here...and instead just mitigate for more tax breaks for the rich! (just kidding)

Atrocities said:
Can you live on a $1,000.00 dollars a month?

Asume you have rent and an average car payment plus insurances: (renters, full coverage auto, and basic health).

Can any of you survive on whats left? Oh, don't forget the phone and ISP bill. Visa's, and the cost of food, gas, and medicines.

Let me know if any of you can aford to live on whats left.

[Aiken]

I guess this poll only make sense for US-Canada-EU people.
Because I used to live on 100-150$/month.
270$/month now (found better job).

[Will]

I voted barely, but it would really depend. If I lived in Pennsylvania, then I could do it easily. If I lived in Los Angeles, I most likely couldn't, I'd be going over the $1000/month line a lot. Differences in cost of living pretty much, since in urban California, you would need a bit over minimum wage to get anywhere, probably around $9/hour minimum. The area of rural Pennsylvania where my parents live, someone could easily get by on the minimum wage of $5.15 there... and some people do (although usually it's bumped up to somewhere in the $6 after a year).

[Loser]

I live on less than that now and consistantly add to my savings. My car was paid off, and insurance only ran me $250 every six months. The mortgage runs around nine, I have a three-hundred-dollars-a-month personal note, and all the stadard services (phone, water, power, gas, broadband) only run around $250.

I have filled my five-bedroom house with roommmates, so things are exceedingly tolorable. When I finish school and get a job, rather than relying on the unemployment insurance checks, I'll be putting away a lot of money. Even a crappy $9/hour job will allow me to really stack up the bank.

No credit cards (though I just picked up a few for emergencies), no health insurace (every now and then I have to go to the doctor's, and that's about $70 for the visit and they give me 'samples' for medication), somewhat expensive eating habits (Atkins, more or less), no eating out, no movies, no new games (still playing D2:LoD, SE IV, and SMAC), no television, no real problems.

Here in Colorado unemployment is paid by your former employers through an insurance system. I know there is welfare, but it isn't any way to get by.

I don't know what's running you up so bad, man. But once again I invite you to move to Colorado. It's nice here.

(I didn't vote, CC bills, auto note and whatnot just out of my paradigm)

[Gandalf Parker]

Atrocities said:
I am not joking. That is the going rate for many on Unemployment and or those who are disabled and on SSI or SSD.

For me, luckily I have military retirement. Not much of a check but the medical coverage and other benefits help out alot. Every once in awhile they try to mess with it so its abit of a worry whether it will be there when Im really REALLY old. One of my sons gets SSI and still lives with us. It does cover his needs as long as he stays with us (he is 27 now). But it really ties us to California since his benefits would be less elsewhere.

My primary "duty" now is caring for him but I can do spot jobs from home (thank you DSL). And my wife has to work 2 jobs. With the current economy we are squeeking by but every month is a balancing act. Luckily Bush has only messed with the disabled vets money and not mine. On the other hand Schwarzeneger is messing with my sons ssi.

[Ragnarok]

I could make it on that amount each month but it would be pretty tight. Although probably not as bad as I think it would be if I'd budget and not eat out so much.

I make just a little bit more then that each month at my current job and make it just fine. Although that is with the fact that I still live at home...Hey, leave me alone, I'm only 19.

If my car payment was a little bit lower each month I would not have any problems at all making it on that amount each month if I had my own apartment. Living in rural Indiana is nice in that regard.

[AgentZero]

I usually pull in about eur1300 a month which works out at about USD1600 and I still have to be very careful with my money or I'll run out before the end of the month.
That 1300.00 usually breaks down as:
350.00 rent (which is bloody cheap for Dublin)
180.00 food (also eating cheaply by Dublin standards)
150.00 credit card
85.00 pension fund (government one is rubish)
60.00 transportation (bus or train to work, owning a car in Dublin is prohibitively expensive.
80.00 on repayments on my PC
80.00 on the loan I had to take out to pay hospital bills.
60.00 medical insurance (I learned my lesson)
50.00 mobile phone bill (if I'm lucky)
90.00 electricity/phone/heating bills
30.00 for ISP (only one in the house with a PC so I foot the bill myself.

Which leavs me with about eur80.00 after everything is payed for which isn't too bad but it doesn't go very far over here. Ah well, once the loan, PC and credit card payments are done that'll free up another 300... Only 2 more years to go.

[Arakiel]

voted NO F***ING WAY! because...well...there no F***ING way. $1000 is only half my current mortgage payment, nevermind cars, food, etc...
Even renting isn't possible, the house down the end of my street is currently renting for more then my mortgage and my Last 2 bedroom apartment rented @ $800 so maybe in another part of the US but certainly not in Massachusetts.

[PvK]

Wow - insurance is eating a huge amount of your expenses: $325 is 38% of the total!

I hate insurance. Especially "mandatory" insurance.

PvK

Atrocities said:

On average

$370.00 Rent (With Room Mates) Expenses included
$85.00 Phone and ISP
$110.00 Auto Insurance (Auto Paid Off)
$65.00 Suppalmental insurance for Auto (Required)
$110.00 Medical Insurance (Not counting prescriptions)
$80.00 Visa
$40.00 Renters Insurance

$860.00

Now Gas and food and you have nothing left. I don't see how any one can live on this. It is unlive able.

Minimum wage = $7.13 X 40 X 15% Tax = $242.42 weekly X 4 = $969.68 a month.

Live on that!