I'll set this up as a poll so anyone that doesn't feel like sharing details can still add to the statistics.
Could your family "make it" on minimum wage?
Here's the deal:
2 people working full time; defined as a 40 hr week.
Standard month of 4 weeks
no removal of taxes etc. (for simplicity sake)
assume all child care is free
assume no government assistance
Location: If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower.
Posts: 16,082
Om $1872? We could do it. We'd have to sell our car to cut out that pmt, and cut down on every other extra (no satellite tv or internet, cut phone to basic). But we could eke it out on that. We have done it in the past. Up till recently we did it on about $400 a month more than that.
No. That's what our mortgage is. But, we also have 7 children between us, and we have a good income. Everything would be very different if we had less children and knew that would be our only income. We could most definitely make it. I've made it w/4 children on less than that. In fact, in my first marriage we never made more than that until we had our 5th child.
Location: A revolution is required now. Not a worldly revolution, today the need is of a spiritual revolution. ~Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi Devi)
Posts: 14,028
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirtySomething
I put that we could pay for our housing, utilities and whatnot.
I based it on 50 weeks per year assuming that we might get 2 weeks off unpaid.
We could make basic expenses without extras. I live in CA.
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Based on our current expenses? Not selling a house and making it, right?
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Jonathan
Louisburg Cider Mill
October 2009
"Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?
Jesus said until him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And, the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments have all the law and the prophets."
i marked housing, cars and utitlities. we could make some of our credit but not all and there would be no extras after what credit we could pay. after this fall (When we sell this house and buy another and therefore pay off all credit) we would be able to make it on that, it would be scrimping but we would be able to do it.
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Brianna, SAHM to DS Tucker (10-11-02) My UC baby Jacob Patrick born 10-9-05 Married to the love of my life Ryan.
Oh, nevermind, I did it wrong. I thought the $1.8K/month was for one, not two, people.
We could pay our mortgage. We own our cars. We have no credit card debt. But, we would have about $50 left for food, utilities, and gas to get to said jobs.
I voted for the first one, no we couldn't pay for anything. But, this is only because our (DF's) Child Support amount is $5200 a month. This gets paid mostly out of his check and what doesnt gets paid first. So, no there is no way we could live off $1800 a month. HOWEVER, our housing, cars, bills etc, total about $1400, so without CS then yes we could cover everything.
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~Angie~mama to Alexis and Payton, and baby James
let's see...we have $1000 mortage, $300 cc, ~$150 elec, $25 water, $300 for food and non food essentials...
and there you go...that would be all that we could cover in our current situation. forget health ins, car ins, life ins, paying the student loan, going out AT ALL. certainly not extra anything for kids.
it would be so very hard. i feel lots and lots and lots of compassion for anyone in that situation.
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Stephanie, wife to Tim and mama to Isaac (4) and Kendall (2)
I used $6.79 since that's min wage in FL. That would give us just under $2200 a month. There is no way we could make it on that. Our mortgage is $1500. Utilities are around $300. Cars are paid for, but there's gas and insurance. That would probably leave about $200 a month for everything else. No way.
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Nancy
married to Robert * mommy to Emma (04/2001) and John (09/2004)
my mom and I
She died peacefully at home on October 3, 2009, surrounded by all of us.
ISO: Winter Clothes!
Our Florida family is heading to NY for a week at Christmas. Let me know if you have warm clothes to sell!
Me - size small, 4/6
Emma - size 7 or so
John - size 5 or so
I voted "other".
Yes we would make it just fine. We live very simply, don't spend much (well i do but that's another story, I spend paypal $$$ that I make selling stuff)
We have no debt, own our house, car, now have two CCs but no balance on them. We fixed up our house to be HE for pretty much everything so utilities are low.
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Vidura in his Bald Eagle wearable puppet he made for the 2nd Handmade Puppet Parade of Hillsborough
Mom to my two sweeties and a Girlie joining us around 01/27/2010
in January
My UC baby Jacob Patrick born 10-9-05 
Married to the love of my life Ryan.
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