Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

every time i try to do something like this something else goes wrong. ive lost 3 serpentines in a year on my ford minivan. i need a new windshield for it. now i need another new tire. everytime i try to post a savings, something needs replaced.

[nanamom]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

I remember when that seemed like a lot of money. Now it wouldn't even come close. Let's see, 5.15 an hour times 40 is 206 a week times 4.3 weeks a month makes it 886 a month. Rent is 650 and we pay our own utilities. Then there is the two cars whose payments are almost 700 alone. I just did the bills before I logged on here and this is the first thread I came to. Boy do I feel like a failure!

[Ima saver]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

Well, I have enough cash to pay off my car and my land. Then I could sweak by on $1800 a month. I would probably sell my house and buy something a lot smaller and cheaper. That way my taxes and insurance would go down.

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

dont feel like a failure! feel like a student of life learning something new. i love learning new things, makes me feel very fortunate. i smile at anything i save. i love learning new tricks too, that sprite on the apples i found online was awesome! the kids love them cut, but dont like the browning, so sprite on the apples before serving saved me the ewwww its getting brown thing. a new thing learnt, tried and worked, im smiling!

[ender513]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

If I had my students loans paid off, I could live on $886/mo. Almost anyway, it would be incredibly tight. My rent is $525, and on average I live on about $900-$950 for my "needs." If I did some seriously grocery cut backs (only buying on sale, buying cheap frozen goods etc) I might be able to make it. Maybe

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

u could do it! woooot!!!! just keep the faith and start something now. when you save 20 bucks, you will be like wow!!! then you will want to do more and more. i get an ssi check for my son, when dave and i were apart, me and three kids lived on it. at that time the check was 579. im not on welfare and dont want to be, my kids med s in all is half that check. my place is paid for tho, i just have typical bills and we didnt get any i wants for a long time. we did alot of library stuff and local park, its not like they were prisoners in the house. We did it, i know anyone can if they have to or thier hearts into it. id rather the heart into it then the have too.

[Snoopy2645]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

Well thier are 5 of us 2 adults 3 kids & 2 dogs & we dont live off much more than this after everything is taken out of dh's check ins, 401k union oh ya & truck payment taken right out of his check after all of that he brings home less than $400 a week half of his actual check & I make about $100 a week with working only 2 days a week pt so for all 5 of us that is about $2000 a month & I dont feel we are poor well not most days anyways!!!

[Ima saver]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

Well you are doing good snoopy.!!

[joeswife]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

makes it 886 a month

well let me see..i make that about a month. there are 5 of us, dh doesnt work because he has seizures and hasnt qulified for disablity yet. but let me see my bills.....

house payment 150
truck payment 150 (paid off in june)
electric bill 150
credit cards 120
satalite 75
cell phones 114
ins 85
horses and misc 100

thats about 954 a month. i also get 371 in child support. so i could do it. i could live on that. in fact i do live on that. BUT i live on my parents land so i dont pay lot rent, i use moms computer, and her land line phone. and when irun out of money, i can usually get a loan from mom for the money i need till next pay day.im paid every 2 weeks. so i do have it really good.

[mom-from-missouri]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

I know I couldn't make it. I have been looking for another job, and in my town the few jobs there are only pay about $5.15 an hour. I'm currently making 4 1/2 times that, but the hours just don't work for a single parent.

[Lemony]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

Is $5.15 minimum wage in the States? or is that waitress or student wage? That's only $5.90 CDN, which is waaay less than our min wage ($7.75 CDN, $6.85 for students).

I can't live on that. If DH and I were both earning Canadian min wage full-time, we might be able to eke out a living, but we'd need to sell the house and find free daycare for the kids.

[locolorenzo24]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

First I dunno who did the math, because 5.15 times 40 is $206 times 4 is $824....subtract 8% in taxes (65.92)...you have 758.08. I know myself...and I live pretty cheap by myself. 400 for rent...100 for food(eating a lot of pasta/frozen veggies, with occasional whole chicken thrown in) 100 a month for utilities....151 in debt payments...I'm already at 751! Plus gas for the car, work related expenses, glasses, emergencies...etc. I lived pretty thin as it was making 8.00 an hour....

[lrjohnson]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

This is a good goal for me; with $400 in rent, it's doable, and good incentive to live even further below my my means. It is funny, as my pay went up i always though, no, I'll keep spending the same, but things creep in there. I'll satrt March 1, because I gave my dad a big gift in January and took vacation, and in February I spent a lot for dining already (radio deal where I pay $13 to $15 for $20 gift certificates-stocking up for the year). I don't regret the gift to Dad (laptop for world travel) but things like dining sure climbed upward.

Loco, I think the person was doing 5.15 x 40 = 206 x 4.33 weeks in a month (52 weeks /12 months) = 891.98. I'm not sure what the tax rules in play are. Or if I'm allowed to have the California minimum wage of $6.75, since I do live in CA. That would give me $1169, less taxes if thats the rule.

[cercis]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

Loco

There are 4.33 weeks/month. But you are right, you do have to take out SS.

Lemony, $5.15 is the federal minimum wage. Some states have higher minimums. Waitress wage is $2.13/hour (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm and http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm). Technically, if a waitress does not make enough in tips to bring her to minimum wage, her employer must make up the difference. In reality, employers will accuse you of either lying or being a bad waitress, even if there weren't enough customers to even think about tipping enough.

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::

i heard it was supposed to go to 6.50 when is this gonna happen, i mean not like people dont work hard enough for it.
im a family of five now too, daves got a good job, but still things are tight. we have a blonde lab and a black cat.