In fact, I fear I am a jack-of-all-trades.

[In fact, I fear I am a jack-of-all-trades.]

Can we please stop pretending that it’s impossible to live on minimum wage?

[horsefeathersandhedgepigs]

Basic math that I knocked out last night:

$820 per month for rent (apartments in Austin can be found as low as $665)

+

$290 per month for groceries (the average american spends $287 on groceries)

+

$120 per month for bus (assuming that the bus is being taken 4 times a day - twice there and twice back)

=

$1230 per month for living expenses.

Currently on minimum wage:

$7.75 x 40 = $310 per week

$280 x 4 = $1240 per month

(Assuming no bonuses, raises, or overtime.)

Is money tight? Yes. Is it difficult? Yes. But it is possible to live on current minimum wage.

Thank you.

[boysinperil]

You can tell somebody still relies on someone else to pay their bills.  Let’s do a little bit more math.

Above wage/month =/=$1240 first of all. There’s this little thing called taxes that the government likes to get; drop that $1240 to $906 (about 27% which goes to social security, unemployment, federal and local taxes). 

Your awesome apartment probably covers water and garbage, but they don’t likely cover electricity. There’s another approximately $80/month. Do you need a way for your employer to get in touch with you? A basic cell plan is about $50, if you drop all the texting, etc. 

We’re already underwater here, but let’s figure a few other things. Even getting all your clothes from thrifting, you’re going to need a few dollars a month for sundries: cleaning supplies (and you can’t forget the cost of laundry itself, another $10/month assuming you do a load a week in a laundromat in your building), hygiene supplies, specialized uniform maybe (things like steel-toed boots can set you back $150 alone). 

God forbid you get sick; even if your minimum-wage job includes insurance you’ve probably got a $25/visit copayment. If it doesn’t, which most don’t, it’ll be a $90 ZoomCare visit or in the upper hundreds for the ER, if you wait too long. 

tl;dr - don’t do bullshit math until you have *all* the numbers down, son.

[nonnegative]

Not to mention most people on minimum wage aren’t getting 40 hours a week from one job. Most places bar people from working over 30 hours because a whole tier of benefits kick in if you’re considered full time.

Oh, and do you have kids who are under 5? Because people don’t watch kids under 5 for free, so unless you’re lucky enough to have a relative who also doesn’t have to work and is willing to watch your kids every day for free, you’re looking at, oh, at least another $200 a week gone right there. And if your kids are over 5 but not old enough to look after themselves and you don’t work school hours, welcome to paying for after care! Not as expensive as full daycare, but still $$$.

America!