Person: "If you dont pay taxes or dont have any other expenses than rent then yes you could afford it on your own"
Me: "Assuming normal payroll taxes, but no federal income tax.
Assuming two heavily-driven cars, insured and maintained.
Assuming enough electricity to heat a house, rather than a small apt.
Assuming a family of four. With a toddler in diapers
$9.47/hr - taxes
~$8.52/hr x 65hrs
$553.80/wk x 4 weeks
$2215.20/mo
After you pay $707 for rent, that's an honest lot of money left for other expenses.
$2215/mo
-707 rent
-200 food
-120 electric
-125 gasoline
-75 personal care/diapers
-65 auto insurance
-50 household supplies
-30 clothing
-28 auto maintenance/licensing
-25 internet
-20 renters insurance
-20 phone
-20 fun money
-17 life insurance
-15 education/school supplies
________________________
$698 remaining."
Person: "in reality someone making minimum wage actually makes $6/hr at most after taxes, and $200 a month is food for one person not 4 unless you each the cheapest worst food available in which case your whole family will have fatigue and develop ibs and probably other healthcare costs. and please tell me what internet and phone cost 20 and 25 cause my mom says she's never heard those prices in her entire life
and 17 for life insurance is for someone with no dependants and my school supplies are 200/month after initial supplies
and i'm unfollowing this conversation. not going to listen to someone accuse others of making up numbers then make up so many obviously rediculous numbers of his own"
My wife: "He's assuming Olypen for internet and Republic Wireless for phone.
Also my cooking is very healthy and nutritious, thanks. :D
Most people would not want to dial down their lifestyle as is reflected by those numbers, and that's fine. Really, it's okay. But it IS possible to do if circumstances force it. You do what you gotta do when that's all you can do."
Me: "Living in [our town]:
When I was making only $0.10 more than minimum wage: Net pay was 91% of my Gross pay. So $9.47/hr = $8.67/hr.
$10-15 phone service: [Republic Wireless link] or $20 phone service: [Platinum Tel link]
$21.95 Basic Fixed-Point Internet Service: [Local ISP link]
Food:
[two snapshots of our healthy food expenditures, averaging $175/mo]
Between these two snapshots, there is a record of six months of what we *actually* bought for a family of four. Monthly average = $175."