3 ms·

Would you be able to make a living on 15eur/m? If you live in America I would sincerely like to know the answer.

curryst 6y ago
Perspectives vary. That's what I made on my first job out of college in one of the bigger cities in the Midwest (not Chicago). It was fine for that. I didn't have extravagant tastes, but I didn't penny pinch. I had enough room in my budget that I could have saved probably a few hundred dollars a month. It's worth calling out that my car was paid off (and a Prius so gas/insurance was cheap), and my rent was really low ($300 a month because of arrangement with the landlord). Work also covered almost all of my insurance, which I think is unusual for jobs in those range. If those things weren't true, I probably would have saved little or nothing unless I started cutting back and focusing on buying cheap food to eat instead of just being happy with cooking instead of eating out. Home ownership is possible if you save for years, or if you can get a grant to help with the downpayment (had a friend who did that). It's not pleassant, but it's doable imo. I don't think you could have a family on a single $15/hr income. Even at 2 $15/hr incomes I would think it was hard, but I don't have children so maybe they're cheaper than I think. Although no one has ever said their children were cheaper than they thought.
credit_guy 6y ago
$15/h is a bit more than $30k per year. Taxes are quite low for this income bracket, so you get to keep most of it. As a graduate student I got to live on about half that much for 5 years. The rent on campus was low and the health insurance was cheap, but neither was free. Living in campus meant I didn't need a car, but in my last year I did buy one, a 13 year old SUV for $1350. Accounting for inflation, that would still be less than $2000 in today's money. Out of curiosity, I just checked on edmunds.com, and you can still get a 13 year old SUV of similar condition for a bit less than $2000 today. So, I think it's possible to make a living on $15/h. Is it ideal? No.

Perspectives vary. That's what I made on my first job out of college in one of the bigger cities in the Midwest (not Chicago). It was fine for that. I didn't have extravagant tastes, but I didn't penny pinch. I had enough room in my budget that I could have saved probably a few hundred dollars a month. It's worth calling out that my car was paid off (and a Prius so gas/insurance was cheap), and my rent was really low ($300 a month because of arrangement with the landlord). Work also covered almost all of my insurance, which I think is unusual for jobs in those range. If those things weren't true, I probably would have saved little or nothing unless I started cutting back and focusing on buying cheap food to eat instead of just being happy with cooking instead of eating out. Home ownership is possible if you save for years, or if you can get a grant to help with the downpayment (had a friend who did that). It's not pleassant, but it's doable imo. I don't think you could have a family on a single $15/hr income. Even at 2 $15/hr incomes I would think it was hard, but I don't have children so maybe they're cheaper than I think. Although no one has ever said their children were cheaper than they thought.

credit_guy 6y ago

$15/h is a bit more than $30k per year. Taxes are quite low for this income bracket, so you get to keep most of it. As a graduate student I got to live on about half that much for 5 years. The rent on campus was low and the health insurance was cheap, but neither was free. Living in campus meant I didn't need a car, but in my last year I did buy one, a 13 year old SUV for $1350. Accounting for inflation, that would still be less than $2000 in today's money. Out of curiosity, I just checked on edmunds.com, and you can still get a 13 year old SUV of similar condition for a bit less than $2000 today. So, I think it's possible to make a living on $15/h. Is it ideal? No.