[patio11]

There aren't many places in the US where you can live for $2k/month all in

$2,000 / 160 = $12.50, which is substantially higher than the minimum wage in all fifty states of the Union, so I'm guessing that there exist at least a few people who are somehow making do...

[pvg]

This is not entirely dependent on states.

http://www.sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=411

Plus you're probably not clocking an even 40 hour work week working on your small business. $2k a month is likely minimum wage-ish or below in SF.

[bkmartin]

I'm guessing you've never tried to live on $12.50/hr. And if you take that as a gross number not a net number its even worse. Sure, people are "making it work" but if you aren't single without kids and have zero college debt then you aren't doing it without some sort of assistance. Just because the minimum wage is $7.25 or up to $8.55 (depending on the state you live in), doesn't mean you can live on it.

[patio11]

I'm guessing you've never tried to live on $12.50/hr.

Please don't make me do division with regards to my last salary, it would just depress me.

[Retric]

10 years ago, a friend worked his way through school making 7.50$ an hour working as a cook at Shonies, by the time he graduated he had a stay at home wife, two kids and almost zero debt. In the summer he worked 80 hours a week and during school he worked 40.

PS: He did get an internship that played 13.50 his senior year, but he did not quit Shonies until he graduated.

[bkmartin]

80 hours a week plus 40 hours a week during school is ridiculous. I'm truly surprised he had time for a wife and kids. Kuddos for him if it all worked out and the family unit is still together, but I'm just pointing out that under the vast majority of situations its not feasible. There are exceptions to every rule, but lets not make this sound like the norm.

[enjo]

Which is significantly more money than $2k a month;)

[Retric]

I don’t know what their home life was like, but they seemed happy.

PS: Average monthly pay was ~= 7.5$ * (40 + (1.5(overtime) * 40 (hours) * 4 / 12)) * 52 / 12 = 1950$ a month.

Granted this is 10 to 15 years ago so it went further, but he was also paying for school at the time.

[bkmartin]

Really? negative points for a post that simply points out the fact that $12.50/hr is a lot harder to live on that what the majority of people on here want to make it sound? I'm not trolling, just offering a different point of view from different observations. I live in rural PA not a metro area or anything like that. I'm not saying it can't be done, but its not the norm.

[Dove]

Really? negative points . . . ?

Well, you opened with,

I'm guessing you've never tried to live on $12.50/hr.

I consider this aggressive and personal. Rather than stating your position and evidence, you've attacked the credentials of anyone who disagrees with you. Aside from the fact that it's naive and almost certainly false (there are folks on this site from all walks of life with all kinds of experience and opinions), it is distracting. I do not care at all whether someone has the particular credentials you think are necessary to comment on the topic; I care only about what evidence and experience they do have.

Above all, I want to hear about ideas, not people. If you speculate on people's motives or qualifications (especially if you're suggesting downvotes are the result of disagreement or censorship), or any time in general that you attack the person of other commenters, you won't interest me. You'll annoy me. And unless you say something particularly redeeming, I'll probably downvote the comment.

[bkmartin]

Understandable, I agree I came off a bit strong. It struck me the wrong way a bit, and I overreacted. I certainly mean no disrespect. I hope that what I said after that was on point with what I was trying to get across. I'll be better, thanks for the heads up.

[joshuacc]

"Living off of $12.50 an hour" is a nearly meaningless concept without a specific number of hours.

That said, living off of $2,000/month is easily doable if:

1. You live in an inexpensive location.

A bit of research on Craigslist can give you a general idea of where to find inexpensive apartments. Sometimes they're rural, sometimes they're not. The key, though, is being willing to move to the inexpensive location.

2. You have very little debt.

This is probably the difficulty that most people encounter. And unfortunately, there isn't an easy way to make it happen unless it's always been a priority for you.

3. You're reasonably good at keeping your other living expenses low.

This means lots of cooking at home, not going to the movies all the time, and probably saving up for several months if you want to buy a shiny new television or game console.

[BrandonM]

Rural areas can actually be quite expensive compared to a cheap city. Utilities are usually higher since low density means higher cost to the utility companies (more infrastructure for less people). Prices for most goods are higher at local stores than they are in town. And it's easy to rack up a lot of miles on your vehicle when work, shopping, and entertainment is miles away.

I say this as someone who grew up in rural northeast Ohio and now lives in Columbus. In the city, I don't even have to own a car to get around. Consider how much extra money you'd have every month if you didn't have a car payment, car insurance, and fuel costs. That's just the beginning of what you could save by finding a decent place in a cheap metro area.

[bkmartin]

I agree, you can save in certain areas. But is the public transportation in Columbus that great? I've been to Columbus, and I don't think I would live there w/o a car. You're only a couple miles from Amish country, literally. I guess growing up with a car and visiting places with public transportation really makes me appreciate my freedom of movement.

[BrandonM]

The public transportation (buses only) isn't great, but it's serviceable. A bus to downtown stops a few blocks from my house every 10 minutes in the morning, every 15-20 minutes in the afternoon-evening, and every half hour after that. If you're near High St., there are several buses that run quite frequently -- at least every 10 minutes between downtown and Ohio State's campus. From downtown, you can get literally anywhere in the city. Most buses run from at least 6 AM to midnight.

The cost is somewhere around $50 per month, but I'm not totally sure because you ride free with an OSU student ID. For those times when you really do want a car and can't ride with a friend or borrow one, rentals are quite reasonable: I just looked at renting a car from noon Friday to 8 AM Monday and the cost is under $70 from Budget.

I've been without a car since April 2008, when a driver crossed the center line, totaled my car, and ran off. I love driving and I miss having a car, but I've been able to get around all right without one. Of course, getting around is a huge pain when I go back home to visit.