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I just went on a test run for 4 days and I actually enjoyed it. Slept in my compact car each night which wasn't so bad with the seats folded down. Would've froze to death (in the 20s) if I hadn't brought a sleeping bag. Found a convenience store that sells $1 hot dogs which were delicious and $1 sodas (1 liter) so lived on those every day. For entertainment I played the slots and bet since I was in Vegas. Obviously can't gamble if I plan on doing this long term.
I just went on a test run for 4 days and I actually enjoyed it. Slept in my compact car each night which wasn't so bad with the seats folded down. Would've froze to death (in the 20s) if I hadn't brought a sleeping bag. Found a convenience store that sells $1 hot dogs which were delicious and $1 sodas (1 liter) so lived on those every day. For entertainment I played the slots and bet since I was in Vegas. Obviously can't gamble if I plan on doing this long term.
But with all due respect, your health won't last if you plan on living on dollar hot dogs and one -liter sodas...but maybe that's your plan? Not to out-live your $5000 by eating junk food??
with no other income ? no food stamps? about a year. but you CAN get 1k per year of food stamps and 3k per year for your blood plasma, and 5k for a month's work, casting handgun bullets.
Tough to live cheaply these days. I have paid off real estate but if I had to live in a car off 5K, maybe 5 months. Luckily I have rentals and would be able to live without working, in a nice apartment, whenever I want with a smart phone, internet, etc. so that I wouldn't have to live in a car.
In our current situation, we can live off of that for at least 6-7 months.
Without current bills, meaning living on couches or in car, no cell phones ect, then id imagine surviving off of $100 a month. It could be easy if you have friends and family who will let you crash.
without a support system, meaning in the car or under a bridge, id say $200 or so a month. Maybe even less. You could go to soup kitchens some, dig thougn trash ect. Use public restrooms. If starving, you could go into some fast food restaurants and take cracker packets to eat.
You might want to budget in a P.O. Box for mail and so you have an address.
Also you might need a phone? Maybe not, but it's a good thing to have at least a phone that can still dial 911 even if it isn't assigned an actual phone number. Sometimes you can find those a thrift stores. In my city there are a few nonprofits that collect old phones and pass them out to the homeless - especially women - for this very reason (so they can call 911 if they need to).
At some point you may need health care services. If you're depending on public restrooms and $1 hot dogs and soda - you'll need these sooner rather than later.
If you're a female you may need birth control and tampons. If you're a guy you may need condoms and a shave kit. Deodorant.
You'll need a place to do laundry.
You'll need to set aside money for car repairs and regular maintenance.
You'll also need to set aside money for taxes. Not sure how much you'll pay in taxes based on $5K a year where you live, but it is something to plan for. In our state, we have federal and state income taxes. I just did a quick tax estimator (free tool) and using $5K for income for one year, claiming yourself as the one personal exemption (so long as no one else can claim you), you would have to pay $139.00 in state taxes where I live. It looks like the federal tax liability would be 0 since the standard deduction is $6,200. Here's a link: Income Tax Calculator - Tax-Rates.org
It's important to remember that even if you do not owe taxes, you still must file a tax return. And when you do, you have to prove your health insurance status. If you cannot provide proof of health insurance, you will be charged a fine. Or at least that is what we deal with every year when we go to our tax preparer to do our taxes. We have to show proof of health insurance.
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