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My hubby make minimum wage at the job he has..it was the first one he found after losing a decent paying job. I make $12-$15 for PT work (about 15 hours) and am looking for another PT position that will work with my physical limitations.
We make it, because we're frugal. Hubby works OT when he can get it (while looking for a better paying job) I use coupons and have been couponing for a long time, and shop clearances year round , and do surveys, refunds etc.
We get no "welfare" except the "CHIP" healthcare for the kids and our sliding scale at the health clinic.
It has been a real eye opener. And when we get back to making decent money you can bet I will be saving at a higher rate than we did before...thank God we at least did have some savings and that I've always been frugal and always will be.
All through the 70s when the minimum wage was $2.30 to $2.80 an hour, I was making $80.00 an hour striping parking lots.
This was because the painter's union had rules that anyone who employed stripers had to use two journeymen and three apprentice painters to paint each line.
Then, the union painters also had to be paid time and a half if the stripes were painted after 5:00 PM., time and a half again if on Saturday, and time and a half again if on Sunday.
Most establishments had their parking lots painted after 5 PM on Saturday or Sunday.
When I bid just under the union rate of ten cents per lineal foot and I, with one employee, painted the stripes, my company grossed $50.00 per work hour. I paid my employee four times minimum wage.
I became very skilled at walking a straight line without chalk lines.
Unions hate skill development - they, like lawyers, want billable (payable) hours, man.
My socialist sister always accused me of being greedy for doing things like that.
the number one thing is to not have kids before you can really afford them without a steady paycheck.
Especially with technology today, you can postpone kids till you have a healthy bank account in your 50's. If being unemployed for some time over these last couple years has thought me is to not have kids and a family until my 50's. And if i can't afford it then, then no kids.
I played this "game" several times and was able to make it through the month each time with at least $300 in the bank. This game would be better served if they had realistic choices though....like instead of having a $100/mo cell phone bill you had the option of having a $30/mo landline phone bill. Learn to live within your means.
"Most Americans know the facts about low-wage work, but many have been lucky enough to avoid actually having to live on $8 or $9 an hour.
[i]A computer game called Spent gives you the opportunity to see what it would be like to walk in a poor person’s
The non-profit that helped design the game opts for a "tough love" approach to choices:
After trying to shop for digital groceries, however, that fact is punctuated by comments like “With these groceries, you’re going to [have a hard time].†If you elect to eat a cheap burger rather than a salad you’re told, “Perhaps that’s why low-income workers like you are more likely to be overweight.â€
Would you be motivated to donate after playing the game or are you put off by the underlying agenda?
Actually I can easily live on minimum wage. I have always lived within my means and I refuse to carry any debt. I lived on minimum wage before and can do it again if need be.
the number one thing is to not have kids before you can really afford them without a steady paycheck.
Especially with technology today, you can postpone kids till you have a healthy bank account in your 50's. If being unemployed for some time over these last couple years has thought me is to not have kids and a family until my 50's. And if i can't afford it then, then no kids.
After age 30, the chances of having a baby with Down Syndrome go up dramatically. Technology (except abortion) doesn't remedy that. Your advice is unfairly burdensome to would-be parents.
This was a silly game. In real life if I were THAT broke & had a child (hence the field trip question) I'd most likely be getting some form of government assistance, especially where food is concerned. Secondly, also I wouldn't ignore college loans. Again if you're THAT broke the best thing to do is call to see if you can either get a deferment or get your payments lowered. The other things like helping out a friend, renting a storage, paying the pet fee (why have a pet if you can't afford to buy your own food) or playing the lottery, etc aren't really necessities. Most companies don't charge you $200 to turn your services back on; the most I've ever seen is $60.
Either way I ended the month w/ $242
Student loan deferments have time limits, I bumped into mine. If you have a low-wage job for more than a few years, deferments expire and you're out of luck. I never heard of getting your payments reduced, my lender refused to give me any room.
I simply pointed out that most of us make higher wages. Why? Because we do the right thing, stay in school and get an education. Hardly an unreasonable requirement. That's why most of aren't poor.
I did the right thing, I stayed in school, I got an education, I graduated in the top 5 percent of my class.
I have never made $20K in any year, nor have I ever made as much as $9 per hour.
I did the right thing, I stayed in school, I got an education, I graduated in the top 5 percent of my class.
I have never made $20K in any year, nor have I ever made as much as $9 per hour.
What's your education in? Did you join any organizations? Have you tried an intern or co-op? Have you applied at any places where you might be able to move up? What do you look like when you go to interviews? Do you have a resume? If you lack real job experience then you need to find more things like community service and such that will show that you did something while you were out of work to keep you busy and help the community?
I just find it odd that you can't at least find a groundskeeper job or something in the interim. All of those will start at $9/hr, or more, around here (and yes I know around here is subjective).
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