Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
FYI for the OP. When I was 18 I made $6.25 an hour. I had a roommate. My share of the rent/utilities totaled $400 a month. That was nearly half my income. I took transit to work and I was a full time student.
If I had made $8.25 an hour, it would have been easier.
Also, FWIW, many McDonald's restaurants, especially those owned by the McDonald's corporation, pay their employees over $10 an hour. I have teenage cousins and nephews who work there. They make over $2000 a month during the summer.
Also FWIW, during the summers when I was 18-20, I went home and lived with my mom and worked for a temporary agency doing office work. I got a lot of experience in accounting, the legal field (worked as a legal assistant and paralegal), finance, banking, and general office management. I was paid $10.20 an hour back then. This was in the late 90s/early 00s so I do get that wages really do need to increase since they are the same as they were 20 years ago. But during the summer, I never spent any of my money since I lived at home with my mom. In those 3 months, I earned over $5000 for the summer. I'd use that $5000, go back to my college/university and pay off the entire 9 month lease of my apartment that I had with a roommate.
I think too often both younger and older people today complain too much about stuff being "hard." Life has always and will always be hard. Young adults are not just going to be paid a huge wage just because they work. You have to work smarter, not harder and don't waste your money on things. Not saying this is the case, but you need to think about your financial future starting as a young person. My great grandmother told me this when I was younger and I took that advice to heart and made sure to always spend my money intelligently and ensure my needs were a priority - food, shelter, and clothing (basic clothing, mostly for work) before I bought anything else or did anything else.
Hell at one time, I even had my gas utility shut off because I wanted to save some money and I lived in Atlanta at the time, it was hot, and gas was only used for hot water. I took cold showers to save $75 a month lol. It was hot anyway and was refreshing after work.
Isn't this where Liberals come in with, education, education, education. Minimum wage is not meant to be a life time wage, it's job force entrance wage, a bottom rung on the ladder wage working your way up as you get experience and education.
yeah right except now only 16.9% of fast food jobs are held by people between 16 and 19, 23.7% are held by 25-34 year olds. And that ladder doesn't have many rungs. You might be able to work up to a 'team manager' position in 3 years but after that, the assistant manager jobs usually go to the franchise owner's nephew who just got his community college degree.
"It once may have been true that, for most Americans, low-wage jobs were just a first step on an ascending arc of ever-greater economic and professional success. Today, a large proportion of “prime-age†workers between 25 and 54 earning $8 to $12 per hour are likely to stay in such jobs. Millions of workers now face a vicious cycle in which low wages are more likely to consign them to low wages later in their lives. The promise of what economists call “intra-generational social mobilityâ€â€”of individuals getting better jobs, increasing their pay, and moving up the socioeconomic ladder during their lifetimes—appears to be harder and harder to attain."https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamameri...-of-low-wages/
This is what I don't get from the bon marts of "Life's tough, get a helmet" or "Bills are a fact of life, get use to it." These canned lines are heartless and show no empathy. I do thank the posters that did offer suggestions, but most are out of touch jerks that never really had to deal with bills they can't pay for. I was depressed for an entire month and a half after my gallbladder surgery in February 2015. I had a great paycheck but it was still not even one-sixth of the $6.5K bill. I didn't have a steady job then so I was worried and contemplated suicide. I couldn't get AHCCCS (Arizona Medicaid) due to living at home with my parents.
I honestly have dealt with every situation that 8won mentioned when I was younger. I make good money today.
I'm not one who gets stuck in a "woe is me" mindset. You do what you have to do and move foward.
You mentioned where you work and how you don't make enough. What are you doing to make more money? You also mentioned having a fiance. Does your fiance work and do you live together?
FWIW my financial situation actually got better when my now husband and I started to live together. I found a "good job" at a bank making $12.50 an hour (similar to what you are making). He had a job making $13 an hour. We took home over $2200 a month back then and thought we were rich lol. We had enough to buy a car and live in a decent apartment. We both started putting money into the 401k at our jobs (it took a lot of convincing by me for him to do this but today he has nearly 100k in that account so he thanks me for it, it has been rolled over a few times and Obama did us well with the markets).
My husband also always took his responsibility seriously as the man of the family and oftentimes worked 2-4 jobs, especially after we had our son.
Life is hard. I try to instill that in my own kids but it seems kids today don't want to believe it.
Hopefully you have some career and financial goals in order to better your situation. It is very doable to get yourself in a better position but you have to be very dedicated and make sure to have some training in a field that pays well.
I'll also note that networking is VITAL to getting a good paying position. Even though many people around here won't admit it, higher incomes come to people who know people who like them. I was lucky to be mentored by a woman (who hired me at only $12 an hour too) who told me she would train me to do her job and she introduced me to her professional network and talked me up. I make nearly 6 figures today and that was not even 10 years ago that I met her. I also now have my own professional network and people who know what I can do and I do my best to mentor younger people from my city who are interested in doing the same work I do (or even other types of careers) and introduce them to people who can help them.
But being a go getter and very good at communication and having a vitality about you is very important. More important than "working hard."
One reason is that many union contracts are pegged to the minimum wage.
The cost will go up across the board.
And in your example, the employer is losing money not even keeping up with the same profit margin.
They don't understand or don't care. If you artificially modify one part of any equation, it will eventually level itself again.
Aside from it being morally wrong to forcefully set contract terms for a private agreement that you are not a part of
It is mathematically impossible to survive on minimum wage $8/hour type jobs in 2017, here's the math:
Assuming the person works for $8/hour and 40 hours a week
($8/hour x 40 hours) x 4 weeks in a month = $1280 before tax = $1088-ish after tax (assuming 10-15% tax bracket)
Assuming the "typical" cost of living for an average American with NO kids or welfare assistance
$800-$1000/month - Average rent in most cities for a 1-bedroom apartment
$75-$150/month - Average car insurance payment, depending on age of car etc
$150-$300/month - Average gasoline expenditure depending on vehicle and commute distance
$200-$300/month - Average food/grocery bill for one person, assuming a somewhat healthy diet
$50-$100/month - Average cost of miscellaneous household items such as toilet paper, etc
$150-$300/month - Average health insurance bill depending on a number of factors
$75-$150/month - Average utilities depending on several factors
$40-$70/month - Average cell phone/internet bill
+???/month on TOP of all this - If there is any debt service (car loan, student loans, etc) or kids involved
The problem here is that you are using averages. If you are making minimum wage, you don't aim for average, you aim for the lower end of all of these costs.
$800/month could get you a 4-bedroom house in the not so nice areas of st louis. $1000/month could get you a 3-bedroom house in a decent area.
$400/month is way more realistic for a cheap 1-bedroom here. If you go studio, you can get under $350.
That car insurance is very very high. If you do the state minimum on a 5+ year old car, $20/month is much closer. Certainly nothing over $40/month.
And $150/month for gas? Gas rarely gets over $2.30/gallon here, so that's over 1600 miles a month of driving?? That is nowhere close to realistic. Typical commute here is under 900 mi/month. (and realistically, people use the bus to commute when they are making minimum wage here, so you should include a bus pass for ~$80/month, but dramatically cut gas to around $20-$40/month)
Household items I could see being higher, if you are including major purchases (furniture, etc) as well as minor purchases.
The food costs are okay, but normally food assistance is readily available if you are making minimum wage.
Health insurance should be under $120 through the exchange if you are making minimum wage. Under $20 if you have employer provided insurance.
Utilities are a similar situation to food. Once you make that little, you get assistance. Here the utility assistance is generally 1:1 up to 1:3 (cutting your bill by somewhere from 25% to 50%).
I think your cell phone and internet bills are actually low. Cell will be your lifeline for everything so I think this would go up to around $100/month. (But no separate internet, just cell with data.)
Pretty much this, the lack of empathy and sympathy from some of the right-wingers in this thread is disturbing. It goes back to that hostile/dismissive "let them eat cake" sentiment they seem to harbor regarding the poor/working class, it really "seeps" through in some of their responses. Their assumption that low-paid workers are "losers" and such for example .... total lack of empathy and total disregard for how that person ended up there, that person's life circumstances, that person's layoff from a good job, divorce, illness, injury, etc.
Empathy and sympathy would be doing something yourself, not forcing others to do what you think they should.
Pretty much this, the lack of empathy and sympathy from some of the right-wingers in this thread is disturbing. It goes back to that hostile/dismissive "let them eat cake" sentiment they seem to harbor regarding the poor/working class, it really "seeps" through in some of their responses. Their assumption that low-paid workers are "losers" and such for example .... total lack of empathy and total disregard for how that person ended up there, that person's life circumstances, that person's layoff from a good job, divorce, illness, injury, etc.
I don't think low wage earners are losers.
I do think that many of you complain too much and don't do anything to better your lives from an individual standpoint. Those that are doing something to better their lives, I have a lot of respect for.
I grew up in poverty. But I never thought I couldn't reach a decent lifestyle.
It really is about attitude and who you know along with a decent education. Complaining is a big turnoff for getting to know people who will see potential in you and help you in some way as well.
Also, I will be honest and say I don't really care how people ended up where they are. I could tell you some sob stories about my own life. It cracks me up some of these young people and their sad sob stories that are nothing compared to what I lived through as a kid. You have to have confidence in yourself and your abilities and a spirit of perseverance. You also have to have a good attitude and get decent grades and educate yourself. While in college or in those entry level jobs, instead of making friends with your lateral co-workers, make friends with the general manager, the CEO, the COO, someone who is on a higher pay grade than you are. Be a good worker, show up on time, and impress them and they will recommend you for a better position, especially if you have an education and are a cool personality type of person.
I'll even admit that the young people I know who are constantly making excuses and complaining about things, those are the kids I don't help. They just want to b*tch and complain about life and hate on people who have more than they have and be mad at people who don't feel sorry for them.
I feel bad for those types of people as they will live a life of regret IMO.
ETA: On the bold, it reminded me of a young lady I used to work with. We both worked for the woman who mentored me at a lower wage position. This woman grew up in the projects. She had a very hard, "southern ghetto" accent. But she was a go-getter. She had a great attitude. She was a janitor at a building that my boss was the VP over in our portfolio. Everytime our boss came to her building, she would ask if she could go with our boss on building inspections. She'd ask if she could help with office paperwork. She'd offer to answer the phones. She also had a good personality and was engaging and funny and very good with our residents. Our boss asked her if she would be interested in being a leasing agent instead of a janitor since she learned to use the office machines and had a good rapport with our residents. She was very excited about that. Our boss said the only issue was her speaking but that she would help her with that, which our boss did do because of this woman's work ethic and great personality. She got promoted from a $9 an hour janitor job to a $14 an hour leasing agent job. A year later the assistant manager at the location quit and our boss promoted that worker to the assistant manager. She was salaried as an assistant manager at $40,000 a year. A couple years later the property manager at that location retired. She got the property manager job at $65,000 a year salary.
The main thing that our boss told me was the reason she gave that woman a promotion was her attitude and willingness to work. Also that she could communicate well with the residents and she took her job seriously. Plus she was "cool people."
Gave this as an example of someone who grew up poor but made it to the middle class. The woman who was promoted is still a friend of mine. She is now a regional property manager and makes over $80k a year. She grew up in Bowen Homes in Atlanta a project housing community and was one of 5 kids. When she got that first promotion she had 3 kids and all the woes you guys have. This was only in 2007 that she got that first promotion so not that long ago.
Last edited by residinghere2007; 07-06-2017 at 03:54 PM..
I'm not a "Republican right winger" and I also am a "brown person" who makes more than minimum wage lol.
On your average cost of living for an American with no kids or welfare assistance - a young adult can live off of our current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour where I live. You can find a 1bd apartment for $350 here. It would be in a not so great neighborhood, but it is doable. They don't need a car, they can ride a bike or take public transit for $30 a month. Groceries for one person is doable on $50 a week. Health insurance cost for one healthy, young person via work would be about $100 a month. Utilities for a 1bd apartment would be about $200 a month. Average cell phone bill would be about $40 a month. Internet you can get for $20 a month with a deal.
Lets tally it up:
$8.25 per hour for 40 hours per week is $1320 (after taxes would be about $1120)
$350 1bd apartment
$30 transit (bike would be free after bike is bought)
$100 (healthcare premium from job)
$200 (monthly food budget)
$200 (utilities)
$40 (cell phone) $20 (internet)
$940 total for all the above. Even after taxes that would leave almost $200 left over for saving.
FWIW a young person here can find a 2bd apartment and get a roommate and save on rent. Two bed apartments cost $400-$600 a month and they can live in a nice neighborhood for the upper priced 2bd and pay less than the 1bd in the crappy neighborhood while also cutting their utilities in half. That way they can save $100-$150 a month.
In many areas, $350 won't even get you a walk-in closet, let alone an actual room.
yeah right except now only 16.9% of fast food jobs are held by people between 16 and 19, 23.7% are held by 25-34 year olds. And that ladder doesn't have many rungs. You might be able to work up to a 'team manager' position in 3 years but after that, the assistant manager jobs usually go to the franchise owner's nephew who just got his community college degree.
"It once may have been true that, for most Americans, low-wage jobs were just a first step on an ascending arc of ever-greater economic and professional success. Today, a large proportion of “prime-age” workers between 25 and 54 earning $8 to $12 per hour are likely to stay in such jobs. Millions of workers now face a vicious cycle in which low wages are more likely to consign them to low wages later in their lives. The promise of what economists call “intra-generational social mobility”—of individuals getting better jobs, increasing their pay, and moving up the socioeconomic ladder during their lifetimes—appears to be harder and harder to attain."https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamameri...-of-low-wages/
I'd like to know when "team managers" and "crew leaders" were invented. When I flipped hamburgers, we had a manager and an assistant manager; everyone else was a peon. (This was some years ago - when 12-year-olds with bicycles had paper routes.)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Plus with the COL depending on where you end up, it's just about the same as living here. Plus my car note don't miraculously go away if I move to another country...
.... total lack of empathy and total disregard for how that person ended up there, that person's life circumstances, that person's layoff from a good job, divorce, illness, injury, etc.
