Can a family of 3 make it on 30k a year to start?

[HuskyDawg]

So as long as she is RENTING she would be fine?

What if she rented in some where like Kent and just traveled to Seattle for visits and such? I know most of you are already accustomed to making much more and assume it is "impossible" (from your point of view) but I would like to hear from someone who can better relate. Assume she does not go to Starbucks every other day and does not need a baby sitter. in other words assuming she manages her money properly. I am in a similar situation however my rent will only be $300 a month.

Saving money by not going to Starbucks would be the least of her worries living on 30K in Seattle. Rent, food, gas would take up most of you make after taxes. $300 rent is hard to find unless you have roommates, or find a basement apt in somebody's house which I'm assuming wouldn't be ideal for a family of 3. The West Coast is awesome it's just not cheap.

[JesseJames34]

Originally Posted by Anders15

So as long as she is RENTING she would be fine?

What if she rented in some where like Kent and just traveled to Seattle for visits and such? I know most of you are already accustomed to making much more and assume it is "impossible" (from your point of view) but I would like to hear from someone who can better relate. Assume she does not go to Starbucks every other day and does not need a baby sitter. in other words assuming she manages her money properly. I am in a similar situation however my rent will only be $300 a month.

there are way too many assumptions we have to make to find out if she can make it. she has to find out how much electric, water, food, auto INS, renter's INS, apartment rent, auto gas, medical expenses for kids, school supplies, etc are going to run. she also has to add in monthly debts of credit cards, student loans, car payments, etc, if applicable. it's really ridiculous for anyone to try and determine if she can make it. those are just the standard living costs. for the pluses, with that salary, maybe her tax bracket will be different...maybe she gets huge(relative to annual income) tax refunds at the end of the year. i'm sure there is some sort of government welfare for salaries that low, especially considering she has a kid.

really we can think that her situation is probably not unique and that there are probably families of 3 out there living in kent making $30k a year and are still afloat. so the uninformed guess would be that yes, she can make it as others probably have.

[HuskyDawg]

there are way too many assumptions we have to make to find out if she can make it. she has to find out how much electric, water, food, auto INS, renter's INS, apartment rent, auto gas, medical expenses for kids, school supplies, etc are going to run. she also has to add in monthly debts of credit cards, student loans, car payments, etc. it's really ridiculous for anyone to try and determine if she can make it. those are just the standard living costs. for the pluses, with that salary, maybe her tax bracket will be different...maybe she gets huge(relative to annual income) tax refunds at the end of the year. i'm sure there is some sort of government welfare for salaries that low, especially considering she has a kid.

really we can think that her situation is probably not unique and that there are probably families of 3 out there living in kent making $30k a year and are still afloat. so the uninformed guess would be that yes, she can make it as others probably have.

That's a really good point that they would probably qualify for low income tax breaks, and assistance programs that could help a lot.