Not mine... younger adults. One just put a post on facebook saying she couldn't understand how a couple couldn't live on $15,000 and own a new car, etc etc etc. I just can't quite wrap my head around it. Granted, we have kids, and a house to pay for. But last year we brought in under $25,000 and it was an AWful year- dh was on layoff constantly, there were times when I wondered what we would be eating. Then again, we are a family of 4, and having kids means our meals must be healthy. She blames my age for not agreeing with her :lol: What do you other oldesters think? Can a frugal couple live a decent life on $15,000 a year?
I'm not an oldester (not that I'd admit it if I were), but I think it's very doable. The new car... well... maybe. 10 years ago, when I was single, I was paid a salary of $100 a week (day care center). I made roughly $5,000 a year (closed for holidays). Times two is $10,000 a year (assuming a couple). I lived in a one bedroom apartment. A couple could also live in a one bedroom, so rent wouldn't change. Utilities would rise, but not double; assuming they aren't included in the rent. I spent roughly $25 a week on food. Double that for $2600 a year on groceries. Even with inflation, I think $15,000 would more than cover a comfortable life for two adults. The new car, though - like I said... I don't know. If you save a buy it outright, I can see it. Making interest-added car payments on a new car would be killer on $15,000 a year. Most people, even on used cars, have car payments of at least $300. That's $3,600 a year just on the car payment. Plus insurance is higher if you're making payments.
True- and I think some of her logic is a bit flawed. For instance, she mentioned an $11 elec bill. Now.... when I was single (a few more than 10 years ago =P) my cheapest was about $30.. and I kept lights off and was never home (but it was an older building). She's assuming a $100 a mo car insurance payment... we don't have new vehicles, but isn't full coverage significantly more than that? (I know there are other factors, but assuming a clean driving record and decent credit). Renting is the other issue- I've rented for as cheaply as $275mo in a bad district (where I wouldn't want my own kids to live) but for a decent apartment it's going to cost signifcantly more... plus that was again back in the day.
Not here. But they can live a decent life on $15,000 in some parts of the world. In some parts of the world they can have servants on $15,000 a year. Around here they would spend a minimum of $8K per year on a tiny dark basement apartment. If they wanted a nice apartment it would take the whole $15K.
We have full coverage on both our vehicles. When DH got into an accident (his fault) our monthly payment went UP to $86. I think $100 a month for one car, even a new car, is more than reasonable.
As to apartment rent - I live in a college 'town.' (City of 500,000) There are 4 universities and 4 colleges just within the city limits. The only thing we have more of than churches are apartment buildings. So here, you can easily find a decent one bedroom apartment for $250. The luxury ones are higher, of course. The decent ones are in nicer parts of town and are more than sufficient. I realize though, that this changes drastically based on where you're living. In NYC, for example, $250 won't get you a closet in a rent-controlled efficiency.
Thanks. We are just retiring my 'new' car- she's 12 now so has been paid off for years. Clearly I'm out of touch :lol:
It should be noted that neither of our cars were constructed during this century. (Both are late 90s models). But I do think that one new car wouldn't be too much more than two old cars (especially with DH's blemished driving record). I'm only guessing, though.
I think it would depend entirely on where you lived and what you ate for food. There are NO one bedroom apartments around here for less than $500/mo unless you happen to know someone who has an apt above their garage or something. Utilities would be $30/mo easy. And insurance? Might be doable - hubby and I pay about $80 a month for our car ins...and one of our cars still has a loan - of course the longer you are a driver the lower your insurance rates. Food for two people is a lot less, also....depending on what you eat. However, $15K and a NEW car? Not sure it could be done in our area at all.
What a hoot!!! That person is clearly ignorant to the fact that her idea of living on $15,000 a year depends on where the person lives. Around here a one bedroom apartment runs about $1,200 a month. Her $15,000 is already gone on rent alone and this isn't in the best part of the city. If a person is lucky, they can find a one bedroom for about $800 but they are far and few. There isn't any way we could live off of $15,000 a year. Handsome and I use about $1,000 a month on gas alone. Our minimum electric bill is $36 minimum, $120-$200 in the hottest of summer. Gas is a minimum of $32 for the service and can run as high as $200 in the winter. The landline (we could go without) is $54 minimum for service alone and so forth. We do not have any credit cards or car payments and there is still no way we could live off of $15,000 a month. There is too much to factor into the equation to assume that anybody can live off of $15,000 a month. It all has to do with location.
Hmmm. I wonder what we pay a month for car insurance. I know it was $225 a month because of a car accident Handsome was in ages ago. Once we found out that we could lower it through another company, we did. I don't even think it is close to $225 anymore. However, in California it is illegal to operate a vehicle if it isn't insured. Edited: I found the bill. We pay $109 a month now. My vehicle has full coverage and Handsome's has liability only.
I do not know. About five years ago, give or take, PepBoys blew the engine in one of our cars. The head company told us they would rent us a car but they didn't pay for insurance. I told her we had to pay insurance by law and we weren't paying an additional $18 a day on top of what we were already paying. So PepBoys agreed to pay. She told me that insurance was not required in whatever state the head office was located. As I said, this was at least five years ago. It could be required in all states now.
It can be a law, but it doesn't mean that people won't try to get away with it. I mean, a lot of things are illegal, and people still do them. So, I think in PA it's illegal, but there are plenty of people who drive around uninsured. You certainly have a lot of trouble if you get caught. And I would imagine it to be difficult....as to get your car inspected you have to show proof of insurance BUT....I've seen them do the inspections on expired insurance before (lets just say there are a few black sheep in our family). LOL
LOL! I know many people who would not insure their car if they could get a way with it. I am positive I know people who allow their insurance to run out. But it is difficult to register a car in the state of CA without proof of insurance and smog. Every time we send for our tags, we are required to show proof of insurance and a bi-yearly smog certificate.
I want to echo that it totally depends on where you are - location makes a HUGE difference. Even car insurance rates vary by your zip code. But, yes, it could absolutely be done and IS done all the time. Even in Austin when we were making more money than ever before, we spent about 3 years making roughly $30-35K and supporting 3 kids. And the Austin area is MUCH higher cost of living than it is back near Waco where we are now. Before we moved we were barely breaking $25K. When Brandon was born we were only making around $20k. So yeah. For just two people with no kids, $15k is totally doable in the right area. (Yes we were on assistance when Brandon was born. No we were NOT on assistance in Austin, though we could have qualified for WIC up until Brandon turned 5.) New car? Not sure. Depends partly also on the car and the ages of the drivers. (Um, my 22 year old sister is paying over $200/mo for her insurance. For girls it goes down at age 21, so it WAS even higher. She's got a firebird though. Ugh.) Right now we have two (old) cars on liability only and are paying about $60/mo. I don't know about "comfortable" though. Everyone's idea of "comfort" is different. We were quite happy with the income in Austin up until hubby had to start travelling so much and so our fuel budget was shot out the window.
Depends on her definition of "comfortable" and "decent". Can a young couple live together on 15,000 a year? Well... what kind of place would they be happy with? Would a bachelor do? Will they be cooking all their meals at home? Do they want to go out to movies or concerts or dinner? Do they have any expensive hobbies (even comic book collecting adds up!). This car... is it paid off, or are you hoping to buy it on the 15,000 dollar salary? Do you need to buy any furniture? How about a TV or a computer? If everything is already supplied, then 15,000 can go a lot further than if you have to provide some of this for yourself. Health care - do you live in a place where it's covered by the gov't, or will you need to find insurance/put money aside for it? What about dental? Glasses? As a young person, you can probably get by without much health care for a few years but you never know when an emergency might pop up. Even something as simple as a UTI can knock the feet out from under an uninsured American living on a small salary. Family - can you count on family to cushion the knocks of real life and catch you in an emergency? Then you can certainly live on less. Will you have a roommate? Are you planning to go to school? How will you make your income grow in the future? What are your plans and what will it cost to get there? Do you plan to have children? (They get expensive really fast!) What happens when your car breaks down or needs repairs? Can you afford to have snow tires put on? Do you plan to have pets? We just dropped almost 800 dollars on vaccinations and check ups for our dog and two cats, and we're going to have to spend more on tooth cleaning for ONE of them (we haven't decided which is the lucky one this year). You don't want to be like some neighbours of ours who couldn't afford surgery to get their cat's intestines untwisted and allowed it to die in horrible agony, hoping the knot would somehow work itself out. (I have serious issues with what they did, but that's another story...) 15,000 a year is very close to the bone. It's doable, but there are sacrifices you'll have to make. I have friend living on disability, who makes about that amount between her gov't pension and the work she does when she's healthy. She lives alone, maintains a subsidized bachelor flat, and can't afford a pet, though she'd like one very much. She can buy herself some books or DVDs on sale, and she gets free movie passes from friends occasionally. She buys her clothes second hand. She pays ten dollars a haircut at a local Catholic barber who took pity on her. She eats at our house a LOT. She never travels anywhere, and she's never gone on any kind of vacation. She can't afford a car, and she can only afford a bus pass because it's heavily subsidized for disabled people. It's a limited kind of life and it's a struggle and an extra stress.
Here in Alaska - no way. The cost of living for just about everything is much higher. Just the cost of gas right now is 3.92 and we heard is going up again. Rent is very high also, not to mention the winter heating bill.
