Anyone else living paycheck to paycheck?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of living paycheck to paycheck, focusing on personal financial situations, budgeting, and the impact of income on living expenses. Participants share their experiences with income, expenses, and financial planning, while also touching on broader issues related to salaries and cost of living.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant details their monthly income and expenses, highlighting the struggle to make ends meet with a $50,000 annual income.
  • Another participant questions the allocation of funds, noting discrepancies in expected income after taxes and deductions.
  • Some participants discuss the implications of low starting salaries for recent graduates, with varying anecdotes about income levels in different fields.
  • Concerns are raised about the high costs associated with car ownership and the potential benefits of switching to used vehicles.
  • Several participants express frustration over the costs of education and the burden of student loans, with one suggesting that public universities offer a more affordable alternative.
  • There are suggestions for reducing utility costs and re-evaluating service subscriptions to alleviate financial pressure.
  • One participant reflects on the possibility of moving back in with parents to save money, indicating a common sentiment of financial strain among young adults.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on income levels, cost of living, and financial management strategies. There is no clear consensus, as differing views on salaries, expenses, and financial priorities are presented throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various financial obligations and personal circumstances, which may not be universally applicable. Discussions about income and expenses are influenced by regional cost of living differences and individual financial choices.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals facing similar financial challenges, recent graduates navigating their first jobs, and those seeking advice on budgeting and financial planning.

gravenewworld
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$17.26 left in bank account. Can't wait to get paid on Fri. Oh wait that's right, I'll be broke again as soon as I get paid.


$1160

-$433 rent
-$135 student loan
-$125 heating
-$65 cable/internet
-$55 electricity
-$125 car insurance
-$30 water
-$50 phone
--------------------------------

Hey look at that, that leaves me with $145 for the next two weeks for gas and food.
Guess I will be eating a lot of Ramen.

LOL and I thought a $50 K year income was a "livable" income for a single person.
 
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$1160/month adds up to 13k a year.

You should get around 2.5k per month after taxes at 50k. Where is the rest of your money going?
 
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Cyrus said:
$1160/month adds up to 13k a year.

You should get around 2.5k per month after taxes at 50k. Where is the rest of your money going?

that is a bi weekly pay check. $1160 is a biweekly check after tax, 401 k contribution, health, and dental.


Mid month is

-$420 for car payments
-$250 student loans
-$ whatever balance I put on my credit card at the beginning of the month to help me last until mid month's pay check.
 
You have been working for a while now, why don't you have a raise? 50k is low. My friend started at 55k in HVAC as a mechanical E. Almost all my friends started at 55k.
 
Opps how did this get into politics? Must have made a mistake. Could you please move to general?
 
I used to visit a student website in Japan, those student admins were mainly taught and supported by some in the US, some of them posted a similar thread like. Why shouldn't you go back and search there for this and representatives, living expense supporters, outlook help, etc, they have all sort of news?
 
Cyrus said:
You have been working for a while now, why don't you have a raise? 50k is low. My friend started at 55k in HVAC as a mechanical E. Almost all my friends started at 55k.


And I know a lot of college graduates who started at only 30 K. Engineers will typically make more than us science majors. Plus the cost of living contributes to how high salaries go in different parts of the country. Making $65 grand in NYC would be about the same as making $50 grand somewhere else.
 
Oops, srry if it weren't you who posted that thread then forgive my nonsense interrupt
 
Jekertee said:
I used to visit a student website in Japan, those student admins were mainly taught and supported by some in the US, some of them posted a similar thread like. Why shouldn't you go back and search there for this and representatives, living expense supporters, outlook help, etc, they have all sort of news?



Strange. I have no idea what to make of this post.
 
  • #10
gravenewworld said:
And I know a lot of college graduates who started at only 30 K. Engineers will typically make more than us science majors. Plus the cost of living contributes to how high salaries go in different parts of the country. Making $65 grand in NYC would be about the same as making $50 grand somewhere else.

Yikes. 30k a year is appalling. Isnt that borderline welfare income?
 
  • #11
Cyrus said:
Yikes. 30k a year is appalling. Isnt that borderline welfare income?

Yeah, I keep telling my brother that. What do you expect from an art major though?
 
  • #12
Honestly, I'll probably ending moving back to my parents house for 3 years and using all the money I save on rent and utilities to 1st pay off my car and then put a huge dent in my student loans. :::sigh::: nothing will be worse than being 26 and still be having to live with your parents.
 
  • #13
What kinda car do you have, and how much are your student loans?

In the end, my total cost of undergrad is I think somewhere around $22k.
 
  • #14
I drive a Mazda 3, it isn't like I am driving a BMW.

I borrowed about $42 K in loans to go to school. If I ever have a kid they are NEVER going to attend a private university. It is a complete waste of money when you can get the same education at a public state university for half the cost.
 
  • #15
Its scandalous that you have to pay anything for access to Education...
 
  • #16
Anttech said:
Its scandalous that you have to pay anything for access to Education...

yeah tell me about it.
 
  • #17
gravenewworld said:
Hey look at that, that leaves me with $145 for the next two weeks for gas and food.
Guess I will be eating a lot of Ramen.
That's $10 a day. How much for gas and how much for food?
 
  • #18
gravenewworld said:
-$433 rent
-$135 student loan
-$125 heating
-$65 cable/internet
-$55 electricity
-$125 car insurance
-$30 water
-$50 phone
You're paying too much for heat + electricity. See if your area utility has a year-round payment plan. You can live w/o cable; for internet switch to DSL, slim down your phone service to "local/basic" (essentially for 911 calls) and buy the least expensive Vodafone plan that's being offered.
 
  • #19
$1160 is a biweekly check after tax, 401 k contribution, health, and dental.
1160 * 26 / 12 = $2513/month, with 401k, health, and dental already paid for

2513 starting

-433 rent
-135 student loan
-125 heating
-65 cable/internet
-55 electricity
-125 car insurance
-30 water
-50 phone
-420 for car payments
-250 student loans (two separate student loans?)

=820 left over for food, gasoline, clothes, etc.

That's actually very good, assuming you work ~40 hours per week. What is your job and how long have you been in that field?

Your mistake was buying a new car. Everyone on this forum has probably made that same mistake, including myself, but we learn from it. The up front cost is easily 5-10x as much as a good used car, and to add insult to injury, the insurance is several times as expensive because a dealership won't finance the car unless you have comprehensive insurance. Minimum insurance for my car is 150/month now that the car is paid for; it was 350/month for comprehensive in that 6 month period where I owed money on the car.
Buy only used cars in the future.
 
  • #20
I have to agree with ShawnD: cars are one of the worst debt traps around. Most people would balk at being $20k in debt on a credit card, yet those same people think financing a new $20k car is completely reasonable. In fact, they think, everyone does it, so it's not "real" debt like credit card debt.

I made the mistake of purchasing a brand-new Honda S2000 when I got out of college. It was fun, but boy, I ended up wishing that I had just bought a used Civic instead.

- Warren
 
  • #21
Sell the car, buy something to get around. Then you will be living fine. Save up and pay cash. Once you save up 20k, you will think twice about throwing it down for a new car.
 
  • #22
I agree, get rid of the car, buy an 02 honda civic LX. They are actually quite nice and can last 150k miles. I also agree your heating is super high. I have a 900 sq ft 1bed apt and my heating+elec is $70/m total and I keep my tv/laptop on a lot and heat at 70F.
 
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  • #23
ShawnD said:
1160 * 26 / 12 = $2513/month, with 401k, health, and dental already paid for

2513 starting

-433 rent
-135 student loan
-125 heating
-65 cable/internet
-55 electricity
-125 car insurance
-30 water
-50 phone
-420 for car payments
-250 student loans (two separate student loans?)

=820 left over for food, gasoline, clothes, etc.

That's actually very good, assuming you work ~40 hours per week. What is your job and how long have you been in that field?

Your mistake was buying a new car. Everyone on this forum has probably made that same mistake, including myself, but we learn from it. The up front cost is easily 5-10x as much as a good used car, and to add insult to injury, the insurance is several times as expensive because a dealership won't finance the car unless you have comprehensive insurance. Minimum insurance for my car is 150/month now that the car is paid for; it was 350/month for comprehensive in that 6 month period where I owed money on the car.
Buy only used cars in the future.



That leaves $820 minus what ever I have to pay off on my credit card.

Usually need to fill up 1.5 tanks of gas per week so that is 6 tanks x 13 gallons x $3.05=$240 per month on gasoline.

Also this is assuming I don't have any medical expenses, need to pay a doctor's co-pay, buy new glasses, or contacts, etc. and it also assumes I have no other car expenses like changing the oil, tune up, or break down.


That leaves around $500 a month for food. If I spent all that on food that would be about $15 per day/$5 per meal. That assumes I spend $0 on entertainment every month also.




Heating bill high? Yeah I know it is because here we have the worst run public utility company here known as PGW that is over $1 billion in the red. They charge ridiculous prices for gas in order to make up for their losses and for the fact that they lost a lot of money when they weren't allowed to shut off peoples' heating during the winter who didn't pay the bills because of safety concerns. LOL I do have roomates, the heating bill is actually $375! Last winter we got socked with a heating bill that was $465.
 
  • #24
gravenewworld said:
Heating bill high? Yeah I know it is because here we have the worst run public utility company here known as PGW that is over $1 billion in the red. They charge ridiculous prices for gas in order to make up for their losses and for the fact that they lost a lot of money when they weren't allowed to shut off peoples' heating during the winter who didn't pay the bills because of safety concerns. LOL I do have roomates, the heating bill is actually $375! Last winter we got socked with a heating bill that was $465.
Buy portable electric heaters.
 
  • #25
Evo said:
Buy portable electric heaters.

How does that help? Portable and furnaces both use electricity or gas, in the end it all comes from the utility company.
 
  • #26
gravenewworld said:
LOL I do have roomates, the heating bill is actually $375! Last winter we got socked with a heating bill that was $465.
You can still opt in a year-round average payment plan if such is being offered.
 
  • #27
So basically, the car is eating up an entire third of your take-home pay. Why do you need to use $240 of gas a month? That ends up being something like 1,700 miles per month! Why do you need to drive so many miles? Are there any small changes you can make to rely on some other cheaper transporation?

- Warren
 
  • #28
chroot said:
I have to agree with ShawnD: cars are one of the worst debt traps around. Most people would balk at being $20k in debt on a credit card, yet those same people think financing a new $20k car is completely reasonable. In fact, they think, everyone does it, so it's not "real" debt like credit card debt.

I made the mistake of purchasing a brand-new Honda S2000 when I got out of college. It was fun, but boy, I ended up wishing that I had just bought a used Civic instead.

- Warren

I also agree.

Good thing I convinced a recent graduate to buy a used car over a new car. She's saving atleast $10000. She thinks it was the best thing to do too.

Also, sometimes trying to live without a car for only 6 months saves you lots of money and puts you ahead.
 
  • #29
Greg Bernhardt said:
How does that help? Portable and furnaces both use electricity or gas, in the end it all comes from the utility company.
If the cost for electricty is less than for gas or oil (it is much cheaper where I live), he could save a lot by going electric. Also, it would allow heating each room depending on it's use, which could also help cut down.
 
  • #30
I have not lived paycheck to paycheck since I started living on my own. Instead, I lived within my means and set aside at least a little of every paycheck. When I met my wife, I had a used 350cc Yamaha, and when that crapped out, I bought a Honda 450 CL. I rode in the snow, rain, etc, and held full-time jobs in construction until I got the chance to go back to school for another semester to pick up some relevant job skills and bought a really beat-up car. My wife and I bought used vehicles, lived in clean but dumpy-looking and poorly-heated apartment buildings and worked our tails off until we could afford to buy a little piece of land and put a house trailer on it, and then we settled in and continued to save and save. If you spend less money than you earn, you will be able to save, and eventually, you will be able to invest in real estate (at least a starter home) in which you can establish and grow your equity. The interest on your primary residence is your best tax break if you are in the low-to-middle class. My wife and I leapfrogged through 4 more properties over the years, until now we have sold our most expensive property and have settled into a modest little 1-story log house and invested the excess.

Anybody with a regular income should establish a budget (NO credit cards) that allows them to live within their means. If this means driving a 4-5 year old car (or NO car if you have public transportation), doing without cable, cutting back on phone service, buck up and do it. Nobody is going to save money for you. Lots of people are willing to dump on the boomers, claiming that our SS burden will collapse the economy. That's a bunch of crap, and some incremental adjustments could easily make SS healthy, if our congressional representatives would grow a set. BTW, I have been paying into SS every year since I was 14 (maintaining a cemetery by myself at that age). I never spent those early paychecks, banking all of them so I might have a chance to go to college. When I got to college, I kept a little pool of cash around (several hundred dollars) and bought, repaired and re-sold guitars and amplifiers and worked weekends in my band playing frat parties and private parties. Every summer, I worked all the hours I could get at local wood-working mills to fatten up my savings. If I had gone to college on borrowed money, I would have been screwed for years. As it turned out, at the end of every year, after paying for tuition, books, rent, food, etc, I had more money than I'd had the previous year, and I still got to treat myself to the occasional pizzas and beers.
 
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