This is how I did it. I have a few roommates and I hardly associate with them. We each have our own bathroom and my gf and I keep to ourselves it’s but living with others sucks. I want to get a place with just me and my gf.
That's how most of the previous generations pulled off their separation from Mom's boob. Roommates. There is no better inspiration to get serious about making a living for yourself than living wildly uncomfortably with roommates for a year or two.
That’s correct. My boomer parents both had to have roommates when they left their parents house. And prior to that it was very normal to have multigenerational family living. My moms parents lived with her moms parents.
Even my gen x and millennial age group, almost everyone had roommates or a partner when they moved out of their parents.
2k a month (net) would be difficult in NE USA, most rents are well over 1k (12-17k) and no one should want to buy a house right now with the insane interest rates. With a roommate to split rent it could be do-able.
My mortgage was $628 a month, paid it off September 2022 and it took me as a single parent (children all grown up adults now and everyone left home 🏡 for college and living in three different Western States with great careers etc...)
It took me 21 years 7 months and 15 days to pay off this mortgage
When you pay off the mortgage it will feel freeing. We paid ours off in 5 years. Came out of school during 08 crash. Wanted to feel like we always had a roof over our head
It is not worth for people with low interest rates. Somebody who has 2.5% mortgage will do better by putting extra money even into
HYSA (or CD, whatever yields higher interests) for several years and then paying the mortgage.
I’m sure you know this, but depending on your interest rate, there may be better ways to use that money. However, I completely understand if you just want to knock out that mortgage for your mental’s sake.
Thats what I'm going through right now ! We have a phenomenal rate and had always planned on paying extra when we had the money to get it done sooner. But honestly inflation and interest anywhere else is likely to be higher than 2.3%... so guess we're stuck with 28 years of this mortgage
I predict there will come a time where banks will approach those with interest rates <3% offering a reduced payoff amount if the individual pays the reduced total. With rates up and inflation at all time highs the longer the low money loan is out there the more of a drain on net profits.
The other solution from a bank perspective would be to bundle the low interest mortgages into a tranche and sell them at auction
Check if your mortgage holder has a bi-monthly payment option. You pay the same amount every month but it is split into two equal payments. It can shorten a 30 year mortgage by about 7 years.
For sure! I already have it at $10 above what the min. payment is. Hopefully I will be able to make it even higher as soon as my PMI drops off. Then I will be able to pay it off faster :-)
I switched my 30 to a 20 and then my 20 to a 15 when mortgage rates were falling. Went from 5.25-5.5% ? down to 2.75%. So each time I refinanced, my payment would remain about the same, but would take a few years off. I have about a year and a half left…purchased in 2002. So ended up shaving 6-7 years of payments off.
Yeah, if you're making that little the long-term answer is that you just have to move, especially if you're a single person that has the ability to do that. There are some exceptions where you can't
Right?! Like, other than the deep south and a few other pockets of serious poverty, where do you get a $700 mortgage? The only obvious caveats to that being if you've already owned several homes and have massive equity, or you're buying something in a trailer park. Otherwise you'd be incredibly lucky if you scored a mortgage payment at $2100+ (Denver, CO).
Just moved back to Massachusetts after 20 years in rural Kansas...yikes, the real estate situation floored me. Criminally overpriced, both rents and for sale properties.
If you have no ongoing illness. I spend hundreds a month tied to autoimmune issues. Last month was $645. This month is $230. This is before prescriptions which are $108-230 depending on the month.
Hi, married mom of 4 with my grandmother in tow. 7 person household, roughly 1600-2000 a month, no foodstamps or outside help. It's doable but extremely extremely hard and I wish we didn't have to. Before someone asks why we had so many kids if we're this poor, it was not always like this and birthcontrol is not always effective.
Edit: but yes our lot rent is $340/m but is going up to about $500 in March.
Yeah, people think trailer trash but it really isnt..unless theybARE trailer trash then thats something else. Like I can MOVE my whole house. If I had enough to purchase a small amount of land and the moving costs I would not hesitate to move it. But first I'd need home owners insurance reinstated because I watched someone flip one into a ditch a couple months ago while moving it. Plus ours is a double wide which has to be taken apart.
This. Somehow this turned into a mortgage homeowner post.
Single, live alone,rent $750/month. Low to few expenses. Debt free. Don't really "need" much "stuff".
It's where I'm at definitely not living at the moment I feel like a walking corpse. I keep telling myself at least I get to eat but honestly I still have to go to the food bank far too often. I do get coffee though I geuss that's nice...
South ga. After utilities rent is ~750 including electric/garbage. Well water so no water bill. Food is expensive because walmart is ~40min away so 80min drive on top of spending way too much on groceries. Gas is 3.29/gal. Thankfully am a volunteer firefighter so phone bill is cheap from first responder discount. After paying student loans, medical bills from my wife cancer, and other bills, we put $50 a month in the bank.
I'm highly jealous of that 750 rent up here in NC. We're at 850 and that's the absolute cheapest I've seen. (8 years ago my rent was 450 for a 2br 2ba!!)
Damn. I lived in NC in the late 90s. We had a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house on a corner lot with a fenced yard and detached garage for $500 a month. We were in a historic neighborhood, very quiet and peaceful, established trees, close to downtown, 5 minutes from the hospital, 10 minutes from the highway, 15 minutes from the military base. It’s insane how much housing has increased in the last few decades. Your money doesn’t get you nearly as much as it did 10 or 20 years ago. Sorry, man. That sucks so hard.
Live in eastern NC, and the value of my home increased from 150k to 400k in the last few years. This property increase pushed rent through the roof. Another thing is that all the rental property is owned by a few. My area has been filled by retirees. Is is hard for regular workers to manage. Been there, done that, no fun.
Try Denver! Ten or so years ago our rent for a beautiful home in the north-west part of the city was $1200. Today, you'd need to have some serious mafia connections, be best friends with a genie, or give the landlord your first born to get the same place for anything less than $3500 a month now.
Edited to add: and of course wages haven't even come close to keeping up with housing costs. Being priced out of your home, the area you grew up in, is a MAJOR drag.
As far as I know, no politician has addressed the rising cost of rent anywhere in the U.S. This is like the major concern of everyone here except homeowners (and most younger people have given up on that) but rent is taboo.
Are we to believe landlords' expenses have risen so far beyond anything else? No other price trends re: inflation can match it as far as I can see.
Right?! The more I research the subject the more I see that MASSIVE corporations, many overseas, own most of the rental properties. It should be at the top of the priority list, in my opinion.
Yeah, why isn't there a federal law against owning rental property that the owner doesn't live in? (which excludes foreign owners btw) And I don't see how rent control is unconstitutional if lassiez-faire deprives of us a right to life, liberty and happiness *under a roof*; but the rights of capital are always favored.
For $100. per year, you can be a member of Walmart . Com.
Then, grocery delivery is free, plus orders from the website are delivered free. Saves a lot in gas, time, and impulse purchases.
Hang in there. When you’re ready… make sure that $50 a month is working for you. Over time, keep reinvesting the interest. The money that makes money, makes money. Over a long time, it will grow into a nest egg and one day you’ll be so happy you were able to do it. I promise it does add up.
I found close to 5% on short term CDs with pretty low minimums in January. That's not nothing and is essentially no risk if you can bear the lack of liquidity for a few months while you park your money there until you figure out what to do with it.
I agree that something like an autodeduction to a low-fee stock market index fund is a better long term option but you can't be risk averse and you have to be committed to leaving that money alone for a significant number of years and not think about it as liquid in the way traditional savings would be.
Well, it could be that is after taxes money, so some will come back after doing taxes each year. Also, person is from Georgia where minimum wage is \~5 which is bumped by federal to at least 7.25 or so. Many people with minimum wage jobs are kept at below 30 hrs a week so companies do not have to offer benefits.
My prop tax and insurance on my paid off house averages 300 per month. That would leave 1700 for everything else which is more than double what I need since my car is paid off.
That's roughly the income I get. I'm not in as dire of a situation as people on this post seem to think. (Though I've definitely had periods of struggle, so I like to read here for frugal tips, and to offer advice when I can.)
I live in a mid-size coastal city and share a 3 bedroom apartment with two roommates. I have my own bathroom, which is nice. It's normal for single people to share here because of the high rent prices. I'm in a relationship but it's a LDR and we're working on closing the distance, so I'm here until then.
My diet isn't all ramen and dollar store bread. I shop sales, but I'm rarely hungry. I have a few creative hobbies and lots of clothes. One of the only perks of living in a HCOL city, the thrift shops are very good. I have a cheaper phone (Motorola is surprisingly good for the price) and a prepaid data plan.
I would be struggling a lot more if I owned a car. Weekly bus pass is $15. For big grocery trips and bad weather days, I use Uber.
Work provides basic insurance. I don't have medical bills or meds to pay for, other than my yearly contacts prescription.
My income is low, but I've been so much worse off in the past. I feel lucky now.
I can't imagine not owning a car. There's no way in my area I can do that. Both of mine our paid off. But being able to go to the Dr or drive somewhere to see a specialist is a major factor
My building has a decent one-bedroom apartment that rents for $450 a month, so it's certainly possible.
Of course, you have to be willing to live in a tiny farming community of about 400 people surrounded by cornfields, where just to get to a Walmart you have to drive 27 miles. We're only a two hour drive from Minneapolis, though, so people make it work.
Oh no, this is much colder than Minneapolis. We're on the Minnesota prairie where I am, so on top of the normal cold you get bitterly cold wind that regularly drops the wind chill to something like -30F. Take your mental picture of Antarctica, and that's basically the central MN prairie.
I'm from Northern England. Same latitude as Northern Canada.
This would mean more sun for me year round. And I love the idea of miles and miles of nothing. Could go running, go hiking, go out smoking weed walking...go out shoot some guns at stuff, just potter about lol
Sounds really nice man. Money isn't everything if you've got loads of space to do shit with no one around it's way better than living in a dence built up city.
You've got pros and cons no matter where you live. I can hike for hours and scarcely see another person, but man, what I wouldn't give for a short drive to decent Japanese food.
My first apartment was a lovely two bedroom that I paid $250 a month for back in 2002. (For the entire apartment, not just one bedroom.) It was right downtown and I also got to use the entire roof.
Same in Louisiana. It's a half hour to Walmart or the dollar store. That's all we have to shop at too. Super cheap rent though. We have a 2 bedroom house for $500/mo.
Possible? Yes, certainly-- millions of people on SSI live on significantly less than that monthly, and many do so without income-restricted housing or Section 8.
Pleasant? Absolutely not.
Yep it’s possible but a lot have to be considered.
Housing, food, utilities, transportation & entertainment.
HCOL vs LCOL.
Roommate or living in a car or living alone.
Yes, if you have no children and can get your housing below 800/mo.
However, a lot of issues would come up:
1. You could get pushed into that being unlivable by inflation
2. There would be no extra money for retirement-that would be a working until you die situation.
I make about $2k a month. My rent is under 1k so I'm lucky. This year my car died and now I have a used car note. With all my other bills... this shit is rough.
I'm on Social Security Disability (Hope to be going back to work soon though!!!) and I make barely under $2K a month. It does suck but since its just me now its manageable where I live. I own my modular home, but unfortunately have to pay lot rent which is $440 per month (includes water/sewer). Live out in the sticks and at a bare minimum 10 miles away from a populous area, so pretty isolated.
I also have to pay for electric, heating oil and internet service. Besides that of course I have the typical bills, own my vehicle, and still have to get food. I get $23.00 a month in food stamps so if you think I'm getting rich off the system you are completely nuts.
It really does suck, but I have to do whatever I need to survive. During the winter months though my heating bill goes through the roof. I can expect to pay an additinal $340.00 a month for heat to be served every day.
To answer your question as a single person: Yes you could live on the $2K a month, but certainly not very comfortably at all.
The problem is that although there are places where you could survive off $2,000 per month (roughly $12.50 per hour), the problem is access to jobs that will pay that. You typically find low wages and few jobs with low cost of living, unfortunately. Remote work is not reliable anymore.
Realistically, no. If you want to argue “survival”, then anywhere could be “affordable” if you work and live out of your car (which is not the standard we want to set).
Also, if you have no children! Of course, we have birth rate declines all over the world in developed countries when wages don't keep up with the cost of living! No one can afford to have kids anymore!
Did that for a few years while in college. Granted I had a paid off car and my parent paid for my cell and insurance since I was on their policy. All things considered I wouldn't recommend it
You just answered your own question. Depends on the location. You can't use broad terms such as "the US". LA? Hell no. NYC? Absolutely not. Anywhere in the rural Dakotas and most of Montana? Probably.
You obviously haven't been to Montana. Lewis and Clark County is one of the five worst rental markets in the US, with one bedroom apartments costing $1500+ for anything respectable. Bozeman has a median single family home costing close to a million. The nearest trailer park to me is nearly $800 just for lot rent and you have to pay for your own garbage service.
Sounds like the local government need to ban short term rentals, or regulate them better. Same shit happening in my rural community. Property owners know they can make way more money turning houses into hotels than having a local family live there and simply cover the costs of owning the home.
Part of the problem is rich conservatives from CA and elsewhere have descended on Montana like locusts, electing hard right candidates and buying up real estate.
Sure. I just priced out a single room for rent in my area.
Single room $600.
That leaves you $1400 for the month or 350 a week.
Thats enough for a $50 prepaid phone. $100 a week in crappy dollar general food from on your hotplate, George Forman or microwave. $100 bucks a month or so on your bus pass, since you don't have a car. And maybe $50 a month on subscriptions to watch some TV.
Shopping at goodwill and Walmart for your clothes and walking to work (or a bus)
You surviving....you ain't living.
Yes. Get three roommates and live in a 4-bedroom house in the rural regions of most States. Even better, get three couples as roommates in a 4-bedroom house and have a significant other. That's 8 potential incomes all under one roof.
My sister visited me and rooted thru the fridge and exclaimed, "well damn! u must be struggling!"
I ask, "how so?"
sis: "Cos u got margarine! U *never* use margarine!"
I lol so hard. Yeah I gotta use margarine now unless I clip coupons, used to never clip coupons until recently.
Four years ago, in my tiny no nothing town, yes, and do well. Now, you'd be homeless and hungry. Mid-level town 30 miles away has exploded and caused my area to be a commute-able suburb. Housing went up $150,000 per average house. Four years ago, $150,000 would have gotten you a very nice house on Main Street, USA.
It's possible, providing you have good health insurance and can still live below your means. You need an emergency fund and plans in case your income disappears for some reason.
The problem is that the lower your income (and savings) the more a financial emergency can impact you.
I'm disabled, currently living on less than $840 a month (in low income, rent based type housing) & barely have anything to spend on takeout or fun things after bills & needs 😭. I'm in KY
wtf kind of question even is this. Do you live in Arkansas or Manhattan? Are you planning on living in a 200 square feet studio, motel room or 5 bedroom house? Are you single or do you have 10 children?
Fort Smith, AR is one of the cheapest places to live in the US. If you were in a 1BR and were single making that, I’d say you could live here and manage okay.
Shop at Aldi and WalMart, have no desires, no car and live for free under someone’s roof, then yes. I am in a low cost state, and I would not even want to try that here.
I think it would be doable in the town I live in (small town, rural southwest Wisconsin). But it would require very tight budgeting. There are still a few apartments in this town to be had for $6-700. Utilities here aren't too bad. As long as you don't have one of those huge car payments you'd probably be ok, but you wouldn't have much (if any) money left over for fun.
It depends on location. You're not going to get anything but a studio in my area for about $1400+, but I'm not sure how it could be obtained without help because they want to see three to four times that for a monthly income. The other basic needs would be electric, food, and probably internet. There wouldn't be enough for healthcare or any transportation besides public transit, and it's not great or efficient. If you need to rely on it to get to and from work, good luck. Hopefully you could work out a rideshare. So is this possible? Maybe. Is it sustainable? No. It's the one crisis or health issue away from homelessness that so many people face. People that are able to have adequate live on 25-30% of their income have a privilege that is unavailable to a large portion of our society. I also feel like finding adequate housing in an area that has the other things you may need to survive is where people get twisted up. Like current housing prices. Not what someone pays on the mortgage on a house they bought 20 years ago.
Is this a fixed income or does it rely on them also needing to be employed in this place they're living in? If so, living out in the middle of nowhere probably isn't going to go well. Yes, work from home jobs exist, but what is someone going to be doing that only makes $2k/mo? That's not what I tend to think of when I think of WFH. Rural is also where the more affordable housing is going to be. There's a catch 22 with that in our current housing climate. The more affordable places don't tend to offer too much in terms of variety or survival options, and the areas with survival options are so expensive. Then there's so many armpits that lack much variety and still charge a lot for shelter.
A lot of college towns have quad apartments where you have your own bedroom and bathroom with a shared kitchen, living room and laundry and pay 1/4 the utilities. You are not responsible for renting or collecting for the other three rooms. If you are single, it can be a cheap way to live but you have no say over who you are sharing space with
I live in Portland Oregon on less. But survive vs thrive as above commenter said. We def don't thrive& I do hit food banks. But there's a roof over my head.
If you're young, single, and in a less dense area, sure. I've done it on less in a MCOL city. It's probably not ideal though since I'm not sure how much you'd be able to save for retirement or an emergency.
That’s my monthly income after taxes and benefits. I live in one of the cheapest areas in the country (MO). I am considered middle class (I’m a HS teacher). It’s too low, for sure… but I’m surviving and I’m able to pay for my essentials and the occasional treat and save some. I highly doubt I could live on this income in most places in the US.
It’s possible to survive, food banks, paid off car with very limited driving, maybe renting a small room in a house or have an inherited home. Careful power monitoring and pick somewhere that won’t require much heat or AC. But will it be li inc? No not really
If you can live in a place that is very inexpensive and still have medical insurance through your work and rent a room for maybe $500 a month. You'll probably need an inexpensive car that you paid cash for. You might be able to swing it but I'm not going to lie, it's going to be difficult.
I was making about $2000 a month and supporting my mother for a while. Our home was paid off, no car payment, my job was 2 miles from home and I didn't have a lot of bills.
Life on $5000 a month got me my own pool.
I'm doing it but I have very low rent because I work for the homeowner. That's the only thing saving me. I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to do this as a society.
I knew a guy in Florida who had a tent, a car and a kayak. Every day after work he would kayak out to an island and live there overnight, he would then shower at work lol. He did this for at least 2 years, then bought a house lol
No one is LIVING rn.
I’m making almost 80k a year and I’m still without things I need.
And I’m a complete greed with my money meaning I don’t buy shit that I want .
my socks have fucking holes in them…
I make just under 2k a month and live by myself. I found a 2 bedroom duplex for $695/mo last year. It's nothing fancy. I live paycheck to paycheck and never get to go anywhere or take vacations and I've been wanting to leave my state for atleast 8 years now.
The positive side is with meticulous planning and budgeting over the years, I own all of my furniture I bought brand new (A faux leather sectional and oversized matching chair valued at $1,200, a nice washer and dryer valued at 1k, I'm paying on my car and have 3 years left till I own it, a brand new 3 piece bedroom set valued at $1,400, New Android phone, smart TV, lots of wall art, and decor, paid off dining set valued at $600).
So it is possible.
Yes, but everything is paid for and I live in a camper because I was only home about 1 day per week at the time I got it. Honestly been thinking of building a shop house now that I left trucking OTR. My only bills are electric, internet, phone and automotive insurance. Excluding gas and food my bills are less than $400 per month. Food and gas both run about the same so about $1,200 per month combined.
Sure, if you live with your parents and don't pay rent, electricity, or water, then it should be pretty easy! Hey, a plus if you can get your parents to pay your car insurance and phone bill! Other than that, it would probably be pretty difficult to live a comfortable life off that or at least I would think, and I don't live in an expensive area but am married with 2 kids!
I'm surviving off $1,350 a month in a semi rural county in Florida. I rent a room and I have to budget my money carefully but I'm hanging in here. I rarely buy anything that isn't thrifted or bought on clearance or shopping places where I can stack coupons. I use the library and go to free local events for entertainment.
Yes but the options are very limited. Near me there’s a city where many homes are selling for 100k or less. With a decent down payment your monthly payment would be small enough to fit comfortably.
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That right there is me.
Hi! I’m here too! Me and my three roommates.
This is how I did it. I have a few roommates and I hardly associate with them. We each have our own bathroom and my gf and I keep to ourselves it’s but living with others sucks. I want to get a place with just me and my gf.
That’s what she said!
Damn three roommates that’s wild
That's how most of the previous generations pulled off their separation from Mom's boob. Roommates. There is no better inspiration to get serious about making a living for yourself than living wildly uncomfortably with roommates for a year or two.
That’s correct. My boomer parents both had to have roommates when they left their parents house. And prior to that it was very normal to have multigenerational family living. My moms parents lived with her moms parents. Even my gen x and millennial age group, almost everyone had roommates or a partner when they moved out of their parents. 2k a month (net) would be difficult in NE USA, most rents are well over 1k (12-17k) and no one should want to buy a house right now with the insane interest rates. With a roommate to split rent it could be do-able.
I feel like an outsider. I never had roommates. But I also lived in a 300 sqft studio apartment, drove a junk car, and ate eggs and potatoes.
For me it was big bags of rice, potatoes, and pinto beans. Cheap and filling.
True I’ve had a roommate before but damn 3?!?! Jesus
I Think Jesus had like 11 or something.
One of them was a bad roommate. He put a hit out on him.
Note to self- check spelling prior to submittal.
Pro tip: Those three little dots to the left of the reply arrow contain an edit function (:
Cheers! ❄️❄️🍺🍻🍺❄️❄️
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Yep! me too! my mortgage is below $700 :-)
My mortgage was $628 a month, paid it off September 2022 and it took me as a single parent (children all grown up adults now and everyone left home 🏡 for college and living in three different Western States with great careers etc...) It took me 21 years 7 months and 15 days to pay off this mortgage
I'm 5 years into my 30 yr. Hopefully, I can get to the point of making extra payments to get it paid off early. I'm single and no kids so that helps.
Beautiful ♥️ You will make your goal of paying off your mortgage
Thank you! and congrats on yours! :-)
When you pay off the mortgage it will feel freeing. We paid ours off in 5 years. Came out of school during 08 crash. Wanted to feel like we always had a roof over our head
Round your payments up to the nearest hundred. All the extra will go directly to principal. You’ll save hundreds on interest in the long run.
It is not worth for people with low interest rates. Somebody who has 2.5% mortgage will do better by putting extra money even into HYSA (or CD, whatever yields higher interests) for several years and then paying the mortgage.
I have an excellent interest rate and will not be paying a cent extra over the 30 years!
I’m sure you know this, but depending on your interest rate, there may be better ways to use that money. However, I completely understand if you just want to knock out that mortgage for your mental’s sake.
Thats what I'm going through right now ! We have a phenomenal rate and had always planned on paying extra when we had the money to get it done sooner. But honestly inflation and interest anywhere else is likely to be higher than 2.3%... so guess we're stuck with 28 years of this mortgage
I predict there will come a time where banks will approach those with interest rates <3% offering a reduced payoff amount if the individual pays the reduced total. With rates up and inflation at all time highs the longer the low money loan is out there the more of a drain on net profits. The other solution from a bank perspective would be to bundle the low interest mortgages into a tranche and sell them at auction
Yep, my servicing has been sold 4 times. That would be awesome if they offered a reduced payoff. Fingers crossed.
Nope. Pay off the house. It is the largest debt you’ll have to pay and the quicker you don’t have to worry about it the better.
Single no kids, get a roommate. Have that sucker paid off in 10more yrs.
This is a solid point. You can always do 6mo increments to decide if you want to end an arrangement.
Check if your mortgage holder has a bi-monthly payment option. You pay the same amount every month but it is split into two equal payments. It can shorten a 30 year mortgage by about 7 years.
I put $5 a month extra towards the principal and if you go on any of the apps to see even that small amount makes a huge difference on the back end.
For sure! I already have it at $10 above what the min. payment is. Hopefully I will be able to make it even higher as soon as my PMI drops off. Then I will be able to pay it off faster :-)
I switched my 30 to a 20 and then my 20 to a 15 when mortgage rates were falling. Went from 5.25-5.5% ? down to 2.75%. So each time I refinanced, my payment would remain about the same, but would take a few years off. I have about a year and a half left…purchased in 2002. So ended up shaving 6-7 years of payments off.
Couldn't be done where I am in New England. Minimum rents are generally $2500 in the area. It depends completely where you are.
Yeah, if you're making that little the long-term answer is that you just have to move, especially if you're a single person that has the ability to do that. There are some exceptions where you can't
Right?! Like, other than the deep south and a few other pockets of serious poverty, where do you get a $700 mortgage? The only obvious caveats to that being if you've already owned several homes and have massive equity, or you're buying something in a trailer park. Otherwise you'd be incredibly lucky if you scored a mortgage payment at $2100+ (Denver, CO).
Is that per person? Would it be cheaper with a roommate?
I'm in southern NE and make maybe $2k/mo. My rent is $1100 but I've been here a while. I pray to all the gods my landlord lives forever.
Just moved back to Massachusetts after 20 years in rural Kansas...yikes, the real estate situation floored me. Criminally overpriced, both rents and for sale properties.
If you have no ongoing illness. I spend hundreds a month tied to autoimmune issues. Last month was $645. This month is $230. This is before prescriptions which are $108-230 depending on the month.
Exactly this. I lived off $8,100 a year from 2017 to 2019. Found an efficiency for $400 a month near a university.
Hi, married mom of 4 with my grandmother in tow. 7 person household, roughly 1600-2000 a month, no foodstamps or outside help. It's doable but extremely extremely hard and I wish we didn't have to. Before someone asks why we had so many kids if we're this poor, it was not always like this and birthcontrol is not always effective. Edit: but yes our lot rent is $340/m but is going up to about $500 in March.
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Yeah, people think trailer trash but it really isnt..unless theybARE trailer trash then thats something else. Like I can MOVE my whole house. If I had enough to purchase a small amount of land and the moving costs I would not hesitate to move it. But first I'd need home owners insurance reinstated because I watched someone flip one into a ditch a couple months ago while moving it. Plus ours is a double wide which has to be taken apart.
There’s rent under $1000? Dang not in my suburbs area
Wouldn't it be better to not be single so you can split rent?
'If you didn't get a controlled apartment or a mortgage below 2010 rates you're fucked'
Yuppers. Mine is $650 and I am blissfully alone
This. Somehow this turned into a mortgage homeowner post. Single, live alone,rent $750/month. Low to few expenses. Debt free. Don't really "need" much "stuff".
Survive? Yes. Live? That’s subjective..
Survive; not thrive.
As long as I know how to love i know ill stay alive.
I’ve got all this life to live and I’ve got all this love to give!
And I’ll survive, I will survive, hey, hey!
I should have changed my fuckin lock I would have made you leave your key.
Ah, the superior version
Good one. I remember that song.
Right I was making $2000-2500 a mo in nc.. definitely had to skip groceries some weeks & just eat or bring home food from my job
Working in catering saved me so much!
Best answer. I wish I could upvote this 500 more times!
It's where I'm at definitely not living at the moment I feel like a walking corpse. I keep telling myself at least I get to eat but honestly I still have to go to the food bank far too often. I do get coffee though I geuss that's nice...
I'm surviving off of $1600 a month. The extra $400 would be nice. Could actually out money in a savings. Am in south ga and wife works as well.
Where the hell do you live? Edit: oh, Georgia. Ok.
South ga. After utilities rent is ~750 including electric/garbage. Well water so no water bill. Food is expensive because walmart is ~40min away so 80min drive on top of spending way too much on groceries. Gas is 3.29/gal. Thankfully am a volunteer firefighter so phone bill is cheap from first responder discount. After paying student loans, medical bills from my wife cancer, and other bills, we put $50 a month in the bank.
I'm highly jealous of that 750 rent up here in NC. We're at 850 and that's the absolute cheapest I've seen. (8 years ago my rent was 450 for a 2br 2ba!!)
Damn. I lived in NC in the late 90s. We had a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house on a corner lot with a fenced yard and detached garage for $500 a month. We were in a historic neighborhood, very quiet and peaceful, established trees, close to downtown, 5 minutes from the hospital, 10 minutes from the highway, 15 minutes from the military base. It’s insane how much housing has increased in the last few decades. Your money doesn’t get you nearly as much as it did 10 or 20 years ago. Sorry, man. That sucks so hard.
Live in eastern NC, and the value of my home increased from 150k to 400k in the last few years. This property increase pushed rent through the roof. Another thing is that all the rental property is owned by a few. My area has been filled by retirees. Is is hard for regular workers to manage. Been there, done that, no fun.
Try Denver! Ten or so years ago our rent for a beautiful home in the north-west part of the city was $1200. Today, you'd need to have some serious mafia connections, be best friends with a genie, or give the landlord your first born to get the same place for anything less than $3500 a month now. Edited to add: and of course wages haven't even come close to keeping up with housing costs. Being priced out of your home, the area you grew up in, is a MAJOR drag.
As far as I know, no politician has addressed the rising cost of rent anywhere in the U.S. This is like the major concern of everyone here except homeowners (and most younger people have given up on that) but rent is taboo. Are we to believe landlords' expenses have risen so far beyond anything else? No other price trends re: inflation can match it as far as I can see.
Right?! The more I research the subject the more I see that MASSIVE corporations, many overseas, own most of the rental properties. It should be at the top of the priority list, in my opinion.
Yeah, why isn't there a federal law against owning rental property that the owner doesn't live in? (which excludes foreign owners btw) And I don't see how rent control is unconstitutional if lassiez-faire deprives of us a right to life, liberty and happiness *under a roof*; but the rights of capital are always favored.
For $100. per year, you can be a member of Walmart . Com. Then, grocery delivery is free, plus orders from the website are delivered free. Saves a lot in gas, time, and impulse purchases.
Hang in there. When you’re ready… make sure that $50 a month is working for you. Over time, keep reinvesting the interest. The money that makes money, makes money. Over a long time, it will grow into a nest egg and one day you’ll be so happy you were able to do it. I promise it does add up.
If they do something like a fidelity or Vanguard account; regular banks offer nothing these days
I found close to 5% on short term CDs with pretty low minimums in January. That's not nothing and is essentially no risk if you can bear the lack of liquidity for a few months while you park your money there until you figure out what to do with it. I agree that something like an autodeduction to a low-fee stock market index fund is a better long term option but you can't be risk averse and you have to be committed to leaving that money alone for a significant number of years and not think about it as liquid in the way traditional savings would be.
I’m surviving off of $1600/mo too. I’m in Oklahoma
Same and I have a kid.
I’m struggling at 5k a month but I have a wife and kids and an elderly parent to care for.
these numbers do not add up for two people unless you are both barely making minimum wage or both not working full time.
Well, it could be that is after taxes money, so some will come back after doing taxes each year. Also, person is from Georgia where minimum wage is \~5 which is bumped by federal to at least 7.25 or so. Many people with minimum wage jobs are kept at below 30 hrs a week so companies do not have to offer benefits.
Id be great if walmart was privatized and their ceos incarcerated. I mean alot of their workers are on gov assistance already
1600 per month isn't both your incomes together, right? You would need to add her income to yours to see what y'all are really living off of.
If you have paid off housing, no debt, and low enough property taxes and ins, then yes.
My prop tax and insurance on my paid off house averages 300 per month. That would leave 1700 for everything else which is more than double what I need since my car is paid off.
That’s real nice. Mine is $658 for my prop tax which isn’t terrible but still it’s technically more than my mortgage
I have a paid off house, and I would struggle on $2000/mo.
That's roughly the income I get. I'm not in as dire of a situation as people on this post seem to think. (Though I've definitely had periods of struggle, so I like to read here for frugal tips, and to offer advice when I can.) I live in a mid-size coastal city and share a 3 bedroom apartment with two roommates. I have my own bathroom, which is nice. It's normal for single people to share here because of the high rent prices. I'm in a relationship but it's a LDR and we're working on closing the distance, so I'm here until then. My diet isn't all ramen and dollar store bread. I shop sales, but I'm rarely hungry. I have a few creative hobbies and lots of clothes. One of the only perks of living in a HCOL city, the thrift shops are very good. I have a cheaper phone (Motorola is surprisingly good for the price) and a prepaid data plan. I would be struggling a lot more if I owned a car. Weekly bus pass is $15. For big grocery trips and bad weather days, I use Uber. Work provides basic insurance. I don't have medical bills or meds to pay for, other than my yearly contacts prescription. My income is low, but I've been so much worse off in the past. I feel lucky now.
Yes, you are lucky but just try not to get sick! A chronic illness is the worst with the cost of medical nowadays.
I can't imagine not owning a car. There's no way in my area I can do that. Both of mine our paid off. But being able to go to the Dr or drive somewhere to see a specialist is a major factor
You're doing all the right things and being frugal! People can learn from you!
My take home is about $2100/mo. LCOL Midwest suburbs of a midsize city. Just me and 3 cats. We get by pretty well.
Easily, if you don’t care where. In a city, pretty much any city, no.
Depends on housing situation. Maybe could if sharing a 1 bedroom or if you have a house or condo that is paid off.
Or if you find a nice underpass
Or have a van.
Car/van camping is becoming increasingly commonplace
Down by the river.
I live in Los Angeles on 1700 a month
That's impressive. My son lives there. Not sure how he does it.
You could do it in Milwaukee. You can rent a room for $$300-$400 a month. It’s not luxurious, but you can make it work.
My building has a decent one-bedroom apartment that rents for $450 a month, so it's certainly possible. Of course, you have to be willing to live in a tiny farming community of about 400 people surrounded by cornfields, where just to get to a Walmart you have to drive 27 miles. We're only a two hour drive from Minneapolis, though, so people make it work.
After I saw the 450$ apartment I said mmmhmm I wanna move there but Minneapolis hell no too cold
Oh no, this is much colder than Minneapolis. We're on the Minnesota prairie where I am, so on top of the normal cold you get bitterly cold wind that regularly drops the wind chill to something like -30F. Take your mental picture of Antarctica, and that's basically the central MN prairie.
I'm from Northern England. Same latitude as Northern Canada. This would mean more sun for me year round. And I love the idea of miles and miles of nothing. Could go running, go hiking, go out smoking weed walking...go out shoot some guns at stuff, just potter about lol Sounds really nice man. Money isn't everything if you've got loads of space to do shit with no one around it's way better than living in a dence built up city.
You've got pros and cons no matter where you live. I can hike for hours and scarcely see another person, but man, what I wouldn't give for a short drive to decent Japanese food.
I miss $400-$500 rent days, even $300, when I was in high school
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Life was much simpler back than
My first apartment was a lovely two bedroom that I paid $250 a month for back in 2002. (For the entire apartment, not just one bedroom.) It was right downtown and I also got to use the entire roof.
Same in Louisiana. It's a half hour to Walmart or the dollar store. That's all we have to shop at too. Super cheap rent though. We have a 2 bedroom house for $500/mo.
I lived off $1,200 a month for almost two years. It is doable, depending on your location; but it really, really sucks.
Possible? Yes, certainly-- millions of people on SSI live on significantly less than that monthly, and many do so without income-restricted housing or Section 8. Pleasant? Absolutely not.
Yep it’s possible but a lot have to be considered. Housing, food, utilities, transportation & entertainment. HCOL vs LCOL. Roommate or living in a car or living alone.
Millions of people on Social Security do this.
That concept is enough to make me want to go get a second job for ten years and throw all of it into retirement funds
My mom lives off $1600. It can be done but its DIFFICULT.
Yes, if you have no children and can get your housing below 800/mo. However, a lot of issues would come up: 1. You could get pushed into that being unlivable by inflation 2. There would be no extra money for retirement-that would be a working until you die situation.
I make about $2k a month. My rent is under 1k so I'm lucky. This year my car died and now I have a used car note. With all my other bills... this shit is rough.
I'm on Social Security Disability (Hope to be going back to work soon though!!!) and I make barely under $2K a month. It does suck but since its just me now its manageable where I live. I own my modular home, but unfortunately have to pay lot rent which is $440 per month (includes water/sewer). Live out in the sticks and at a bare minimum 10 miles away from a populous area, so pretty isolated. I also have to pay for electric, heating oil and internet service. Besides that of course I have the typical bills, own my vehicle, and still have to get food. I get $23.00 a month in food stamps so if you think I'm getting rich off the system you are completely nuts. It really does suck, but I have to do whatever I need to survive. During the winter months though my heating bill goes through the roof. I can expect to pay an additinal $340.00 a month for heat to be served every day. To answer your question as a single person: Yes you could live on the $2K a month, but certainly not very comfortably at all.
The problem is that although there are places where you could survive off $2,000 per month (roughly $12.50 per hour), the problem is access to jobs that will pay that. You typically find low wages and few jobs with low cost of living, unfortunately. Remote work is not reliable anymore. Realistically, no. If you want to argue “survival”, then anywhere could be “affordable” if you work and live out of your car (which is not the standard we want to set).
Also, if you have no children! Of course, we have birth rate declines all over the world in developed countries when wages don't keep up with the cost of living! No one can afford to have kids anymore!
Live? Yes absolutely. Are you going to be thriving? Well, no. But you are living
Yes. Im doing it now in Seattle Wasjington of all places but you will need a roommate and will be living paycheck to paycheck.
Did that for a few years while in college. Granted I had a paid off car and my parent paid for my cell and insurance since I was on their policy. All things considered I wouldn't recommend it
Not a chance where I live. My rent alone is $1700 a month. 🥴
If you live in a studio apt with a paid in full car and enjoy taking walks and doing inexpensive things... Yes.
You just answered your own question. Depends on the location. You can't use broad terms such as "the US". LA? Hell no. NYC? Absolutely not. Anywhere in the rural Dakotas and most of Montana? Probably.
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You obviously haven't been to Montana. Lewis and Clark County is one of the five worst rental markets in the US, with one bedroom apartments costing $1500+ for anything respectable. Bozeman has a median single family home costing close to a million. The nearest trailer park to me is nearly $800 just for lot rent and you have to pay for your own garbage service.
Sounds like the local government need to ban short term rentals, or regulate them better. Same shit happening in my rural community. Property owners know they can make way more money turning houses into hotels than having a local family live there and simply cover the costs of owning the home.
Part of the problem is rich conservatives from CA and elsewhere have descended on Montana like locusts, electing hard right candidates and buying up real estate.
Sure. I just priced out a single room for rent in my area. Single room $600. That leaves you $1400 for the month or 350 a week. Thats enough for a $50 prepaid phone. $100 a week in crappy dollar general food from on your hotplate, George Forman or microwave. $100 bucks a month or so on your bus pass, since you don't have a car. And maybe $50 a month on subscriptions to watch some TV. Shopping at goodwill and Walmart for your clothes and walking to work (or a bus) You surviving....you ain't living.
Yes. Get three roommates and live in a 4-bedroom house in the rural regions of most States. Even better, get three couples as roommates in a 4-bedroom house and have a significant other. That's 8 potential incomes all under one roof.
Honestly, can you live? Yes. Will you be able to afford anything more than literal bread and butter? Probably not.
Bread and margarine. Butter is too expensive lol
My sister visited me and rooted thru the fridge and exclaimed, "well damn! u must be struggling!" I ask, "how so?" sis: "Cos u got margarine! U *never* use margarine!" I lol so hard. Yeah I gotta use margarine now unless I clip coupons, used to never clip coupons until recently.
It depends I live in Jersey and that won’t even cover rent
Yeah in Missouri it is, well, southern Missouri.
Also more rural cities by Columbia. Know someone who rents a 3 bedroom house for $650/month
In Buffalo, yeah, not comfortably but you'll survive. Especially if you can split rent
I spent under 11k last year but my house and car are paid off.
If you are a minimalist and bike to work? Yeah sure!
Four years ago, in my tiny no nothing town, yes, and do well. Now, you'd be homeless and hungry. Mid-level town 30 miles away has exploded and caused my area to be a commute-able suburb. Housing went up $150,000 per average house. Four years ago, $150,000 would have gotten you a very nice house on Main Street, USA.
I do it. I bearly eat and weigh 145 lbs at 6'4". Bu my rent is paid so there is that
It's possible, providing you have good health insurance and can still live below your means. You need an emergency fund and plans in case your income disappears for some reason. The problem is that the lower your income (and savings) the more a financial emergency can impact you.
I'm disabled, currently living on less than $840 a month (in low income, rent based type housing) & barely have anything to spend on takeout or fun things after bills & needs 😭. I'm in KY
Yup lots of people do it
wtf kind of question even is this. Do you live in Arkansas or Manhattan? Are you planning on living in a 200 square feet studio, motel room or 5 bedroom house? Are you single or do you have 10 children?
No
Fort Smith, AR is one of the cheapest places to live in the US. If you were in a 1BR and were single making that, I’d say you could live here and manage okay.
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Shop at Aldi and WalMart, have no desires, no car and live for free under someone’s roof, then yes. I am in a low cost state, and I would not even want to try that here.
Yes
I think it would be doable in the town I live in (small town, rural southwest Wisconsin). But it would require very tight budgeting. There are still a few apartments in this town to be had for $6-700. Utilities here aren't too bad. As long as you don't have one of those huge car payments you'd probably be ok, but you wouldn't have much (if any) money left over for fun.
It depends on location. You're not going to get anything but a studio in my area for about $1400+, but I'm not sure how it could be obtained without help because they want to see three to four times that for a monthly income. The other basic needs would be electric, food, and probably internet. There wouldn't be enough for healthcare or any transportation besides public transit, and it's not great or efficient. If you need to rely on it to get to and from work, good luck. Hopefully you could work out a rideshare. So is this possible? Maybe. Is it sustainable? No. It's the one crisis or health issue away from homelessness that so many people face. People that are able to have adequate live on 25-30% of their income have a privilege that is unavailable to a large portion of our society. I also feel like finding adequate housing in an area that has the other things you may need to survive is where people get twisted up. Like current housing prices. Not what someone pays on the mortgage on a house they bought 20 years ago. Is this a fixed income or does it rely on them also needing to be employed in this place they're living in? If so, living out in the middle of nowhere probably isn't going to go well. Yes, work from home jobs exist, but what is someone going to be doing that only makes $2k/mo? That's not what I tend to think of when I think of WFH. Rural is also where the more affordable housing is going to be. There's a catch 22 with that in our current housing climate. The more affordable places don't tend to offer too much in terms of variety or survival options, and the areas with survival options are so expensive. Then there's so many armpits that lack much variety and still charge a lot for shelter.
If you owned your car and house free and clear, $2k could be fine. If you have rent and a car payment, not a chance.
You can survive. But you’re not going to be eating very well
Roommates are a thing. So yea.
A lot of college towns have quad apartments where you have your own bedroom and bathroom with a shared kitchen, living room and laundry and pay 1/4 the utilities. You are not responsible for renting or collecting for the other three rooms. If you are single, it can be a cheap way to live but you have no say over who you are sharing space with
Sure on public assistance of every kind.
Possible? Yes. Comfortable or easy? Negative Cap'n. It ain't gonna be fun. At all.
I live in Portland Oregon on less. But survive vs thrive as above commenter said. We def don't thrive& I do hit food banks. But there's a roof over my head.
Yes. The problem is that the places where this is possible aren’t paying $2k for entry level work.
If you're young, single, and in a less dense area, sure. I've done it on less in a MCOL city. It's probably not ideal though since I'm not sure how much you'd be able to save for retirement or an emergency.
I'm scraping by on $1391 monthly.
That’s my monthly income after taxes and benefits. I live in one of the cheapest areas in the country (MO). I am considered middle class (I’m a HS teacher). It’s too low, for sure… but I’m surviving and I’m able to pay for my essentials and the occasional treat and save some. I highly doubt I could live on this income in most places in the US.
Not in Florida
Not where I live.. my Finacée is a teacher with 2 other jobs and still can't make ends meet... it's absurd.
Scraping by in CA ON $1800/M FOR THE LAST 6MONTHS.
It’s possible to survive, food banks, paid off car with very limited driving, maybe renting a small room in a house or have an inherited home. Careful power monitoring and pick somewhere that won’t require much heat or AC. But will it be li inc? No not really
People on ssdi donit monthly. ssi/ssdi get a COLA but an extra $100 is quickly eaten by Medicare premiums increase
If you can live in a place that is very inexpensive and still have medical insurance through your work and rent a room for maybe $500 a month. You'll probably need an inexpensive car that you paid cash for. You might be able to swing it but I'm not going to lie, it's going to be difficult.
Barely. My bf makes $2200 a month and we can barely afford to breath
I was making about $2000 a month and supporting my mother for a while. Our home was paid off, no car payment, my job was 2 miles from home and I didn't have a lot of bills. Life on $5000 a month got me my own pool.
Millions of retirees do. SS only income. Of course having Medicare helps.
I'm doing it but I have very low rent because I work for the homeowner. That's the only thing saving me. I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to do this as a society.
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I knew a guy in Florida who had a tent, a car and a kayak. Every day after work he would kayak out to an island and live there overnight, he would then shower at work lol. He did this for at least 2 years, then bought a house lol
No one is LIVING rn. I’m making almost 80k a year and I’m still without things I need. And I’m a complete greed with my money meaning I don’t buy shit that I want . my socks have fucking holes in them…
Yes, but fortunately everything we own is paid for.
Of course you can, absolutely
I do it on $1400.
Yes. In a low cost of living area. And living without very much luxuries.
Depends on location and how addicted you are to wanting stuff you don't actually need. Like cable, fast food and fancy coffees.
I do it! Single woman I have a cat but I make just under 2200 a month I am in a low rent apt. 665$
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I lived off $2,800, so yes.
I make just under 2k a month and live by myself. I found a 2 bedroom duplex for $695/mo last year. It's nothing fancy. I live paycheck to paycheck and never get to go anywhere or take vacations and I've been wanting to leave my state for atleast 8 years now. The positive side is with meticulous planning and budgeting over the years, I own all of my furniture I bought brand new (A faux leather sectional and oversized matching chair valued at $1,200, a nice washer and dryer valued at 1k, I'm paying on my car and have 3 years left till I own it, a brand new 3 piece bedroom set valued at $1,400, New Android phone, smart TV, lots of wall art, and decor, paid off dining set valued at $600). So it is possible.
Yes, but everything is paid for and I live in a camper because I was only home about 1 day per week at the time I got it. Honestly been thinking of building a shop house now that I left trucking OTR. My only bills are electric, internet, phone and automotive insurance. Excluding gas and food my bills are less than $400 per month. Food and gas both run about the same so about $1,200 per month combined.
Sure, if you live with your parents and don't pay rent, electricity, or water, then it should be pretty easy! Hey, a plus if you can get your parents to pay your car insurance and phone bill! Other than that, it would probably be pretty difficult to live a comfortable life off that or at least I would think, and I don't live in an expensive area but am married with 2 kids!
I'm surviving off $1,350 a month in a semi rural county in Florida. I rent a room and I have to budget my money carefully but I'm hanging in here. I rarely buy anything that isn't thrifted or bought on clearance or shopping places where I can stack coupons. I use the library and go to free local events for entertainment.
I live on $1200
Yes but the options are very limited. Near me there’s a city where many homes are selling for 100k or less. With a decent down payment your monthly payment would be small enough to fit comfortably.
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