Can you live on min wage ,even if you work 40 hours a week?

in my state, min wage is $6.50 hr X 40 hrs = $260 a week X 4 wks = $1040. Take out taxes then, = $990 (?) a month.

Rent is about $550, gas a month is about $35, food about $200 (shopping and groceries with coupons), electric about $40, phone $10, basic TV $12. That leaves me with $143 for clothes, bathroom and cleaning supplies, entertainment and medical copays.

Of course I can LIVE on $990 a month. But my apt has water leaks, toilet doesn't flush every time, I can only rent $1 movie once in while and can't go to the theater ever, I drive to work, store, church and parents, I haven't driven out of the city in 3 years, I had unforeseen health diagnoses and pay $25 a month in copays for meds, I get 1 bag of food once a month from Salvation Army, I have holes in my tennis shoes that I bought 4 years ago, etc. Yes I can live on this but I can't save any money from any of my checks, I have to use coupons and rebates all the time, I can't afford to have a $12 haircut so I cut my own hair, I just took two end tables from the dumpster area and nailed the leg back on it and cleaned them and covered them with kitchen towels for my lamps, I did splurge and bought a $1 double cheseburger at McDonald's today, the computer is have was given to me by different people (the monitor is Envision, the keyboard is Compaq, the PC is Gateway, no speakers, and the mouse is Hewlett Packard from Goodwill for $2). I go to the librar to use their computers because I can't afford much extra electricity.

So Yes, I can live on min wage, BUT IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are several points to consider:

1. is your paycheck supporting just you or are there family members/room mates and is your's the only source of income?

2. do you have pets?

3. what city are you living in and, thus, how much do your bills amount to?

4. do you have past debts that you're trying to pay on?

5. is your home decent or is it a slum; does it have decent insulation and air/heat?

6. do you have a car or are you relying on cabs, co-workers, neighbors, and/or public transportation? How far do you live from work?

7. If you're in college, and not living in a dorm, is your tuition being paid by student loans or do you have to make payments while in school? How far from school do you live?

8. Is that minimum wage for a waiter/waitress or minimum wage for other jobs? (Minimum wage for a waiter/waitress is 2.15+tips.)

The list could probably go on and on and on......

I completely agree and sympathize with Orchidmg. Girl, I'm with you. I lived a lot like that for about 2 years--old building with mostly drunks/druggies, 4-room apartment shared by 3, then 4, people, no heater/a.c., bad insulation, pointless lock on the front door, old & stained carpeting-1 color in one room & 1 in another-and if somewould was smoking in the hall, I could smell them in my apartment. The drunk in the apartment above mine passed out w/his stove on and started a fire. Later, he passed out w/the water running and almost flooded my bathroom. That list goes on and on too. I wish the best of luck to you and I will keep you in my prayers. Hopefully, soon, you'll be able to move up in life if you haven't already.

there are so many people living on min. wage that are homeless here in Washington state, your rent avg. is $700. your elect. bill is $150.00 cable w/ Internet $95.00 water bill $43.00 (apt here charge for water and sewage) phone bill $55.00 (if you call more than 10 miles away its long distance) 1 gal of milk is $4.50 a loaf of bread is $2.00, going to a movie is $9.50 if you get popcorn and a coke is $15.00 I can go on and on, I have a much different outlook on he homeless people, I worked two full time jobs for about ten years, thank god i found something I can live with, the answer is NO you can't live on min wage, not here! there are so many people that are fighting over a street corners w/signs asking for help, it is really really sad!!!!!

I was making about $800/month working full time for years. My rent was $830 (very cheap in NYC) I got a roommate to split the rent at $415 per person. Phone, electric and gas bills were approx. $60/month per person. Public transportation to work was $80 a month. That left me with about $60 a week for food or anything else I needed. I skipped meals. It wasn't always enough but I guess it covered the basics. Of course I never had any money to see a doctor or dentist since I didn't have insurance. I was severely depressed and needed meds but couldn't afford that either. I got stuck at that job for so long because I was too depressed to get another one. I made "too much" to qualify for Medicaid.

With Waiters an waitresses it is tricky. They will always get paid lower than minimum wage, around 2-3 dollars usually. They usually rely on tips more than a wage.

If you live with other people to split the cost of living. Or live in government housing and getting food stamps. Now days rent is mostly more than min wage.

I think you don't understand Economics.

Whether or not someone can afford the basics on minimum wage isn't the issue. It doesn't even matter what they MIGHT afford on a given wage until they actually have the job.

Look at the job of waitress. Whatever it is they are making, add a zero to the hourly rate. Will there be more, fewer, or the same number of waitress jobs? Who benefits when that happens? How much good does it do the ones that lost the minimum wage jobs to know that they now could afford better homes, cars, and food, if only they could have kept the jobs when that happened?

You want to help these minimum wage earners out? You don't do it by requiring that they be paid so much that their jobs cease to exist.

Thats true in some states and areas. In most...no. Its almost impossible to live like that. Inless you rent with a group. But like i said all depends where you live. I live in hawaii...and well its impossible. Thats why i still live at home...unfortunatly. Good luck though. I would deftintly shoot for a higher paying job... college or some sort of training.

This is the exact reason I got an education. I couldn't live in the manner in which I would like to become accustomed on minimum wage.

Minimum wage is designed to get you motivated, you shouldn't be willing to accept minimal living standards, so get you off your butt now!

PS only 5% of the population earns min. wage, do you want membership with those LOSERS?