How much money do you need to live?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

What's the very minimum that someone living in a city needs, after rent & bills, to live a decent life? What's the very least you need to spend on food, records, clothes, going out? I'm thinking something like £150 a week. But that's just over £20 a day, I suppose, which isn't much. Anyway, what do you manage with?

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:16 (twenty-one years ago) link

We never manage, no matter how much we get! I mean, we have enough to live & we're not on the breadline or anything & we're not in danger of someone knocking on the door at any moment, but we always manage to spend over what we get. This probably always happens.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:23 (twenty-one years ago) link

no matter what you earn, you live beyond your means.

golly I'm in a helpful mood

― j0e (j0e), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:27 (twenty-one years ago) link

Thank you j0e, that's what I wa trying to say!

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

AFTER rent and bills? Like 30 "pounds". Take more advantage of yr friends. And don't go out so much, you'll seem cooler.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live well within my means.

― fletrejet, Friday, 1 August 2003 13:36 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live well within my means.

:-(

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:36 (twenty-one years ago) link

Obv if yr friends can't get you into things for free this is crappy advice

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

If it wasn't for my student loans, I would have a very comfortable lifestyle on my meagre earnings. Though I just (in May) got my TWO YEAR raise (my boss told me when he hired me that he thought I was "too intelligent to stay in this job for more than 18 months." I showed him, huh?) and am now officially above the poverty line.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

Working in saunas increases your disposable income.

― Kissin' Kate, Friday, 1 August 2003 13:39 (twenty-one years ago) link

I budget about $120 a week for gas, food, going out. This isn't enough and I'm always completely broke by the end of the month, eating ramen and getting high off Sharpies.

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:41 (twenty-one years ago) link

I average around $500 a month for play.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:42 (twenty-one years ago) link

As a student I was doing $55 a week, $35 for groceries and 20 for beer or donairs depending on how much work i had to do throughout the week. Sigh, I forgot how cheap it was living out there.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:50 (twenty-one years ago) link

I'm fortunate enough not to have to think about it too much since I am gainfully employed and I own my house sans mortgage which is a big help. I don't have a particularly extravagant lifestyle, so apart from all the usual day-to-day expenses and utility bills I don't really have any massive outgoings. I buy far too many magazines, books and CDs though (if there is such a thing as 'too many').

― C J (C J), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

Not at all, really. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 August 2003 13:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

i can get by on practically nothing really. in fact, i almost prefer it.

― kephm, Friday, 1 August 2003 13:59 (twenty-one years ago) link

I can't think of the last time I bought a magazine, book, or CD. :(

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live well within my apartment.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

I think 30 a week should do, NETWORK etc

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live in East London and we still use the bartering system. This frees up more cash to spend on skunk.

― Kissin' Kate, Friday, 1 August 2003 14:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hmmm... After bills and so on I reckon to have about £80 a week left over for 'me', but I don't pay for most of my food.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:14 (twenty-one years ago) link

I was hoping this was some kind of Magic Christian-style bribe: I will continue to live if you give me $1 million...no, $2 million.

I have lived at several different income levels over the past 15 years (although they probably all fall into no more than 2 tax brackets), and have noticed little appreciable difference in how much I've enjoyed my life. We wuz happy when we wuz poor. We're happy being not so poor. Better question would be, how many friends do you need to live?

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

I need 25 million dollars. Saddam's head on a plate is worth 25 million dollars. Why does he have to be hiding out on the other side of the world? Because he knows. HE KNOWS.

― Millar (Millar), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:56 (twenty-one years ago) link

Well I only addressed the bit about going out etc. Do things like medicine count as 'bills'? Cause I don't always have enough money to take all the medicines I'm supposed to and often can't afford to go to the doctor (despite having insurance). I would like to have enough money for things like this and car repairs.

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

I spend more than I should. I have very cheap rent, but I don't make very much money. I'd say combined, my bills are about $580/month (including rent, credit card, cell phone, etc. etc.). I spend the rest on eating out, going out, buying things I don't need, and crap like that. I used to be very good about saving money, but I've been not-so-good lately.

― Mandee, Friday, 1 August 2003 15:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

That being said, if I got rid of the luxuries I've allowed myself - a cell phone, credit card, I'd say I could easily live off $300 a month. Not saying I want to, but I could.

Speaking of which, has anyone heard about this book called "How to live like a possum' or something? It's about some family that spent only $1,500 in 2 years. A friend sent me the link last night and now I've lost it.

― mandee, Friday, 1 August 2003 15:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

My total expenses are around $1000/month. $400 for rent, $120 for bills, $200 for groceries, $130 for misc and $150 for alcoholic bevs, pub grub. No car (= no gas or auto insurance or car pmt), no debt, no health insurance.

― Aaron A., Friday, 1 August 2003 16:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

Before I wussed out and moved in with the folks again:

$500/rent&utilities
$270/truck (only six or seven more, baby)
$120/insurance
$50/prescriptions (allergy and asthma, no insurance)

Which gave me about $460/month to spend on food/clothing/gas/entertainment.

With no rent, I've rapidly begun paying off my truck, computer loan and credit card bills. My goal is to be debt-free (outside of student loans) by the end of next spring, at which point I can transfer my credits and GET THE FUCK OUT OF DODGE.

This may be interrupted if I give in to the temptation for a new camera. My Bronica is older than I am, and works about half as well.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Friday, 1 August 2003 19:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

It depends what city you are in. In Los Angeles, you are lucky if your rent is the $700-1,000 range. My one bedroom apt rents for $850.

Food is cheap. I don't buy CDs. I use NetFlix for DVDs. I don't have an iota of credit card debt, and I never will. If I can't buy it with my ATM card, I'm not buying it.

My biggest expenses are my unlimited minutes cell phone and my DSL connection (together about $150/mo). And the constant car repairs, between $300-400 a month (thanks Xtobal).

In Los Angeles, I don't think anyone can live on less than $2,500/month at rock bottom.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 1 August 2003 20:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live in a well.

― Roderick the Visigoth. (Jake Proudlock), Friday, 1 August 2003 23:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

I live on an airship, it costs me a fucking fortune.

― Matt (Matt), Friday, 1 August 2003 23:53 (twenty-one years ago) link

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.