bare minimum - how much do you need to survive?

lippy is curious what it takes to make it in several major cities across the usa...now i'm not talking about a posh lifestyle with any luxuries...if you lost your job today...you have no savings...how much do you need to survive...what is your plan? how many bills do you have right now and how could you par them down...what things would you be willing to give up? what things would you give up reluctantly?

 

i'll go first...i have very few bills to pay each month...

mortagage - 1350.00
electric - 200.00
water - 60.00
landline/fax/internet/cellphone - 300.00
health insurance - 150.00
car insurance - 160.00
groceries - 600.00
lawncare - 60.00
gas - 200.00

total: 3080.00

i could par down the groceries and cook more frugally a home and no eating out...i could give up lawncare...i could use public transportation instead of spending so much on gas or if close enough walk/bike to work...

i could also rent a room in my house to bring in additional money

 

I don't have too many bills but, I'd cut back on a lot of my toys. I'd sell my tablets, Ipad and Xoom and cancel the data plans. I would also not eat out as much if, at all. I don't have lawn service so, I don't have to worry about that. I also have some spare computers in my shop that I could sell off. I could also sell my bimmer, (it's old but ,that would suck) I don't really need two cars.

Wow Lippy, your Mortgage is high, you must have a very nice home or live in a big city with a high cost-of-living. I live in a suburb of Atlanta but my Mortgage is only $800.00 but, my house is small.

Renting out a room sounds like a good idea also.

I feel kind of weird talking about my finances to strangers, my mom always said to never do that, I guess I'm not giving too much away hopefully. This is a interesting subject though.

 

i just used ballpark figures...with the house mortgage comes property taxes + insurance...i was trying to think of the bare minimum expenses that many people have without all the extras...

i do live in the city and my house is pretty small...if i lived in the suburbs i could have a much bigger house or a much smaller mortgage so that would also be an option...

i'm with you...i could have one hella garage sale and get rid of a bunch of stuff i don't really need :mrgreen:

 

Nice.

That's the cost of an apartment out here.

 

That is a high mortgage? I thought it was low. LOL. 800 per month in mortgage sounds just ... I don't even have words. Im stunned! And jealous. LA sucks in that respect.

 

lots of apartments go for that much in denver too...it depends on where and what kind of amenities...we only have one bathroom...one level...no basement...single car detached garage that we use for a shed...not exactly posh living...

 

Damn that's cheap though. The garage would go for 1350 in NY as a parking spot.

 

A one bedroom.

 

Yup!

 

Lots, I am an expensive Meterosexual GQ bitch.

 

you don't need a car if you live in nyc

 

When given the choice, most folks would gladly pay that $1350 to have their own peice of the rock....... as opposed to renting a cube in the concrete jungle like NY city......the choice becomes even simpler if you have a family or kids...........

 

Giving up stuff is a temporary measure, something possibly to ensure your survival. Making it, I think means creativity, the idea that you have something productive to offer in exchange for another thing of value.

Here is the deal, I think : America needs to renegotiate its survival with the rest of the world, not cut deficit or give up per se, but expand its linkages and in the process, expand its orbit of economic activities.

I think if you have a sense of history, you will realise that structural reforms have already taken place within the American economy. The information age has revolutionalized the world of work and employment , and things are never going to be the same again, ever.

Government can't catch this fact. Its unweildly nature accounts for this. The incentives that puts its to work also accounts for this. So Americans are just seeing another verse in the bible of capitalism being written. The latest verse accounts for linkages with the rest of the world. It means surviving and prospering beyond the borders of America.

The bottomline is that individuals would have to think about how to create wealth with the gifts they have beyond the borders of America. The world economy (thanks to finance capital) is really borderless now, and now if you must prosper in the new economy, you have to set your sights beyond home. Not downsizing. This is my opinion.

 

I love you Naija but -

 

i know that love plenty....you don't have to scratch your head just yet. We are just getting started

 

I actually like his point. Just expand your areas of success. Maybe an online business not only marketed towards Americans. I know a kid from school who opened a bricklaying business somewhere in Africa where they really needed. He took the risk and is making great money. He's not rich but doing way better than most us here.

 

I am not disagreeing with that - it just doesn't have anything to do w Lippy's question so I goofed around w Naija.

 

I don't need that much.

You guys wanna die..my mortgage is only $582. lol

 

WUT!!!!
*wandering off*