Could you live on what you make?

pancho · #1 01/19/13, 04:39 PM

We have had a couple of threads if you can live on a certain amount.
How about one that asks if you can live only on the money you bring in?
Is everything you have mortgaged?

Danaus29 · #2 01/19/13, 04:44 PM

What I make? No, absolutely not.
What dh makes? With overtime included, yes. With no overtime at all? It would be a struggle for a few more months. Big payment loan should be gone this year.
Both combined? Yes, pretty comfortably and have a little to put back.

Cash · #3 01/19/13, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancho

We have had a couple of threads if you can live on a certain amount.
How about one that asks if you can live only on the money you bring in?
Is everything you have mortgaged?

Not sure what you mean. Everyone pretty much lives on what they make unless they have some independent income from an inheritance or something. Do you mean using credit cards or a home equity line of credit to supplement regular income?

mnn2501 · #4 01/19/13, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancho

We have had a couple of threads if you can live on a certain amount.
How about one that asks if you can live only on the money you bring in?
Is everything you have mortgaged?

Yes, I have always set up our finances so we could live on one of our salaries, with 2 it pays off the home mortgage early - waaaay early.

**Ross** · #5 01/19/13, 05:12 PM

Buddy nobody else is payin my bills. There are a few that could pick up some slack that falls to me at that!

tinknal · #6 01/19/13, 05:13 PM

Sure, in a box, under a bridge............

Danaus29 · #7 01/19/13, 05:14 PM

Always knew you were a troll at heart.

(just kidding)

Rainy · #8 01/19/13, 05:19 PM

Yes, and we do... Hubby works outside the home and is the only wage earner... Even with our mortgage we live well... but it doesn't take much to entertain us... a garden, our animals, and watching our Son play in the band... we live a very simple life...

countryfied2011 · #9 01/19/13, 05:19 PM

yes

no

Countrybumpkin · #10 01/19/13, 05:20 PM

Only thing we borrowed on is the house...but making the payments on that and putting some back...so life isn't all that bad here...

Wendy · #11 01/19/13, 05:28 PM

We have a mortgage. I have been putting $50 a week into savings. Yes, we live off what we make.

theemon · #12 01/19/13, 06:06 PM

i can. i actually live under my income. i been reading the 90% threads... see i took a different approch to this before i found you guys. my goal is to live below my means so that i may thrive. i live in a low income area, so what i make may seem like change to some of you, but its more then enough to live here, and if i keep it up plus learn from the 90%ers (+i just bought a 1/2 acre +house w/ no morgage) so im here learning to live off the land too

Cornhusker · #13 01/19/13, 06:10 PM

Yes, I live on what I make
After reading the $1000 thread though, I've been crunching numbers to see what it'd take to live on $1000

mekasmom · #14 01/19/13, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cash

Not sure what you mean. Everyone pretty much lives on what they make

I don't understand the question either? I think everyone has to live on what they make, don't they? I mean unless they steal things to live on or something?

emdeengee · #15 01/19/13, 06:23 PM

My husband was self sufficient and living on his own (college, apartment, full time job, motorcycle) when he was 18. I was living on my own at 19 (finished college, apartment, full time job). We both paid our own way for everything including education. We both had very good jobs. For years we lived up to and beyond our income and had an absolutely wonderful time doing it. We paid our bills right on time but we had debts and they kept getting bigger. The funny thing is that we were always very frugal with day to day living and worked very hard to move from city to country homesteading but we sure liked to travel and have a good time as well.

Eventually you have to pay the piper and we were not prepared for our own personal disaster. We learned a lot of lessons and fortunately this happened when we were just 38 and 40 so not only were we able to pull ourselves out of the mess but both of us went back to school to do the thing we most wanted to do with the rest of our lives.

So yes, today we live on what we make. No debts and both emergency and retirement savings that keep growing. The most important things we do are live on a strict budget, live on cash and pay ourselves first (save). We make enough that we still get to go wild and crazy in a budget friendly manner. I love being frugal but to me the point of being frugal with some things is so that you can do exactly what you want with other things. Frugality is the means to an end.

TheMartianChick · #16 01/19/13, 06:32 PM

We live on what we make, but we are paying off mortgages on rental properties. We could live on less, but there are certain things that we aren't willing to give up right now. $1000 a month wouldn't come close to covering our expenses. We spend about $250 -275 on gas each month and have 2 kids in college.

Callieslamb · #17 01/19/13, 06:35 PM

We can live on what we make and can live for 3 years without DH's job due to living under what we make.

Danaus29 · #18 01/19/13, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mekasmom

I don't understand the question either? I think everyone has to live on what they make, don't they? I mean unless they steal things to live on or something?

Credit, family support, loans, etc. No, not everyone lives on what they make.

chestnut · #19 01/19/13, 06:54 PM

I wish Uncle Sam did.

snoozy · #20 01/19/13, 06:55 PM

I can not only live on what I make, I can live on the unemployment I get when the contracts run out. In other words, I live quite easily on half my income.