Could you live on $1000/month?

But see, to me, what you are asking then, is could I "survive" on $1000.00 a month. The answer would be yes, for a while. Could I "live" on it? No way. Not responsibly anyway.

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If that is all you had what other choice would you have?

Yeppers, a person can indeed live on an income of 1000 bucks a month. I know this cos for a few years I actually made a little more than that and did just fine. I did get a little spoiled though with the extra cash I had during that time period.

Basic tricks for living on a modest income....

Always save back part of your earnings for rainy days, and never ever spend any money while its raining.

Never use credit to buy "stuff".... if you cant afford whatever it is you think you need today... how are you possibly going to afford it, plus the interest, on it tomorrow? (modest land payments are exempt from this rule because the land is what supplies your other "needs")

Learn to live with out all the unnecessary "stuff". This will relieve you of many of your current burdens.

Never give your money to a landlord. Paying rent is probably the most common mistake people make with their finances.

Learn to live on 500 per month or less...(millions do, all over our great nation), that way when you start living on 1000 per month you will be "living large".

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

I see people living on less than 1 k per month. What about health insurance or potential medical bills? I guess my point is, why would you want to live on so little?

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"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”

So, if you were getting by fine and happy on a thousand bucks a month, you should go out and spend more because??? It follows that if I'm full eating a big mac, then I should be 4 times as full eating 4 of them? Why? Why would anybody want to do that? If I have a couple hundred thousand dollars in the bank for emergencies, I need to blow it?

If I didn't still have a mortgage we'd be able to live on 600.00 (would be including gasoline for commuting to work and feed for the animals). The mortgage payment is 650.00 a month. That's exactly why paying off my mortgage is the number one priority for me. I figure no matter what happens in life I can get by if I have my farm paid for. I live on practically nothing and could go off grid if need be.

Yes, I can.

SPIKE

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All things should be done with COMMON SENSE!
All things should be done with RESPECT!
All things have a PROPER time and place!
And most things should be done in MODERATION!

I know a guy near 60 owns nothing and works every day i do mean nothing . I know folks you could give them a ton of money ,block the road to their house every way there is and they would be broke in three days . How can you live 60 years and have nothing .I got a cutting torch i bought 40 years ago still good as new .

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Check it Out O added another Plank With O care
http://www.libertyzone.com/Communist...to-Planks.html

I haven't seen anyone say that. I have seen people, myself included, ask about things like health insurance, car insurance, and home insurance, etc. So far it seems that most, not all, but most, of the folks living off $1000.00 a month or less, consider those things to be luxuries. I don't. I consider them to be necessities.

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We have Samaritan's Ministries medical sharing "insurance" and for just DH and I it is $300.oo a month. They are a wonderful alternative to insurance. No high deductible, no 80/20. We have a mortgage so we could not live on $1000. per month but come spring we may get it paid off so we'll see then.

Does the post directly above mine that you quote not say "Why would you want to live on so little?" ? My point would be, if that's how much it takes to be happy, why would you need or want to spend more?

I saw an article on yahoo yesterday about the social security tax going back to 6.2 from 4.2 and how that would effect the consumers.
Personally it won't make much of a difference to me, I make so little to start with!

Anyway the couple they were interviewing said 2% more coming out of the woman's pay check will add up to 250.00 a month. If my math is correct if 2% = 250.00 a month then she must bring home 12,500.00 a month. And they were saying she was going to have to start buying generic brand diapers.

Now I understand alot of people spend everything they make and any cut would hurt. But golly! If I made 12500.00 a month my mortgage would have been paid off in less than a year! Alot of people cannot afford anything but cloth diapers to start with. And this couple lived in Utah, not NYC or LA etc.

Actually thequeen'sblessing, the 600.00 would cover all three, auto, homeowners and health ins. But the health ins is provided by my employer (I do pay some part.) I also consider those things to be essential. But then KY is relatively inexpensive compared to other areas. And as a 50 yr old woman my auto insurance is not much (full ins on one vehicle, liability on another is 60.00 a month.)

Ok, I'm confused here...

You're going to work a job that only pays $1000.00 a month, yet it will provide you with health insurance? We also pay for auto, health and home insurance and it costs us less than $600 a month for the insurance itself, not counting copays and deductibles. However, my hubby works for a major corporation as a foreman and gets very good health insurance. If he only worked sufficient hours to make $1000 a month, his insurance would go bye-bye too.

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*WANT* to live on so little? Uh, no, not *want*. We had what we had.

As for health insurance, I very FIRMLY told myself that I would not indulge in any risky behavior and I would NOT break any bones.

I was 20 and sometimes 20 year olds can be reckless: I decided that I could not afford it. I set aside reckless behavior. And, because I was young, I did not have any heart problems and such so I got away with it.

There are 2 separate conversations here. One is about living on a thousand dollars a month. The other is about making an income of a thousand dollars a month.
My opinions are all about whether or not you can live off a thousand dollars a month. I have no interest in anyone's income, nor do I see it relevant to the conversation I'm in. I can go to the store with a hundred bucks and spend $2 and get what I need. I don't think the rest is relevant.

A few decades ago, major corporations offered insurance to part time employees as well as full time ones, and the employees did not have to pay much for their share.

That was before the economy went south, and before medical costs were so high. It sounds like there are some companies who still do.

Woo. I got husband to agree once we move we're gonna try to live off a thousand a month for three months and see how we go. We can't seem to figure it out how to do it and include petrol [I think it translates to about six dollars a gallon here] so we're going to see about doing it not including petrol. Three months once we move of complete frugality other than petrol [cause like, otherwise we can't make the money to begin with LOL].

Healthcare here is a non-issue. I pay for private which I need with my medical history but that's just me and I'm only a hundred a month for that. There's the '37 Chevy [my baby], but I was hoping to pay that off with the money we save in rent before we start the experiment.

This has made me see if I can do it! Sorta kinda. Considering money value exchange I'd say it still technically counts. The ex-rate is the same now but it buys less here, so I think if I make it under 1300 it should still count!

Zong, I once lived on very little. But, I will now either pay for medical care or for insurance, so now I cannot. Either one now costs too much!

I did sit down with my oldest and we worked through some budgets, so *SHE* now knows how! There is no safety in this word, and it is a very good thing to know!

An inexpensive apartment, shared. Cooking for yourself. Walking even if you have access to a car to save on gas and repairs. Looking for work within walking distance. Inexpensive clothes. That was how we did it, once apon a time.

I sat down and figured it out.
Yes, I could do it. Most months.
I would save a certain amount each month for all of the 'biggies' that come due every year, and after that stuff I listed in above post, I'd still have some, and if careful, I'd do ok.

Sometimes, there are emergencies.