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On February 23 2010 03:06 StarN wrote: largely depends on where you live. with property in rates in places like New York I find it would be very hard to support a family of 4 with a 39000$ salary.
Then again if you taught in New York you wouldn't be making 39k a year.
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Well, it all depend what his situation. I currently live alone with 45k and it's not so easy. I bought a house, I got my cars, electicity, food, assurance, etc.etc.etc.....
Alone, at 39k, I wouldn't be able to live with the house just starting to get pay + the cars (p.s. my house isnt big and I got a really small car )
If the guys have his house pay and his car pay, then 39k is enough.
I could do an essay on the cost of living
...oh snap, I'm a templar now :D
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can I ask what you guys do for a living?
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Depends whether or not my family cares that we eat ramen every day for every meal.
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On February 23 2010 03:44 Chef wrote: Does his wife not work? Maybe he has a lot of kids. Also, he wrote a book on living off $39000 so I assume not.
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Could I live on $39,000 by myself? yes, easily. Could I support a family, not a very luxurious one, but I could manage I guess. Doesn't matter though, I'm not having kids... fuck kids, i hate the little shits.
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United States22883 Posts
The official poverty line is way below that but its completely bogus and unrealistic.
That saidd, I think his situation is possible in a decent city as long as you used a lot of second hand goods and were careful about food. It'd be very difficult though and would take a "team" effort from the family. And good health fortune.
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my dad actually makes a little less than that, im still here =o
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Just tell your kids to make friends with the rich kid that nobody likes but that's willing to spend loads of cash and always throws sleepovers and shit so people will like him.
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On February 23 2010 04:04 stack wrote: can I ask what you guys do for a living?
i'm a grad student, i make ~30k a year and live in cambridge ma
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On February 23 2010 03:20 NonFactor wrote: I live with my parents.
-_- go back to lurking
On February 23 2010 03:06 Hot_Bid wrote: theres a difference between a guy supporting his family off 39k and you supporting yourself. even living in a really nice city, 39k for a single person is plenty assuming you don't spend a ton of money on luxury items. but for a family, 39k is quite low.
Yeah, if youre just out of college and get that as starting you can support yourself quite comfortably. If you worked up to that amount and also need to support a wife and kids then you might be in some trouble. Just because this one teacher did it doesn't mean that others can do it as well, and now with that book coming out and this publicity he wont need to worry about it anymore.
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On February 23 2010 04:04 stack wrote: can I ask what you guys do for a living?
College student and work part time for a law firm in the IT department. Double majoring in Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
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Here's how to live off $39,000 salary:
1. First thing you should do is supplement your income by writing a book on how to live off $39,000 salary. 2. Avoid buying things you don't need, like stupid books on how to live off $39,000 a year.
I really hope that's the first chapter of the book. You open it and it says "Stop spending all your money everytime someone writes a book." Actually it's perfect because if someone is spending money on his book it's actually the exact same person he needs to help.
Seriously 39k is probably more than enough to live on. The problem is America's definition of "getting by" is different from most people's definition. The average "poor" family as defined by our government typically has cable television, air conditioning, cell phones, their own car, etc.
The reason people have trouble getting by on 40k a year is because our country has a terrible record with saving money. We spend it all on snuggies and shamwows and other useless stuff we don't need. Actually what really costs a lot of money is buying stuff like cell phones and new clothes. You can get a perfectly acceptable pair of pants at a church sale or gargage sale for a buck, no reason to spend $40 for designer jeans that, ironically, are purposefully torn, lol.
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On February 23 2010 04:52 BlackJack wrote: Here's how to live off $39,000 salary:
1. First thing you should do is supplement your income by writing a book on how to live off $39,000 salary. 2. Avoid buying things you don't need, like stupid books on how to live off $39,000 a year.
I really hope that's the first chapter of the book. You open it and it says "Stop spending all your money everytime someone writes a book." Actually it's perfect because if someone is spending money on his book it's actually the exact same person he needs to help.
Seriously 39k is probably more than enough to live on. The problem is America's definition of "getting by" is different from most people's definition. The average "poor" family as defined by our government typically has cable television, air conditioning, cell phones, their own car, etc.
The reason people have trouble getting by on 40k a year is because our country has a terrible record with saving money. We spend it all on snuggies and shamwows and other useless stuff we don't need. Actually what really costs a lot of money is buying stuff like cell phones and new clothes. You can get a perfectly acceptable pair of pants at a church sale or gargage sale for a buck, no reason to spend $40 for designer jeans that, ironically, are purposefully torn, lol.
QFT.
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Also I watched a documentary, might have been Guiness World Record related, not sure, about the "world's cheapest man." His "job" is going around dumpster diving and scavenging and he makes about 9k a year off that. He has his own house and family. He does things like reuse paper towels by hanging them out to dry and filling up ketchup bottles with small packs of Mcdonalds ketchup. That's the book I want to read. Not some schmuck that makes a book about living on $39k when there are already probably 50 million people that live on less than 39k.
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United States22883 Posts
Phones and cars have become necessities for many people, not simply luxuries.
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I'm living off about 24k a year... it does depend on where you live, but I think 39k for a person per year should be more than enough in most places. I know of people living off 24k with a wife and a kid. That's a little rough, but it is doable.
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On February 23 2010 05:07 BlackJack wrote: Also I watched a documentary, might have been Guiness World Record related, not sure, about the "world's cheapest man." His "job" is going around dumpster diving and scavenging and he makes about 9k a year off that. He has his own house and family. He does things like reuse paper towels by hanging them out to dry and filling up ketchup bottles with small packs of Mcdonalds ketchup. That's the book I want to read. Not some schmuck that makes a book about living on $39k when there are already probably 50 million people that live on less than 39k.
Actually, that was ripley's believe it or not
Believe it or not.
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Yeah man it pretty much all depends on your lifestyle, location, and size of your family. It would be a fine salary for a family with modest preferences and two children living in somewhere middle of the road... like a small town or suburb or something. You won't have the newest TV, great furniture, etc but you'll be alright.
As for the news report, I guess it is a testament to our country's incredible standard of living that we can write a book about the hardships of a 39,000 a year salary. Even if the guy lives in NYC with two kids, it is possible. It's not like anyone is starving.
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On February 23 2010 04:37 KOFgokuon wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2010 04:04 stack wrote: can I ask what you guys do for a living? i'm a grad student, i make ~30k a year and live in cambridge ma
Haha... good place to be a grad student.
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