Lived off of < $17,000.00 annual, Ask Me Anything

Did/can you get food stamps? How does that work?

Get on an Obamacare high deductible plan. It would likely be free.

I am living on 19k in a cheaper COL city. The big thing is no car, saving all that money on repairs, maintenance, and insurance.

I know everyone complains about crazy race entrance fees, but it becomes even a bigger deal. Especially when the prize is a medal or something with no value.

My brother lives off of net income of 800 a month. No car, no heat, no hot water, no TV, no credit card,no air conditioning.

I lived off of about 10k/year about a decade ago for four years in the midwest & a brief stint in the northwest. Amazing what you can go without & be pretty satisfied with life.

Did you get pity sex when chicks found out how pathetically you lived?

No health insurance is probably the most ridiculous thing you can do... You said you are 40??? I had a near fatal heart attack at 32 and was in tip top shape, I was coming off of a 15:10 road 5k then all of a sudden angiogram to open up a close LAD... Without medical insurance I would have been hit with a $150k plus bill if not more considering the scenic helicopter ride they threw me in to get me to a full functioning hospital, and on top of that the 14 days of room and board... Miniminal living is cool and all but sometimes it is time to put the big boy pants on and grow up or you turn into a Joe Carnagie who was this Fresno runner who talked about all of his running accomplishments but was no more than a 45 year old teenager working a bunch of crappy jobs trying to make it to the next paycheck... Also sometimes minimal living is not easier living, I work 40 hours a week can take times off whenever I need it make well over $100k a year and have health care. Also I am married but if I wasn't I don't think I would have difficulty bringing women over because I wouldn't have to explain the roommate situation to a grown women.

Just a word of advice "Ma Meat Loaf" is not exactly cool when Will Ferrell is not saying it.

How much do you have in savings?

You're eligible for an ACA subsidy of roughly $7600 in Iowa (based on zip code 50001) and Blue Cross lists a $9/week plan, though I didn't give them all the information you provided to see exactly what the plan would be. You should absolutely sign up for a plan at your age.

I used to live on $6800 pre-tax, sharing a $400/month apartment, but with several thousand extra in the summers, and the second summer I had saved enough for both of us to fly to and travel in Europe for seven weeks. But that was in the 1990s.

LMAO, they can bill you 150k all they want. Aint gonna get anything tho. Thats how to get free healthcare in america

Yeah? Well, I lived off less than that for a good 10+ years in NYC

What’s your favorite rice and bean meal?

Where do you go to get free food?

What’s your oldest article of clothing and do you still wear it?

Where do you take dates out when money is particularly tight?

How often do you rewear your underwear?

Your answers to these questions will show me if you’re being truthful or not.

Ringer d wrote:

Yeah? Well, I lived off less than that for a good 10+ years in NYC

What’s your favorite rice and bean meal?

Where do you go to get free food?

What’s your oldest article of clothing and do you still wear it?

Where do you take dates out when money is particularly tight?

How often do you rewear your underwear?

Your answers to these questions will show me if you’re being truthful or not.

I like white rice and canned blacked beans with plantains fried in coconut oil.

I've been to food shelves where you can get organic food for free.

I use a backpack from a brand that was discontinued 10 years ago.

Going to the beach or camping is great for dating.

I go commando.

Stamps wrote:

Did/can you get food stamps? How does that work?

I've never applied for food stamps. There is a lot of corruption with people using foodstamps. I do not support nor like the idea.

dansiego wrote:

Have you only been living this lifestyle for the past year, or have you been doing it longer than that?

Also, you mentioned working 1,000 hours last year. That would put your average hourly wage around $17. What were your hours like at your job?

I must have underestimated the hours by about 20%.

Most jobs were typical morning to late afternoon.

Can you recommend a tech stock that is about to explode?

What is your favorite craft beer, especially of the IPA variety?

Are you an Apple or Microsoft guy?

Do you rent movies or netflix the things?

What is your favorite gaming chair?

How much per month are you putting into college 529 accounts?

Do you feel guilty about the blanco privilege that allows you to make these lifestyle choices?

ck3237 wrote:

My brother lives off of net income of 800 a month. No car, no heat, no hot water, no TV, no credit card,no air conditioning.

Hey...that's about what I live off of per month!

I live in a shack that's paid off (running water, heat, no AC). I drive a 20 yr old bomb that still runs like a charm. No cable or fancy sh*t like that - I use old-fashioned rabbit ears and get a great picture. I have a cheap Obamacare Bronze plan for catastrophic protection.

I spend most of my dough on my smartphone, WiFi, utilities (varies throughout the year), running shoes and fruits & vegetables (mostly a vegetarian).

One of the downsides is that I'm not big hit with the wealthier dudes in the running club that I belong to (they prefer to keep their distance - you know it doesn't look good for six figure earners to be socializing with a low-income, low-intelligence dude ?). But when I show up in my bomb at the monthly club races they know "Low-Income Runner" has arrived! ?

I'm curious as to why you think people would find this intriguing. Many people live below the poverty line. Your circumstance would only be interesting if you added, "And trained for a sub-2:30 marathon" or "And only worked seven hours a week" or "And am happier than when I made $300k". Being poor is not an achievement. Succeeding while being poor might be.

The fact that you even CAN make $17,000 baffles me, because that means you are earning just $8.17 per hour, which only a little over minimum wage (and less than many state minimums). And you did that for two years. So you never improved your performance to the level that you received a substantial raise? I don't pay a single one of my employees that low of a wage, and I assure you that after TWO YEARS they would either be making quite a bit more than when they started, or be fired.

Tl, dr: Why are you still poor? Go work some overtime, or learn a skill, or innovate at your current job, or climb the ladder at work.

Sounds good to me. He lived within his means and he seemed to have enjoyed it. I bet he is happier than a lot of people with 500K+ salary per year. Everything is relative to your mean. Most of crap you buy brings less and less joy anyway. He beat the zero sum game of life in my opinion.

Car is very low maintenance if you buy something like new Civic or CRV. If you don't drive it like a mad man, there is very little money for maintenance. My CRV is going on almost 3rd year, nothing but oil change so far. Run like the day I bought it. 32K miles on it so far. Depending on the mass trans. situations, sometimes waiting for bus and then wait more as it makes stops every 5 blocks is way too much time wasted.