Living off $1500 to $1700 a month

[Crimson]

Can two people live off of this a month? Note: I said "live' not "survive". Surviving is having a roof over your head and the bills paid. Living is extra stuff such as internet, going out etc.

you have $1500/1700 a month what can you do with it and still have enough left over to "live"

[Daemon Thanatos]

I live in California, so we're kinda barely scraping by. It's thanks to my SSI that we even have a place to live, and thanks to my sister's church that we have food to eat each month. All we're really missing is a stove, and an actual kitchen...I'd be cooking every day, if we did.

Generally, though, 1700 USD is enough for a family of three to scrape by. Four is pushing it, though thankfully, my brother has a job, so he's also contributing to our income when he can.

[Set-115689]

Like people say you can survive off 1700 a month (20400 a year or about 10.20 an hour full time work) but how well you will do will depend on the base cost of living in your area and other factors. Things like vehicles, rent costs, personal habits, etc... Make a spread sheet and find out what your base costs are. Even if you live in an expensive city living with friends can make it cheaper. One guy I new could live happily off $450 a month. He lived with so many people his rent was about $125 and he had no vehicle or children. Also dual income couples, etc...

Some things to note that may save you money at no loss. Car insurance can vary greatly from company to company. You might be able to get the same services (cable, phone, etc...) or items at a lower price with a bit of research. Banking fees. Basically look for value and do a bit of math to reduce your base living cost and still get the same things.

-Some people can save over $1000 a year and still get the same car insurance. Insurance prices vary a lot between companies depending on the type of insurance system in your area. In the US this may not work as well.

-Theres quite a few banks that have no fee accounts, free withdrawls, free cheques and even pay you a small amount of interest. It's pretty sad to see people with little money paying $100+ in banking fees each year. If you have extra cash just laying around you can also earn a bit of money in interest (which isn't much these days but things change).

[poisonpunk43330]

i left californa when i was 19 with 3 grand a harly davidson and a dram to be a master chef in new york.. now im in baltimore becus new york is to expansive.. im at about 1200 a month.

[Daemon Thanatos]

The only question here is, are you happy where you are now?

[DevNSS]

depending on the area where you live! California could be tough, but a place like North Dakota or something like that would be luxury living for that amount!

[The Other 1]

Hey dude, if you don't mind compromising every now and again, living off a grand and a half should be a breeze. in fact, if you're smart with your money and save a little each month, you could evetnually have some impressive cash built up. My advice: don't invest in anything too seriously. If you feel pararnoid about the economy, or the stability of the dollar, or whatever, put a little into gold bullion (it keeps a constant value while world currencies fluctuate, so you never lose that money to infaltion. Smart, huh?) but DON'T i repeat, DO NOT play the stock market. Put the money into a bank, if you want, but the stocks are almost as random and every bit as risky as the lottery.