<p>This is a theoretical experience. We want to know whether or not it is possible for someone to live by themselves on $50,000 per year, assuming that no tax will come out and all the school debts are paid off. Money would be allocated as follows</p>
<p>There would be $2500 allocated towards anything else</p>
<p>$10,000 to take two vacations per year.</p>
<p>Is this a reasonable situation? Again assuming that there is no taxes taken out (I know that there is in real life) and there is no debts to be paid.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>1000 - mortgage
Unless they already own their home, it might be tough to own at this mortgage figure although one might be able to rent for this or possibly own if they were located in a less expensive part of the country. </p></li>
<li><p>100 - cell phone
This is high. One s/b able to get by for $40 or they’re just talking too much.</p></li>
<li><p>50 - phones/internet
There’s no need for a land-line phone if you already have a cell phone. I think land-line phones are a thing of the past.</p></li>
<li><p>150 - gas (heating), 100 - electricity
This is way high if you were living on your own in a small place in San Diego where we have a moderate climate. However, home prices are relatively high here to counterbalance.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We know taxes exists, looking from the standpoint of someone making 125k a year, they could live off only 50k and give everything else away. After takes and debts, they would have more than 50k surely. Again, this is purely theoretical. The house would be someone in ATL and cost less than 200k. I know that there are some nice houses around there for that price</p>
<p>^^ Then yes, it could be done. As ‘curm’ stated, there are a lot of people living on $50K/yr - especially after taxes. It’ll be rare to find someone who’ll give half their income away though. </p>
<p>One major item you’re missing is ‘investments/savings’. Most people need to invest and save in order to pay for their kids’ college educations, to get them through a period of unemployment, to carry them through major illnesses, and to eventually retire and live off of their investments.</p>
<p>Health insurance, clothing(5000-10000 depending on if you need to start from scratch), real estate tax, home owner insurance, medical costs (deductibles). A single person could live fairly well making 125.</p>
<p>I can’t really tell if there is money set aside to replace the car when it’s time. We put aside at least $2000 every year for that purpose. In about 10-15 years, we have the money to pay for one new car.</p>
<p>couple questions-are you thinking of taking a job that pays $50K a year or are you questioning that many families in this country live on less than $50K a year?
median household income in US in 2007, was $50,233 according to census bureau so yes, I would say it is possible to budget that income- you wouldn’t be the first.</p>
<p>If you are contemplating a job that offers $50K and you don’t have any dependents or school loans you would be doing pretty well. However, you may want to compare cost of living to see where your dollars would go the farthest.</p>
<p>Besides the above suggestions many people save money by sharing rent/transportation, wearing sweaters, turning off furnace- etc.</p>
<p>Of course you can live and live very well indeed on $50K/year. My daughter isn’t starving or unhappy and she’s managed quite well on about one fourth of that for two years now.</p>
<p>There’s an Hawaiian saying: “two ways to be happy: make more money or want less stuff.” You don’t need a car if you live in a walkable neighborhood or commute by bike; your food will cost less if you cook for yourself and don’t eat meat; no one really needs 100 channels of cable TV at a zillion dollars a month; quit smoking; etc…</p>
<p>I really don’t understand the point of this exercise. To net $50,000 after all taxes, federal, state, social security you have to make at least $75,000, so you are asking if it is possible for one person to live on an annual salary of $75,000? Are you serious?</p>
<p>DrHorse - with all due respect, I am sure your family is subsidized by the government - food stamp, housing…No, you can’t live in NYC with 22K, if you were paying for everything.</p>
<p>GA has an ad velorum (property) tax on homes, cars, etc. And the Ga state tax is, if I recall, 7%. The property tax can be pretty steep, depending on the county one resides in and the value of the home.
The $10k vacation part is a little ridiculous. Put that $$ (in this hypothetical example) into savings. Not a good plan to spend 20% of your income on vacations.</p>