How Does Any American Family Make It On Less Than $50,000 A Year?

like fookin' kings, eh? this amount would be a blessing....

In many ways my life is pretty sheltered in some ways. I am single and a NCO so I have my own one bedroom condo on base, rent free. My health/dental care is all free. Since I spend half my time on deployment I only pay taxes half the time. Food is free if i want to eat Army food. Everything on the base is subsidized so its cheaper. All my money I either save, spend on vacations or spend on expensive toys. Reading about American children who have to go without food, shelter the basic things in life I take for granted. I am ashamed that the most powerful nation in the world has so many people living in poverty. I realize I sound naive and i guess i have spent my time worrying about other things then the standard of living for the average American family. The American Family who is indirectly my employer. Two years ago when I reenlisted for another six year hitch I received a combined bonus of $40,000 dollars because of a critical skill bonus and because I signed on for an extra two years, instead of the usual four. That money and much more besides is collecting dust. I have very few stocks, cd's or mutual funds even though we have excellent access to economical advisor on the base i stick most of my money in a savings account that moves at a snails crawl. Who knows maybe the mujahideen will get lucky this september and my dad can buy that boat he always wanted.

"When someone works for less pay than she can live on — when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently — then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else."
— Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America)

1. Our biggest necessities are not having a car. That is why we the people pay taxes for transportation.
2. Cut television completely, it is truly becoming obsolete and irrelevant because of the internet. It would be best to just buy a car that can take you from point a to point b and back, instead of the car the television keeps telling to buy in monthly payments.
3. Our standard of living has stopped since the 70's.\And ever since then, our standard of consuming has increased.

(...and i'm just another person doing this on the internet "blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah)

maybe if they give up cable tv, stop buying shoes when they can repair their old ones... i mean my parents live in michigan and we aren't doing to great, but on the other hand we have a big screen tv, 3 cars, etc...

i personally taught myself to live small. i live on just a few thousand dollars a year (not including rent). its all about removing shit you don't need

you can always go back to school and take out massive college loans spend the money on a boat and move to Europe lol

There are many families who make much less than 50,000 but still have a good and decent lifestyle. Too many folks think that somehow it's their 'right' to have every single thing they want just because it's available and other folks can afford it. Successful people live within their means and don't waste money on frivolous things. Happy peope realize that "stuff" doesn't make you happy and they're not jealous because someone has something they can't afford.

Want to find out what "poor" is? Check out the way most folks lived fifty years ago. We in America are so spoiled we wouldn't know "poor" if it bit us. If we have decent clothes to wear and a decent place to live and plenty of food on the table we're not poor. Seems all some folks do is whine because someone else has more then they have, and somehow they think it's right to take it from those folks and give it to themselves. If we look around, almost ALL of us can find people much less well-off than we are. Why don't we just give those people a lot of OUR money, to kinda even it out for THEM? After all, it's not ffaaiiirrrr that we're all not equal.

trut you're a snob. Though I doubt you have anything to be snobby about. Why does living in a trailer make you less of a person? And why don't you go and live in England (class system) or India (caste system) I can only vouch for myself - I am university educated, have had high paying jobs including working for English royalty and large expensive houses but for what end? I now live in a small motor home, travel around this beautiful country and am happier than I've ever been.

DID NO ONE READ THE ARTICLE!? All the comments below seem to be useless. Why have a discussion that doesn't deal with the actual article posted? This article is not about a single person, a couple or even a couple with one child. It is about a family of four!

It's pretty obvious: They steal at every opportunity.

Very Carefully. hahaha

I actually even live on less than $2,000 a year, not shitting you.

the real question is how does a family that makes over fifty grand a year go into twohundredthousand dollars worth of debt then go chapter 11 or 13. Why don't people live within there means.

I hate to admit how broke I am (suffice it to say I am broke), or how my health and dental care are almost non existent, but it is possible to survive for many years with little money.

That doesn't make it fair or right, to go out and bust your hump on a "job" that really amounts to slavery.

And in fairness that "slavery" claim starts ringing hollow if you own at least 2 acres of usable property....

They don't . What has happened is , the standard "making it " has dropped . They cut back on medical , dental , carhttp://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/08/children.wellbeing/index.html?eref=igoogle_... , insurance , entertainment , education , quality food ....... Cost of living varies greatly , so if you want to live in a safe neighborhood with good schools for you kids , that can eat income up .

ive been struggling (literaly) with that question for years

The wife and i live pretty damn good on what we get and it's no wheres near Fifty grand a year. But we don't have a lot of bills that we can't afford. I think it's what the old folks call liveing within our means.

I work for a Consumer Rights & Advocacy Law Firm and go through budgets and income with people all across the country 5 days a week. Rarely do any of those people have an annual household income of $50,000 or more. The problem is not the amount of income, but how you choose to spend that income. Do not use credit cards. Pay yourself first (save) and live within your means! 99% of the people I counsel state that if they were able to get out from underneath their debts, they would be able to live within their means/cashflow.

walmart, chapter 11 and multiple people working full time jobs in the same household

yea the US has one some of the lowest social mobility in the world. Japan and sweden have some of the best.

an fyi - Social mobility is in short the ability of people in certain economic classes to move from class to class. In most studies it refers to upward mobility from poor to middle class, etc.

Also trends have been indicating that the average american workers wage hasn't increased much to counter inflation or cost of living. Americans are paying more to exist than previous generations and in the face of rising housing cost. This means american grandparents had it better and those in my generation are screwed. Yet the wage of the wealthy in the last 20 years has gone up to a ridiculous % (like 140%). So for americans the pro business free market model will ultimately lead to a growing canyon of wealth disparity between those at the top versus everyone else.

France and germany may have high youth unemployment but their social capital is much higher. Most western european children in the public school system can read and write in 2 foreign languages, study latin and greek, understand general physics and read philosophy by age 10 whereas only the richest american children even come close to this feat.

I guess americans will have to chose do they want to be rich or do they want to be better human beings, because contrary to what every contemporary economist says the social and financial can never be in harmony. Unless you think the green movement is not limited by profit then I have some beach view property in Antarctica for sale.

Conclusion: americans shouldn't be just getting by human beings need more dignity than just scraps.

$23000? my dog makes more than that Mykuh. I hope you can afford a new tarp for your trailer by saving up the next few years.

LoL, my husband and I live off of 23k. It's not difficult. We limit how often we go out to eat, we don't buy useless shit, and we keep our thermostat on 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter. Oh, and we don't make bills we can't pay. We haven't paid a bill late or missed a payment in the entire time we've been together. We still save money, as well. We're more than comfortable- with two cars and our own house.

I don't feel sorry for anyone who makes 50k a year and still can't make it. You're obviously living above your means. Get rid of some of the superficial shit. Even my husband and I have places where we could improve should things get any worse (get rid of my smartphone and required data plan, get rid of the security system, buy less groceries, get rid of one of our cars and therefore the insurance required and gas, etc).

Now, having said that... I think it would be nice if all families made more than 50k. But obviously that's not the case. You wanted capitalism, you've got capitalism. As the rich would tell you, "If you want more money, you've got to work harder/smarter! Earn it!" I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but this is how capitalism works. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

Assuming you has the most rudimentary understanding of how to manage money properly in MOST of America you could live well on $50,000 a year. The problem with Most Americans today is they want INSTANT gratification.

The reason Foreigners do so well in America is because they understand what our Grandparents understood. Save your money pay cash and SAVE for a rainy day. Remember if you live above your means you are destined to live beneath them!

My wife and I live off about 40 so its really fucking easy. Cook your own shit and limit how many saturday you go get bombed at the bar and bam good to go.

Don't have kids?

conservation *shrugs* its not that hard not to spend above your means.

don't get hurt, buy in bulk, freeze for later, don't buy soft drinks except as a "treat" plan your outings to get as much done as possible in one trip, turn out the effing lights, grow your own food when possible, use a clothesline instead of the dryer if possible, put up solar panels if possible... all things i've done in order to save money and a lot of them are "green" as well.

Organize your workplace!

"How Does Any American Family Make It On Less Than $50,000 A Year?"

The question should be how did we let our government bail out with our tax money the same banks and corporations that were strangling us, strangling our economy and end up back strangled and slaves again?

American people's money and dreams have gotten lost meanwhile these CEO's have taken luxury vacations on our dime.

Where is the payback?
Where is our money?

they go into debt. & hopefully money woes dont split up a happy home.

It's true.sometimes I wonder how they make it..........

And that's why they need to go ahead and legalize marijuana, if I got to get all stressed out worrying over how I'm going to make it day to day, and any alcoholic in the world can have a beer to unwind with anyway, then why can't I smoke a bowl, joint, blunt, bong whatever?

It's better than the alternative, a bunch of stressed out half starving guys going postal because they had no money, or weed to show for it....

Sell that plaid picnic blanket. You're not millionaires to be having sequencing perpendicular and parallel lines on linens like that. It barely fits the family. Feet are sticking out. And don't smile. Families can't afford to expose their teeth to the elements.