# What's The Least Amount of Money You Could Live On Each Month?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 19, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609 "2010-01-19T20:45:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/21 "2010-01-20T16:12:36Z")

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> [@athelas](#):
>
> Heck, single folks could live in a dump, sell the car and get a bike, and live on a few hundred a month. Of course, then you would _never, never_ reproduce.

I hear what you are saying - but realistically - what could YOU live off of a month? Conjecture about others is fine - I’m asking for a fairly accurate assessment of you personally. What’s your financial minimum?

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**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/22 "2010-01-20T16:25:59Z")

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Without moving? About 6K a month.

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**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/23 "2010-01-20T16:46:16Z")

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$900 a month is the bare minimum in order to remain in my $550 rental, pay the utilities, gas, and eat. Sometimes we don’t make that. It sucks.

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**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/24 "2010-01-20T17:28:18Z")

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For $500 a month we could keep our house, eat fairly well, and have some “mad money” but we have the dual advantages of no kids or outstanding debt.

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**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/25 "2010-01-20T17:36:56Z")

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> [@kopek](#):
>
> For $500 a month we could keep our house, eat fairly well, and have some “mad money” but we have the dual advantages of no kids or outstanding debt.

I seriously couldn’t even pay the electricity and property taxes on my house for that. And I live in a modest bungalow!

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/26 "2010-01-20T17:46:59Z")

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> [@Lanzy](#):
>
> Without moving? About 6K a month.

Good, I thought I was going to be at the extreme, but you have me beat. Without moving, our family of 4 requires about 4,500/month. If we moved I am sure we could get that down to $2000/month, but I love this house and neighborhood.

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**Author:** ![Tamryne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tamryne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamryne)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/27 "2010-01-20T18:10:23Z")

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Without moving? Probably $1300 for myself and my fiance. This includes walking to the train rather than driving (saving gas and car insurance), bagged lunch, copious coupon clipping, exc. If we moved then that could drop to $1000, but our place is conveniently located and we love our neighbors; plus window unit air conditioning in Houston really rather sucks.

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**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/28 "2010-01-20T18:15:58Z")

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I could live on far, far less than I am now if I was alone. And my family (of 6) could live on far less if we lived elsewhere. But in my current home, and keeping my current family 😉 we could scrape by on about $3000/month.

That, however would entail giving up some of our lifestyle and just barely covering our “absolute must” expenses.

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**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/29 "2010-01-20T21:24:43Z")

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My rent + Internet/Phone + Food + Month Bus pass + Meds = $770.00/month

If it’s summer I could save the $83.00 on the pubic transit and walk

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/30 "2010-01-20T23:05:20Z")

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Let me imagine that I didn’t have a wife or lived in a house and I just wanted to live cheaply. I have never commuted to work by car, either walking or public transit. But there is a real tradeoff between rent costs and both living close to work and living in a place that has decent public transit But I would give up my car first. I think I could live on $500 a month in addition to rent, about half for food and the rest for laundry, clothes, etc. This means giving up nearly all luxuries.

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/31 "2010-01-21T01:48:53Z")

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> [@athelas](#):
>
> Heck, single folks could live in a dump, sell the car and get a bike, and live on a few hundred a month. Of course, then you would _never, never_ reproduce.

We can hire prostitutes and fund sex tourist trips to southeast asia with the money we save.

Not that I’ve thought that through or anything.

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**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/32 "2010-01-21T03:12:41Z")

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> [@CutterJohn](#):
>
> I currently have no wife, kids, mortgage or outstanding rent.  
> I also currently have no rent(housesitting)  
> The utilities I share with my roommate.
> 
> So call it $125 for power, $40 for water, and $30 for internet.
> 
> Another $40 for insurance
> 
> Probably $50 for gas.
> 
> Probably about $100 for food, but I could cut that back a lot if I stopped wasting money on eating out, prepackaged meals, etc.
> 
> So call it $400 i currently live on, with the potential to cut that back to maybe $$250-$300 with sacrifice.

You only spend $100 a month on food and you can still eat out? Is there a secret to this that I don’t know?

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**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/33 "2010-01-21T04:14:40Z")

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I could probably snag a college student to rent a room, since I’m about ten miles fron the university and have a place for horses and would allow pets. If so, I could cut my housing expenses to about $400. Add another $200 for animal expense and $100 for human food expenses. Car is paid off (hopefully it’ll continue to thrive), but I drive about 500 miles per week, which means I spend $250/mo in gas costs. I’m assuming I have a job which provides insurance,

I can’t wait for that day in 2018 when my mortgage will be paid.

StG

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/34 "2010-01-21T04:24:42Z")

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I could easily cut down quite a bit, since a lot of the ‘fluff’ in the household is due to the sweetie (who prefers luxuries over basics; I’m the opposite; one day I hope we find a middle-ground \>.\< )

Foodwise…well, it’s been a while, but I distinctly remember working min-wage and living off 5 dollars a week in food. That got me a 5 pound bag of potatoes, a tub of margarine, and whatever fish was about to go ‘off’ at the market.

I gained weight, eating that way. 😑

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**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/35 "2010-01-21T13:17:31Z")

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> [@Meyer6](#):
>
> You only spend $100 a month on food and you can still eat out? Is there a secret to this that I don’t know?

Eating out is maybe a once a week thing for me, and thats fast food type. I very rarely go to someplace fancier, so it might only be $20 a month.

Thinking more on it though, Its likely a bit closer to $150 overall. I go to the store every 2-3 weeks and my grocery bill is generally $60-80.

But then I just plain don’t eat a whole lot.

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**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/36 "2010-01-21T15:03:48Z")

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My SO and I would probably need at least 3200 a month. 1800 for rent, 450 for cars and gas, 500 for utilities and a couple hundred for food/pets. And that would be with being frugal.

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**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/37 "2010-01-21T16:49:30Z")

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I actually have a spreadsheet at home that tracks all our income and debts, so I could probably answer this with almost to the penny precision. But off the top of my head, I’d say $1,400 is the lowest we could go. That would basically assume 1) we eliminated our credit card debt from the equation (which we will soon), 2) I stopped using my car and exclusively used my bus pass, 3) we cancelled cable/internet 4) we never ate out or, well, did anything. Ever.

Yeah, I’m all for saving money, but that’s so not for me.

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**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/38 "2010-01-21T20:26:43Z")

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Well, even if I did everything I could to cut expenses, I don’t think I could do less than $1200 a month (I’m single and childless.)

$500/month rent and utilities (right now it’s more, but let’s say I move into a cheaper place. In these parts, this is about as cheap as it gets, and that’s with roommates in a crummy place.)  
$400/month student loans  
$50/month phone (right now it’s more, but I imagine I’d sell my current phone and get a cheaper plan or a pay as you go type thing.)  
$200 food+groceries (and that might be a small estimate…only $200 a month for one person? I’ve never budgeted anything before or kept close track, so I honestly have no idea how much I spend a month on food/groceries.)

And that’s, what…still $50 left over? I can use that as a buffer.

Keep in mind, in this scenario, I have sold my car to not pay for insurance or gas (which would be another $150-$200 a month.)

This also assumes my credit cards are paid off…which isn’t a stretch since I only have about  
$400 between the two of them. One will be paid off by February, the other by March.

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**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/39 "2010-01-23T00:12:59Z")

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I could live on about $700/month with fairly reasonable lifestyle changes: Move to a smaller place and share a room Sell my car and bike/walk/bus everywhere. Eat lots of beans and rice and whatever vegetable is cheap that week.

I could probably get down to \< $100 if I really tried. Santa Barbara is warm enough that I could live out of a tent year-round. My work provides both free food and showers. Of course, then I’d be the guy who is clearly living out of a tent and eating snack room food all the time. Not sure how long my job would last in that situation.

Without making people at work aware, i could probably get it to $300 or so. That’s $50 for a gym membership (so I don’t shower at work), $100 for food/incidentals, $150 to someone on craigslist (estimated) to let me crash on their living room floor with sleeping bag and store some stuff in the corner, as long as I promise to be out of the house between 7am and 10pm every day.

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**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-you-could-live-on-each-month/525609/40 "2010-01-23T00:47:15Z")

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By my estimates, were I to quit my unemployed SO and cut down on my most dispendious extravaganzas (like smoking…) I could live on ~450 bucks a month. Survive on about 150-200, but that \*really \*wouldn’t be any fun.

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