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How to live on $432 a month in America

(shagbark.substack.com)
526 points cactusplant7374 | 7 comments | 23 May 25 16:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.871s | source | bottom
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keiferski ◴[23 May 25 18:58 UTC] No.44075483[source]▶
Existing on the living standards of say, 1945, or even 1960, is very possible and allows you to make less money and presumably work on what you truly care about.

But that means you don’t get the latest iPhone, cook basic foods at home and rarely eat out, repair your own appliances, and so on. The hardest part, I think, would be dealing with the social expectations of society at large. 1960 living standards were universal in 1960, but nowadays you’re fighting the entirety of Western marketing machine.

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1. dmonitor ◴[23 May 25 19:38 UTC] No.44075896[source]▶
> that means you don’t get the latest iPhone

Why do people always have to call out "the latest iPhone". Most people can't afford the latest iPhone, nor do they try. You might as well say a Lamborghini. Why can't you be honest and just say "a smartphone".

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2. kemotep ◴[23 May 25 20:22 UTC] No.44076297[source]▶
Even a brand new iPhone 16 is “only” $800. Plans for unlimited internet can be had for less than $40 a month.

Using that phone for 5 years would only add like $60 to their total monthly expenses. Is that truly unattainable? Is that really what is keeping people from buying a house?

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3. smileysteve ◴[24 May 25 00:13 UTC] No.44077766[source]▶
$60 is ~14% of the monthly budget, so yeah, I think that would make an impact.
4. AngryData ◴[24 May 25 13:51 UTC] No.44081138[source]▶
That is a shit ton of money for someone living in a poor rural area living on the bare minimum. It is only cheap if you are living in a city where you are earning far more money.
5. MinimalAction ◴[24 May 25 16:47 UTC] No.44082213[source]▶
I do believe that's a privilege to throw an extra $60 per month at something for five years straight. It's not truly stopping us from buying a house, but this mentality that everything could be bought on credit, this consumerism is where we are hurt.
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6. Loudergood ◴[26 May 25 02:47 UTC] No.44093502[source]▶
You can easily cut that in half by buying last years model from someone who does insist on having the latest one.
7. kemotep ◴[30 May 25 14:32 UTC] No.44136615{3}[source]▶
They sell phones and data plans for cash that you prepay for. The 50-60 bucks was taking a monthly amortization over what would likely be a few thousand dollars upfront in expenses. Paying thousands upfront and using something for 5-6 years versus buying on credit for zero dollars down from the consumer perspective can have the same costs. Maybe it is more beneficial to not use credit long term. But unless you are also paying cash upfront you need credit and a credit history to buy a house.