How to live on $432 a month in America

> hope you don't need to see a doctor for anything serious, or go to a dentist for that mater.

That's the first thing I thought about.

His budget of $432/mo doesn't include health insurance. But $5K/y probably gets him Medicaid eligibility. Let's assume he's on Medicaid, then. In NY state, that covers quite a lot of dental care, if you believe this: https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/denta... Not saying it's a good option, but it's there.

> Taking the bus that goes 3 times a day is one thing, needing to move stuff is another thing.

What kind of things do you think he might be moving? He probably has just about no possessions with that budget (and a 600 sq ft house). In a pinch, perhaps he can rent a truck from Home Depot. Apparently, there is a Home Depot in Massena, NY, so maybe it's not quite so far out in the boonies as it seems.

Personally, I wouldn't do it - the lack of choice would get very unpleasant very fast. But it could work for some.

Yep, it could work for some. And I think that's his point. Depending on how much meatspace socializing / culture one wants/needs. Library internet, meh ... but working 3 more hours at Stewart's would take care of that ... and access to a hyuge amount of entertainment, news, online spaces. Readers, writers, painters, DIYers. At $0.04 per kWh, keeping a small room warm in the winter is trivial ... could be worse!

>> But $5K/y probably gets him Medicaid eligibility. Let's assume he's on Medicaid, then.

If he is on medicaid then he isn't "living" on 432/month. That would be living on 432/month PLUS whatever medicaid is worth, likely well north of another 500/month.

Then the kids need schooling, either in-person or remote. that is another 10k/year/kid. And you need some sort of local police/justice system to ensure nobody boots you off your homestead. But even once you account for all those local costs, there are things like national security. Living a peaceful life on a remote farm is only possible because the country is ringed by police and armed forces. Those things may be a thousand miles away, but someone still has to pay for them.

> but working 3 more hours at Stewart's

And working 5 more hours would get him a some better garden tools, and 20 more he could support a family of 3 And if he just got a higher paying job, he could even get a car!

> That would be living on 432/month PLUS whatever medicaid is worth, likely well north of another 500/month.

Well, not for long at this rate.

(This was obviously a image of the slippery-slope most of us fall into)

That’s a fun topic. The US government pays just over 19k per person. This means you need to make 100-150k (I came up with 126 with a standard deduction and normal credits) to “break even.”