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How to live on $432 a month in America

(shagbark.substack.com)
526 points cactusplant7374 | 1 comments | 23 May 25 16:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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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. danans ◴[23 May 25 23:57 UTC] No.44077691[source]▶
> 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.

You can save quite a bit of money by living this way even in high CoL areas. That's how a lot of people without high incomes in those areas get by - by getting handy and resourceful. Through that, they often develop/discover talents and skills, and save a lot of expenses.

For my part, I've done all my own landscaping, installed/repaired/maintained my home appliances, built my kitchen cabinetry and other furniture, etc. I estimate these efforts have saved me at least 100k over the years, probably much more.

I don't think it's nearly enough to offset the housing, education and healthcare unaffordability crises, but it's a way in which regular workers get by.

However, the call-Uber/Doordash/Handyman for everything lifestyle isn't something that works unless you are highly paid and have no kids.