What is doable does vary significantly across this country. The assumptions point out that affordable housing has to be available for this budget to even have a chance to work.

Likewise, within the comments, there is clarification that you cannot build a single budget that will work everywhere. A high cost of living budget (requiring a higher minimum wage) is out of whack when applied to other parts of the country. Likewise, a low cost of living area – as used in the example budget – will fail miserably when applied to a high cost of living location.

However, there is always an option. Yes – living in New York and paying 92% of income to rent is a nasty situation to be in. Yes, higher education is only a dream at that point. Improving from within that situation is going to be nearly impossible.

What forces somebody to stay in that situation? Moving to a less expensive location is an option for most people. There are always exceptions, but people who truly cannot move are very rare – most choose reasons not to.

The most important thing I want to draw from your comments is your key point:

Success doesn’t happen for everyone even when they try really hard.

You do have to work hard at the right things to be successful.

As to the other portions of your comment:

At minimum wage, union dues are useless. If the union is unable to get you better wages and benefits at this level, what are they doing collecting dues?
Health insurance costs are rising faster than inflation. The insurance premiums are not tied to pay, but it is becoming more of a crisis as more and more low wage earners are being forced to drop coverage.
Minimal raises of $.10 of even $.30 do just match inflation and will not raise somebody to financial stability. Anyplace offering that small of raises is not seeking to help their employees succeed financially

Living on minimum wage is terrible. It is really only doable as a healthy single person, and that barely. In more expensive locales, it is impossible. But it does provide a floor to start from.

Moving up from that level is a combination of skill, drive and opportunity. The skill is obtainable by all but a handful of people. Opportunities are available for almost everybody as well – although they are not always close to home or easy to locate – especially for dropouts and felons. Drive is the ‘X’-factor that makes the difference. People without the drive will wait a long time for any opportunity to come to them. Those with a lot of drive seldom stay at the bottom for long – even if they drop back there more than once due to bad luck or poor choices.

I understand your pain. It was less than a year ago I was unemployed myself for six months – and the economy has gone down from then.

From your brief comment, it sounds like you are doing what you should be doing. It is frustrating that it has not been enough yet.

With a degree, I hope you are looking higher than minimum wage. Regardless, if you are doing everything right, the situation you are in is not permanent.

The advice I offer is to do your best to handle the frustration, don’t let it make you desperate, and keep on trying. It will eventually work out.

If you want to talk more specifically about your situation, respond again, and I’ll follow up with you outside the comments.

Bull. Those ‘few people’ are the lucky ones anymore. The economy is so lousy I can’t even get a min-wage job to start with. I’m 20 and I’ll never be able to move out of my parents’ basement barring a Moses-parts-the-Red-Sea miracle. Romance (casual or serious) is forever out of the question as are many other things.

I have NO criminal record, I dress to the nines every interview, and I’ve never failed a drug test. I won a scholarship and got a college education…it has done me JACK SQUAT.

The worst was a time plus positive review for a $.10/hour raise, capped at $.40/hour above minimum wage. It was in grocery, but had I stayed there longer, I would have then been old enough to move into a position that paid more (cashier, stock, etc.)

The others moved up more significantly and all within 6 months.

[b]1. You assume this person will forever stay at this minimum wage. In most cases, employers provide raises (small to be sure) after three or six months, a year and regularly after that– assuming again this your hypothetical employee is diligent at work, wants to get ahead.[/b]

Where did you get that idea? Most of the minimum wage jobs I have had were flat minimum, with no raises, take it or leave it.