How Does Anyone Live on Less Than $15 an Hour?

Spoiler: They don’t.

Photo by Emilio Takas on Unsplash

$13 an hour plus benefits sounds better on paper than it is in practice.

I started working in a bookstore to help stabilize my life (I can’t say who it is, but you can figure it out). The work is fine, my coworkers are great, my manager loves micromanaging, and the pay is…

Well, I get paid.

Here’s some simple math. I work 35 hours a week at $13 an hour, which means each week, pre-tax, I make $455 weekly or $1820 per month. Pre-tax. Factoring in the 7% tax Pennsylvania takes, that equates to $1,692.60. Between just rent and student loan payments, that leaves me with $117.

Here are the essentials I still have to pay for:

• Groceries
• Car Insurance
• My Car
• Electricity
• Internet
• Credit Cards
• Ubers (because my car is out of commission)
• Health Insurance

I won’t give you a full breakdown, but these things add up to far more than $117.

Luckily, I have a steady(ish) stream of freelance work I do, which covers these extra expenses. However, this doesn’t absolve me of stress. I’m still…