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(19 posts)

Could you live on $9 an hour? Play the game...

Started 8 months ago by JanS
Latest reply from maude

JanS
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http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2011/09/26/7926328-can-you-live-on-9-an-hour-play-the-game

Posted 8 months ago #
mypatience1978
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Thanks for posting that and I hope people really do try it. I passed only because that is my everyday reality, but I am grateful for the the job I have even though everyday is a struggle. I have three kids in three separate schools and if it wasn't for my boss who is willing to do her best to work with the crazy schedules between all the schools I know I would of got fired by now or have had to trust complete strangers with my children or allow them to walk alone to and from school.

Posted 8 months ago #
EmmyJane
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I played (ugh, "played" seems like a horrible term for this). I ran out of money on day 18 when my pet got sick. :-( That is really sad, thank you for sharing with us.

Posted 8 months ago #
JoB
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thanks for posting this
i reposted it for my grandkids
who have no real understanding of other people's realites

Posted 8 months ago #
kootchman
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I went broke pronto.... now, if we could just get the Seattle School Board to play....

Posted 8 months ago #
shihtzu
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I'd love to see it made more robust (although I do understand the point of it). I was doing well until it wouldn't let me make payments for dental work.

Such a great idea. I think the format could be a really useful tool for all sorts of budgeting issues.

Posted 8 months ago #
ezzomr191
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As a currently unemployed college grad and recent transplant to Seattle, I really thought I had a grip on this 'making decisions about money' deal. I made it through the month, but only because I couldn't afford to give my pet medication and had to put it down. Makes you think a little harder about these things ...

Posted 8 months ago #
MercyMoi
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Thanks for the link. I made it to Day 29, barely. Some of the big impacts I could anticipate, like living far from work or walking away from coworkers trying to form a union. I even could anticipate my boss cutting my hours because I opted for an hourly rate over a per unit pay rate (yuck). But it was the little things I take for granted that opened my eyes - like having to keep my kid from attending a school field trip I couldn't afford, or making a choice about the kid playing afterschool sports because the uniform was $50. The big things I can waive away with, "I don't have a crap work environment, so yeah that must suck." But I do have a kid, and saying no to him and a friend when the ice cream truck rolls around because I couldn't spend $5 on ice cream, well, that was more relevant to my life. This game makes me grateful for what I do have, and more aware of much more I can give to help others.

Posted 8 months ago #
Bostonman
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I made it through the month and saved money. Who knows if I made the same choices I would in real life but then again some of the choices they force you to make are BS. For example, I wouldn't have a pet or a cell phone. Plus I would be eligible for housing and utility assistance.

The problem is nowadays people aren't willing to give up on anything. When I lost my job for almost 6 months I went from making $7,000 a month to $2000 a month and I had no problems. I just adjusted my lifestyle.

The other day my 6 year old asked me to buy him a tablet so he could play video games. I explained to him that I don't even have a tablet and they cost $500. I told him he is going to go do some volunteer work with me so he can see what a lot of people have to deal with. He should be fortunate he has a house and food on the table.

Posted 8 months ago #
shihtzu
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I agree that some of the questions were dumb and kind of ruined the point. Thankfully we make more, but I seriously budget myself so we don't live like it. Therefore, if the ice cream man rolls around, most likely I say no because it would make a huge dent in our fun money. And $100 shoes for the kids. Are you kidding? If they want $100 shoes, they can certainly choose that out of their clothing budget, that would probably mean 1 pair of pants and two shirts for the season. But, I still think it's a great tool and eye-opener.

Posted 8 months ago #
DBP
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Well, I failed the typing test to become a clerk, but somehow in real life I managed to become an editor. So I'd say there's either a bug in the Web page's program or there's a bug in mine.

Last year a friend asked me to take some sort of Web test that "proved" I was a racist. The test's assumption was that everyone is a racist and so it's really just a matter of determining how racist you are.

Bogus.

Bostonman, I like what I hear you saying lately. You are one of the few people on this forum who acknowledges that Americans have anything at all to be grateful for. Mike (at Nickelsville) is another. The majority here seem to feel that they're the most oppressed class of people since the Jews toiled under Pharoah.

(These are the same people who are always first to jump in with news about the latest chi-chi restaurant or espresso stand.)

Posted 8 months ago #
skeeter
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If I only made $9 an hour, I would definitely live in High Point in the SHA housing. It is clean, safe, beautiful, and you've got the library right down the street with free internet.

Pets are very expensive. Probably not the best choice with such a limited income. A prepaid mobile phone is less than $12/month if you use less than 60 minutes per month.

Posted 8 months ago #
Huindekmi
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The game did provide the worst possible scenario. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
- The car breaks down
- The pet gets ill
- There's a leak in the bathroom that the landlord won't fix and I'm unable to kludge a temporary fix (like shutting off the water supply when not in use) until the landlord gets off his butt or I have the cash to fix it.
- I get pulled over for traffic violations (or routine stops?) twice in one month.
- Apparently, I'm a very bad driver because I get into an accident too. Maybe I should be riding the bus since I'm such a hazard. Oops! Not an option!
- Even though my hours at were have been cut in half, I keep having to take time off work to meet with people.

With all this happening in just one month... Wow. It had to be the absolute worst month of my life! Not exactly realistic, but probably done to make a point. Life throws curves at you and your budget has to be flexible at times.

I've lived on minimum wage in the past (way back in ancient history) and it wasn't easy. We had to make tons of sacrifices and live on a very strict budget. There was lots of noodles and generic cereals in our diet. We made our milk supply go father by cutting it with powdered milk. We walked or rode our bikes more than we drove. We volunteered at the local church garden so we could have some of the food grown there. The kids did odd jobs around the neighborhood and any money they earned went towards the family bills. When people offered help, we gladly took it and offered something in return - be it cleaning their house or doing yardwork or caring for their pets/house while they went on vacation. Recreation was anything free - luckily there are parks and public libraries. Not that there was much time for recreation. Seemed like we were always doing something for someone - shoveling sidewalks for a box of old clothes, some light accounting for access to a washer and dryer, anything. The only thing that didn't get cut back was the kid's education.

It wasn't fun. It wasn't easy. There were times when it seemed we were a month or so away from living out of the car, and had to take the time to contemplate how we'd make that work. Somehow we did make it work.

But through it all, I never had a month as bad as the one portrayed by the game.

Posted 8 months ago #
kootchman
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If there is a Ver. 2.0 ... they could put in a "what should I do to make me worth more than $9.00 per house?"... other tben just draw breath?

Posted 7 months ago #
redblack
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[snap!] now i know who you are, kootch!

you're the other jeffrey lebowski. the BIG lebowski.

"i advise you to do what your parents did. get a job, sir! the bums will always lose, lebowski!"

ahh, i'm just kidding. i'm pretty sure you don't have a million in cash laying around.

but i'll bet you often look back on a lifetime of achievement.

Posted 7 months ago #
kootchman
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You are sooo right ... but.... I did some shit work at shit pay...hard work, foundry work, agriculture work, mason tender, jackhammer street buster, infantry work, bar tending, house parent at NY Div for Youth group homes, .teaching at Juvenile Detention centers...loading Coca bottling delivery trucks from 12 to 4 AM..piece work and no benefits.. at each step... I kept reading, kept studying, and made incremental improvements until I attained my education, worked the corporate, and then hung out my own shingle after a corporate raid by KKR and corporate dismemberment...... redblack... 90 cents an hour to bale and buck hay...bartending...NO wages ... tips only. But I did make the 10 per center..missed the 1% club ... and my asset base when liquidated, while diminished...is alright... I am secure. I never saw an unemployment check, food stamp, in my entire life... a broken arm... saved enough to pay cash for it...before I started a family and had to get insurance coverage.. The formula was not hard, some of the work was...and never paid one dime in union dues. I did scab though...ha ha ha

Posted 7 months ago #
hooper1961
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the game is bogus, it does not let you rent a room in a house or share an apartment

Posted 7 months ago #
hooper1961
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the game is bogus, it does not let you rent a room in a house or share an apartment

Posted 7 months ago #
maude
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I made it the entire 30 days with just over $300 left but I did lose my job so my housing situation was about to change. I didn't care for some of the options. I would have called to get my student loans deferred instead of paying them or asking a friend for money. Same with utilities...I'd find out if I could get a reduced rate or pay a smaller amount monthly. I cut my kid off at the knees when they came home whining about kids teasing them. Hello? Kids will find something to tease you about. Eat your damn free lunch, it's better than eating what grocery stores were about to throw out, which is how we lived in real life. The problem with this game is that many of us are educated and know that there are options for us. Many in my family just get deeper into debt because they are either too proud to ask for assistance or because they just don't know the assistance is out there.

Posted 7 months ago #