How A Family Of Four Manages To Live Well On Just $14,000 Per Year

[RDS]

Emulate them and it all boils down to living within your means.

In the years since the recession, the median household income in the U.S. has dropped to just over $50,000, while fixed costs like health care, higher education, and housing have only soared. Now imagine trying to support a family of four on a fraction of that income.
It's a reality that stay-at-home wife and mother of two Danielle Wagasky has lived for the last four years.
And, perhaps a little surprisingly, she wouldn't have it any other way.


Read more: Wagasky Family Lives On $14,000/Year - Business Insider

 

[Superfly]

well, that's all well and good, but it's a little misleading. They paid cash for their cars, and cash for their house. $14,000 a year is pretty decent if you have no mortgage or car payments.

 

[ttwtt78640]

In many places in this country rent alone is over $600/month with utilities of at least $150/month leaving less than their quoted $400/month for food, not counting ANYTHING for medical, internet (needed for the neflix/hulu), gasoline and auto insurance & maintanence payments. The talk of "savings" to buy the house/truck are not included in that "budget" either. I find this article very lacking in details.

We, my grilfreind and I, pay $300/month rent (single-wide mobile home), $150/month utilities (electric, trash & water), $75/month cable/internet and about $475/month on food - that alone is $12,000/year, if our total income was $14,000 that leaves $2000/year for medical, clothing, gasoline/auto insurance, entertainment and *joke* savings. Where did these folks manage any "savings", especially the claimed $18,000 for vehicles and $30,000 for a house - that is $48,000 or saving EVERY spare penny ($2,000/year) for 24 years - something was clearly left out of the mix!


Rental costs:
http://rentbits.com/rb/t/rental-rates/las_vegas-nevada

Utility costs:
http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/What_is_the_average_ELECTRIC_utility_bill_during_t-48138

 

[ChuckBerry]

Emulate them and it all boils down to living within your means.

From the article: By the time Wagasky's husband came home from Iraq

I think this is the key phrase of the article. No doubt the extra deployment pay, and not having to pay at all for husband's food, gas, healthcare, entertainment, etc. for the time he was deployed, was a tremendous help in achieving savings goals. I work offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and during the time I'm offshore I cost the family nothing, plus the bonus of tons of overtime during the busiest periods. We can save lots of money that way, but I miss my son growing up.

If you're in a position to do something like that for a few years, you can reap the benefits if you don't use it as an opportunity to buy tons of pricey toys.

 

[RDS]

From the article: By the time Wagasky's husband came home from Iraq

I think this is the key phrase of the article. No doubt the extra deployment pay, and not having to pay at all for husband's food, gas, healthcare, entertainment, etc. for the time he was deployed, was a tremendous help in achieving savings goals. I work offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and during the time I'm offshore I cost the family nothing, plus the bonus of tons of overtime during the busiest periods. We can save lots of money that way, but I miss my son growing up.

If you're in a position to do something like that for a few years, you can reap the benefits if you don't use it as an opportunity to buy tons of pricey toys.

Sacrifice is the key word here. I have a close friend in China. He is a chemical engineer and works for China's biggest oil company. He travels often and is away from home for months. He too missed his son growing up but his son beacame independent at very young age. They saved tons of money.

 

[ChuckBerry]

his son beacame independent at very young age

Translation: he learned to live without his father being around. That's sad. Children need their fathers, boys especially.

They saved tons of money.

...and missed how many birthdays? How many little league games? I'd rather be struggling to make bills each month and be with my family rather than have a paid off mortgage with a son who barely knows me.

 

[RDS]

Translation: he learned to live without his father being around. That's sad. Children need their fathers, boys especially.



...and missed how many birthdays? How many little league games? I'd rather be struggling to make bills each month and be with my family rather than have a paid off mortgage with a son who barely knows me.

Sow the seeds first and reap the rewards later. His son now drives a Lexus to college and a student in a top university - Beijing University.

 

[cpwill]

Sow the seeds first and reap the rewards later. His son now drives a Lexus to college and a student in a top university - Beijing University.

I hope it works out well for him - but the research is also pretty clear that children generally suffer when they lack a two-parent structure. Not saying that all kids who don't get that are screwed, just saying that as adults, we should take that into account when we measure presence v money.

 

[Chelsea]

If he's still listed as actibe duty then the family gets benefits that a non-military family gets. The deployment pay could be how they paid off the house and the car. A family of 4 without the military perks wouldnt have been in such a situation. Rent of $600-$800 per month would kill mosg of that $14,000 and leave very$1200/month plus little for anything more than basic housing and utilities. Gas in Vegas right now is $3.50-$3.60 a gallon and our electric bill last month was $74. Take $60 for two weeksof gas or $120/month, $70 for utilities, and our rent of $630/month plus $80 in car insurance out of $1200/month and you have $320 left over. Thats assuming you have no other expenses and your hours remain constant (not in oiur case) with 2 lids... God forbid yoi have a copay or antibiotics that month! I call bull**** on the article. There was information witheld if thats the case. Plus 3 bedrooms out here run from $700 crapshacks to $900 actual homes in rent.

 

[ChuckBerry]

Sow the seeds first and reap the rewards later. His son now drives a Lexus to college and a student in a top university - Beijing University.

...and how many memories of his father? Life is about more than bank account, toys and bullet points on a resume.

 

[RDS]

...and how many memories of his father? Life is about more than bank account, toys and bullet points on a resume.

Solution - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

[Baralis]

It can be done but a person has to sacrifice a lot to achieve it. My father and I have lived on between $12K-$15K per year for several years and do not own a home but instead rent. Granted this is in the midwest where real estate/rent is on the cheaper end. In order to get by on such low income you have to sacrifice nearly all recreational expenses, no eating out, no going to movies, that sort of things. I also have had zero medical expenses but that only fits into my personal outlook. I have not gone to a doctor in about a dozen years, fortunately I have had no health problems that needed care. Our one extra expense is the internet which we use for all our entertainment as well as phone service. We get all our TV shows and such from the internet so cable tv is not required. We do save a few dollars each month for extra things that may come up like cloths or car repair. I would also like to point out that I am not receiving any sort of assistance and never have. My father has received medical assistance (medicaid) in the past for severe heart disease but is not receiving any at this time.

It is all about what you are willing to live with or without, our lives would probably be to limited for most people, we basically do nothing that costs money unless it is absolutely necessary. We have to find entertainment however we can but I have found that once you have gotten used to it that a cheap life can be almost as fulfilling, its all about your outlook on life.

 

[CanadaJohn]

Again, what isn't mentioned is that minimum wage is not designed to be a living wage for a family of four - it is designed for entry level positions in places like fast food restaurants, providing employment for teenagers, college students, etc. not for a man with a wife and kids - the man with the wife and kids should be acquiring the skills and experience necessary to have a career.

 

[MaggieD]

well, that's all well and good, but it's a little misleading. They paid cash for their cars, and cash for their house. $14,000 a year is pretty decent if you have no mortgage or car payments.

And no health insurance costs either. Still, it's pretty impressive.

 

[specklebang]

There is no mention of assistance in her blog. However....

At $14K they are eligible for food stamps, medicaid, food pantries and other assistance both private and government. Now, maybe they refuse this aid but I really doubt it. I think with a family of 4 you not only don't pay FIT, you get a rebate.

So, I seriously question this income claim.

I live in Las Vegas and I own my house and my car. My income is considerably higher than theirs. I suppose I could live on $14K a year....but I think I spend more than that - and it's just me and the cats.

Chelsea, I paid $3.82 for gas yesterday so where did you see $3.50 gas? Just asking.

Emulate them and it all boils down to living within your means.

 

[Goshin]

Translation: he learned to live without his father being around. That's sad. Children need their fathers, boys especially.



...and missed how many birthdays? How many little league games? I'd rather be struggling to make bills each month and be with my family rather than have a paid off mortgage with a son who barely knows me.

Amen, brother, amen.

When I ended up divorced with a 2 year old, I knew what my priorities had to be. I gave up a promising career in LE and took a day job. I passed on several opportunities to start a more promising and better paying career because lots of travel and OT were involved and I wasn't willing to take all that time away from my son, knowing he only had one good parent.

On their last day, lying on their deathbed, no man ever wished he'd spent less time with his children and more time at the office.... and I doubt many children were ever heard to complain "I wish my Dad had worked all the time and never been home when I was growing up."

Yes, sometimes we have to sacrifice... but we should try to avoid making family the thing we burn on the altar of making money.

 

[Chelsea]

There is no mention of assistance in her blog. However....

At $14K they are eligible for food stamps, medicaid, food pantries and other assistance both private and government. Now, maybe they refuse this aid but I really doubt it. I think with a family of 4 you not only don't pay FIT, you get a rebate.
So, I seriously question this income claim.
I live in Las Vegas and I own my house and my car. My income is considerably higher than theirs. I suppose I could live on $14K a year....but I think I spend more than that - and it's just me and the cats.
Chelsea, I paid $3.82 for gas yesterday so where did you see $3.50 gas? Just asking.

We live near desert inn and boulder but it was down a bit near Trop and boulder off of tropicana going towards Paradise from Boulder Hwy. We were just at lamb and boulder and its 3.65 there

 

[Helix]

while i'm certainly not for being wasteful or for borrowing beyond one's means, i would have to point out that in a nation with a 70 percent consumer spending based GDP, it's generally good when people have extra money to spend. if everyone lived on the absolute bare minimum, that wouldn't be terrific for sales.

either way, i hope that they don't have to live that way for too long. they are also kind of a unique situation. even people in my area can't make it on that little, and i live in a low cost of living region.

 

[RDS]

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the strong family ties. Money without family is bad. Family without money is worse. People strive to satisfy basic needs first then move on to affiliation needs etc and finally self-actualization needs. The needs form a hierarchy.

 

[Ikari]

Sow the seeds first and reap the rewards later. His son now drives a Lexus to college and a student in a top university - Beijing University.

So we should be like the commies? How many jerks there live oppressed or are killed to support such a system?

 

[RDS]

So we should be like the commies? How many jerks there live oppressed or are killed to support such a system?

Many foreigners claim we live oppressed in Singapore but we have the highest GDP Per Capita in the world.

 

[Ikari]

Many foreigners claim we live oppressed in Singapore but we have the highest GDP Per Capita in the world.

Yeah, aggregate up to America's levels and we'll talk shop. Till then, small economies and limited populations certainly can show more per capita growth; but it don't mean nothing.

 

[RDS]

Yeah, aggregate up to America's levels and we'll talk shop. Till then, small economies and limited populations certainly can show more per capita growth; but it don't mean nothing.

You wanna aggregate? Fair enough. We are smaller than Chicago. Make the comparisons.

 

[Ikari]

You wanna aggregate? Fair enough. We are smaller than Chicago. Make the comparisons.

It's not a linear system. The only thing you are really showing is that your denominator is low enough to make the overall fraction the same as other industrialized and advanced nations. It doesn't actually mean you produce more, create more wealth, or contribute to the overall knowledge base of the human race at a higher rate than others. Sorry Charlie. All you get is caned for vandalism.

 

[RDS]

It's not a linear system. The only thing you are really showing is that your denominator is low enough to make the overall fraction the same as other industrialized and advanced nations. It doesn't actually mean you produce more, create more wealth, or contribute to the overall knowledge base of the human race at a higher rate than others. Sorry Charlie. All you get is caned for vandalism.

Absolute figures don't convey any meaning.