You know those everyday people you see working at grocery stores, restaurants, and etc. living paycheck to...?

Question

paycheck. I have always wondered, how do they support their family? Pay all the bills and medical expenses? And how do the single parents make it as well?

In case you don't UNDERSTAND my question, I wasn't talking down about these people in any way. I was just wondering how they survive with minimum income.

Answer 1

It's hard, but you figure it out........often you go without things that others take for granted.

Answer 2

Well, you don't have to work at a grocery store or restaurant to be living paycheck to paycheck. In fact, I'd think the greatest majority of people are living that way. I live paycheck to paycheck and have a 16-year-old son. I just pay my bills as they come due. It's not easy, but we get along just like anybody else.

Answer 3

Easy. We don't buy a bunch of things we really don't need. We don't go buy big fancy houses and cars, we don't have to have name brand stuff, and we don't go out all the time partying and clubbing. Example instead of throwing a big birthday party at a bar or somewhere we throw one at home, church, or even work where everyone chips in a brings something (all depending on the occasion and how many people). Or we will have our friends come over to the house and we just play board games or video games or go swimming or something. We also use Wal-Mart brand on most everything. Why pay $100 for the same shirt somewhere else when you can get it at a bargain store like Wal-Mart or Dollar General for about $10. We learn to save.

Answer 4

It's hard. You just have to be a smart shopper. My family lives paycheck to paycheck and we do the majority of our grocery shopping at Save-A-Lot. We figure out our monthly bills and make sure we save money to pay those bills when they come due. We don't sacrifice a lot but we work very hard and budget very carefully so we don't have to sacrifice too much.

Answer 5

My husband owns a restaurant so I can tell you how they do it. Most (if not all) of our employees with kids have medicaid to pay for their pregnancies and child(ren)'s medical expenses. Most of the parents also receive food stamps. None of them have life insurance. For those where both parents work, they recieve government assistance that pays for most (if not all) of their daycare expenses. When they buy a car they finance it over as many years as they can, and carry the least amount of insurance that they can (some carry no car insurance). One of our employees who is married is about to give birth to her 7th child, her mom pays their rent (all of their money goes to her husband's drug habit, her shopping addiction, and rent-a-center).

But everyone, living paycheck to paycheck or not, has to budget their money to last. And I think you'll find that its not only the lowest wage earners who live paycheck to paycheck. American actually had at least one month last year with a negative savings amount per capita, which means that as a whole the entire country spent more than we earned (not including the government, which always spends more than it takes in these days).

I wish that we could pay people more, but honestly we only profit $0.05 per dollar of sales that we do, and customers raise hell everytime we have to raise prices to cover our growing costs.

Answer 6

"these 'everyday' people"?!! are you not 'an everyday person'? what are you then? these people you mention aren't always living paycheck to paycheck. we're not all doing these jobs because we're poor. in my case, i have kids so i work part time, my husband has an OK paying job and with me working it means that we can afford those little extras such as car, holidays,and such. we've also been in the position were we haven't had much money coming in and we've both taken these sort of jobs, at one time my husband worked three and when he was home i was working. you manage. and one day things get better

Heather, you dont seem to have a very high opinion of your staff

Answer 7

You use it up, fix it up, do without, clip coupons, work two jobs, by on sale, buy used, buy clothes at second hand stores for everyday use, use lay a way, steer away from credit(dont want payments), and some how you keep going until the next check when you do it all over again with a different set of bills.

Answer 8

Well, obviously you wouldnt be asking this question if you lived paycheck to paycheck.

First of all - people make it work. We sacrifice things that we dont need (2 cars, 100$ shirts etc) so that we can have the things we do need.

Living paycheck to paycheck is not a crime, and statistically, most people do. You act like we are deprived or something.

Answer 9

It's not easy. Everything I had went to my kids; I did without new clothes, shoes, etc., for years. I was divorced, and had the benefit of a small child support amount & that helped, but my kids had the free school lunches & stuff like that. You do what you have to do to survive and I think it made us all stronger. My kids, now grown, respect me for the sacrifices I made and continue to make for them.

And FYI, I *still* live virtually pay check to pay check. That's life for the majority of us in this country.

Answer 10

very carefully. It is very hard. I am a single mother ( I do not receive any type of child support from his "sperm donor") and you keep yourself on a tight budget and try to do everything that you can to keep your head above water. Doesn't always work, sometimes you have to rob peter to pay paul, but as a mom I sacrifice my personal wants or needs so that my son will what he needs and wants.