Now, why am I doing this you may ask? Am I trying to prove something? Well, the answer is that there is no straight answer. I have wanted to do it for a long time to see if I can manage clinging to a budget and can save money in the process. I had been trying to do it, but there were things I had to cut to be able to actually afford living this way. I have to admit I was a judgy person when it comes to saving, I have always been really good with money and thought it was something that people were born with and those in difficult situations simply where doing it wrong. I have grown, so I know how expensive life is and how it is almost impossible to live with a minimum wage salary (it, also, depends a lot on where you live). You have to ask yourself, is what I am purchasing really necessary? Will I use it? Do I have enough money to go to the movies, buy treats, pay for gas, yatta, yatta, yatta? I do live in a rather not so expensive place when it comes to house rent, college tuition, and the like. However, we do have one of the highest tax percents in the US, currently 11.5%, soon to be a 16% with a new law signed a few months ago. This will make things rather interesting. So, I thought, if I am going through the trouble of living less comfortably to have a better sense on my finances and what I experience can help others, why not document it? So, here I am.
Now, what's the plan? It's fairly easy. For the next months, I will be living as a minimum wage salary earner. In Puerto Rico the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. That means $1,160 a month, $15,080 a year. I will pay myself biweekly from my current salary the amount of $639.49 (social security deductions included). Monthly, I will also receive the amount of $140, which I receive for child support from my daughter's father. I will only use these amounts and these amounts only to survive. I have made a list of my expenses and their approximate spending. It's detailed below, with calculations being made around the current tax percent. I will begin with an initial amount of $639.49, a two week payment on February 1st and will not get paid until next February 12th. Each blog entry will detail how my week went including: supermarket visits on a budget yet healthy, birthday parties on a budget, planned vacations, new vacations, etc, etc.
The expense list:
| Expense | Cost (monthly) | Comments |
| Internet Bill | $38.00 | 27th of every month; quantity is approximate |
| Daughter's school | $200.00 | before the 10th every month |
| Cellphone Bill | $27.88 | second/third week (depends) |
| Electricity Bill | $30.00 | approximate |
| Water Bill | $30.00 | approximate |
| Rent | $300.00 | before the 5th of every month |
| Gas | $72.00 | approximately $18 weekly |
| Groceries | $300.00 | $150 every two weeks (food/ toilet paper/ paper towels / dish-washing soaps/ detergents/ etc) |
| School miscellaneous | $2.00 | casual day biweekly |
| Entertainment | $50.00 | movies, eat out, school, work stuff |
| Church | $8.00 | offering |
| Emergency | $60.00 | Sickness, medicine etc |
| Other | $33.00 | Clothes, shoes, Amazon Prime, school yearly fees, swimming lessons |
| Total | $1,150.88 | Total approximate money spent on expenses |
| Money to save | $128.10 | 10% of paycheck |
As you may see, I don't have many debts. They are more responsibilities and living expenses. I do not own a house, so I do not pay a mortgage. My rent is pretty cheap compared to many, but I do not live in an expensive neighborhood. I do live in a two bedroom apartment, comfortable and quite breezy... Puerto Rico is HOT!
I have my daughter in a private bilingual school. If I was really earning minimum wage on a daily basis, it'd be a sacrifice I would be willing to make. My mom did it with my sisters and I, and I believe it has paid off. She invested in education, and I believe that is one of the best investments you can make as a parent. The school has an enrollment fee, but that needs to be taken care around March-May, when she is actually enrolled in school again.
Another thing that I live with that allows me to go through this challenge more comfortably is that my cellphone plan is extremely cheap. Then again, its not a great deal; I have a prepaid account that allows a maximum of 250 minutes per cycle with unlimited messaging but no data. So I don't use the Internet unless I have a WiFi connection. Moreover, I don't have a car payment since I still have the car my mom gave me when I entered college a few years ago.
One of the hardest things I will be experiencing during this challenge is the $300 groceries budget for the whole month. I believe I spend around $350-$400 a month currently. At my house, I try to eat as healthy as possible, and healthy produce is expensive. I tend to buy grains, bread, pasta, among others that are 100% whole wheat, where a 1 lb bag of pasta can be around $4. I just don't buy everything that's on sale on the shopper, because many are processed or have high percentages of sugar and salt. Don't get me wrong, I do take advantage of special offers, but on things I already use. This healthy path of righteousness that I am talking about has not been easy and has not always been, period. It has been a slow progression beginning two and a half years ago. I used to visit fast foods regularly, buy breakfast and lunch at the company's cafeteria, eat canned, boxed meals when I got home since I was tired, and so on. I began by eating my three meals and snacking, adding more greens to my diets, cutting sugar and trying to visit less fast foods. Where I am standing today is that I eat as little processed foods as possible, cook at home and haven't been to any burger fast foods in six months ( I have visited KFC and Church's, I am making progress, cut me some slack).
As for medical insurance, I currently am enrolled at the company's healthcare for, both, my daughter and I. For this experiment, the payment will continue to be made (which is deducted from my biweekly pay) and I will assume I have the government's public healthcare insurance called Mi Salud (Medicaid),
In addition, I will be saving 10% of my paycheck. I believe this is one of the most important things to do while budgeting, allowing you to have enough money in case an emergency arrives or, God forbids, you lose your job.
So, I hope we both learn from this challenging yet important decision. We never know where we might find ourselves tomorrow. So, we better be as ready as we can to face all obstacles. If you'd like to follow my progress and learn from my mistakes, please subscribe. If you have any ideas of things you'd like for me to share specifically, please comment below.
See you next Sunday, February 7th.
