Just some simple math for people that work a 40 hr week..
 

Say you make 8.75 an hr...

You want to buy a Car for 20,000.00 Cash.
You have to work 2400 hrs @ 8.75 an hr
To make 21000.00
And if you worked 40 hrs a week That would take you 60 weeks of work.. And there is only 52 weeks in a year.

Just pointing that out to the thread that said can you live off 7.00 an hr.

And You still need to eat right?? 1000? That is a lot of top ramin

That's insane. :\

72 months

right.. because there is no such thing as TAX right?

When you make that little you love tax day.. you get money back

Is my math that off? Where do you get 72 months from?

52 weeks in a year right? = 2080 hrs... ad on 6 more weeks to get 2400hrs

Tell me who is making 7-8 an hour and remotely thinkg of buying a car for 20k cash? Noone is the answer. Hence 72 month car loans.

Even if you make $20/hr you dont drop 20k cash on a car.

Living on $7 an hour is far from difficult. Living a decent life on $7 an hour is a different story.

People making $7 an hour don't buy new $20k cars. They buy used $3k cars from their Aunt Sally.

Who in their right mind would work for 8.75? :1orglaugh

High schooler

Not necessarily. Also you certainly don't get FICA taxes back. They take that right out of your paycheck and yet you still have to pay income tax on you FICA tax. That's fucked.

Anyways say you are single and make $7 an hour that's $14,560 a year. After FICA taxes are taken out that leaves you $13,446. Now you get deduct $7950 of your income for a taxable income of $5496 of that you pay $598. So your total tax obligation is $1712 or about 11.8% of your gross income. And you don't get ANYTHING back. Of course that's not counting sales taxes and gas taxes and such that you also pay through the year.

Now if you have kids you get all kind of tax breaks and yes often not ony do you not pay taxes you get money back you never paid in. So to me that's the governments way of telling people to go out and breed.

If someone makes $8 an hr they should buy a used car for 3k or so...
As long as it works that should be good enouh for them.

If you make $8 a 20k car should be a luxury not a necessity. It is not necessary to have a 20k car. That's why poor people stay poor, becuase they don't know how to manage money properly. They consume too much and buy too much crap they don't need.

That would be considered a good paying job where I live. Not that you can live off that here. That's just what the pay scale is. Hell having a job period is an accomplishment. When having an 8.5% umemployment rate is cause for celebration, something is fucked up.

People that make $8/hr. should not be buying a $20K car ... that's how they stay poor. Good 'ol cycle of poverty.

Just to let you know that a $20K car is not a fancy car. You can't get very many new cars for under $20K. Hell a fricken barebones Neon costs over $16K after you add in taxes and shit.

Granted..if it is that bad why would people live there? There is no way in hell I could live off that.That is minimum wage here but we are taxed to death so the more you make the more income tax they take off anyways

I'm 23, married and I don't have a car.

People where I live have had families that have lived here for almost 200 years. This is all they know and are poorly educated and really could make it any better in a big city. And this this way if you go 50 miles North, South East or West. At least here you can rent a house for $350 a month. Sure is probally over 50 years old and doesn't have central heat or air, but at it's not $800 a month or more like in a big city. Not going to go into how I came here or why I'm still here, but at least I'm not slaving at some factory for $7-$8 an hour.

nice math calculation you did there man. :thumbsup

Of course I know that. But if someone is making only 8 bucks an hour I consider that "really" low income and they should buy a used car, the cheapest of the cheap, like a used Civic, Camry or Corolla type of car. If you make only eight bucks that's not enough to afford a 20k car, even though we all know a 20k car is not fancy. They should buy a used car that still runs, like a 1990 corolla or some crappy car like that...

Oh, I agree with you 100% but I didn't want to get to much into poltics.

I think it depends where you live. For instance, I used to live in a small town in Minnesota (where I went to college). There I could:

Rent a 1 bedroom apartment for $325/month
Pay next to nothing for services
Pay less for gas
Pay less in taxes
Pay next to nothing for clothes, etc.


Now that I live in Chicago:

1 bedroom place in a good area of Chicago is about $900/month
Gas is taxed out the ass
All your services are expensive
Food is expensive
Parking is expensive
Insurance is expensive


It just depends where you live. I knew guys in rural areas getting by fine on $9/hour.

$8.75? Is that what they are paying in Florida? I was making $22/hour straight out of college until I quit to pursue other ventures.

A one bedroom for $325? Haha I really need to get out of Boston. A one bedroom here is $650 cheapest...and thats living on the outskirts of Boston in the burbs.

Ok. Thanks for the info.

This is why people buy old used cars ;)

I don't wanna sound like Balki from Perfect Strangers but my childhood and experiences growing up in the USA truly prove that the US is the land of opportunity. My parents made minimum wage but they both worked two jobs, saved, and believed in the future. Due to this diligence and unflagging belief in making it, they were able to buy a house, several cars, and some investment property. Moreover, this story is not restricted to Filipino immigrants, I have Mexican, Russian, Armenian, and Indian friends whose parents all came with little to no money but invested their TIME, WORK, and FAITH to make it work.

It's doable, bro. You just have to BELIEVE in yourself.

Everytime I think I have run across a hurdle I can't reach or an impasse I can't resolve... I just think back to the 1 cup of rice my mom rationed to each of her siblings and the monthly flooding of their squatters' shack. Whatever problems or doubts I have instantly dissipate and I keep moving forward. Same thing for everyone. Just FOCUS on what's possible and it WILL HAPPEN!

alot of people don't need a 20k car...

http://automobiles.honda.com/models/...pe&Category=LX

it even has A/C! the dx is cheap too so 20k is more than enough for a NEW car. that and the fact that you'll get atleast 200k miles out of that car before you have any major repairs.

Let me get this straight... if you earn $100 an hour you can't pay cash for a Bently = you are poor and can't live off $100 an hour?

A LOT of hard-working, appreciative, and motivated people...if given the chance.

if you're earning that little, you dont even need to think about a 20k car.

Someone without an education.

i completely agree!

Who the fuck would spend 20k on a car when only earning 8 bucks an hour? Stupid thread.

I can show you a town where most people have cars that cost way more than $20k - and off the record I happen to know that 95% of them are on welfare with only gov't income - half of them would work if they could get a job at that kind of money but the only jobs available are around $6/hr here

You don't need a car to live moron.

Truth is that you can buy a used 91-92 Accord for around 3k to 4k and it will still last for a long time and not give you too much trouble. You won't look very cool driving it, but it will get you from point A to B which is all that matters really. You could probably buy a very nice used car for 7-8k that will run smooth and not look too shabby either.

No one "needs" a 20k car, if they think they really do they are delusional. For someone that poor its much better to buy a used car because it doesn't depreciate in value so much. Actually a lot of people who have money buy used cars too. And they could always take the bus if they have to. You can find plenty of decent used cars for 4k or so. A 20k car is not something you "have" to have. If someone is that poor they should buy a used car or walk. Who cares, it's no big deal if they can't afford a 20k car, they don't need it anyways, it's only a car.

It's a stupid question because it's like saying "if you make $8 an hr you have to work 20 hrs just to buy a pair of $160 designer Frankie B Jeans, how terrible!"

But no one really "needs" a $160 pair of designer jeans, if they are hard up they can just go to Walmart and get jeans for $20 ... Same with a 20k car, it's not a necessity. People just think they need it; it's all in their head.