I am Mike. I am a young man aged 19 and I live in Southington, CT. I had to move here – against my wish - from Boston simply because I could not afford to cater for the living expenses at Boston. It so happens that there is no member of my family who lives anywhere within, that is, I have to take care of myself and do everything for myself. As such, I have to work extra hours and try to earn an extra living so as to make the ends meet. This is no easy feat. First of all, I do not have a permanent job, but work as a casual laborer at McDonald’s. I got this job just by chance; as I was just looking for something that would sustain me. In line with the labor regulations, I get a minimum wage of 8 dollars per hour. I work for 8 hours a day, which counts for 40 hours per week which earns me 320 dollars in a week. However, since I do not have much to do over the weekend, I always prefer to go working for an extra 5 hours. Since this is not supposed to be a working day, I usually get an extra pay which adds up to 80 dollars. As such, I earn a total of 400 dollars in a week. 15% of this goes to the federal taxes, which implies that I loose about 60 hard earned dollars to the government, leaving me with 340 dollars that have to cater for my daily expenses as well as any other needs I might have. My monthly rent is about 270 dollars, which means that I have to save an average of 80 dollars per week for the same. I also have a girlfriend who lives away but I have to try and be with her over the weekends, preferably on Saturday after job. At times I have to visit her and part with an extra $20 for fare, excluding the amount I spend on her. This is not easy for me. I have come to realize that being on the lowest wage makes one quite disadvantaged in that one is inhibited from engaging in the activities they should prefer. It is more of a deprived state. From my point of view, I do not think that there is anything good that comes with minimum wages. I have to forego quite a lot that young people of my age get to enjoy. I even have to do my shopping and groceries from the cheap open markets as opposed to the supermarkets as I cannot afford. My daily spending and lifestyle are filled out in the journal below.
Day 1: Monday
Meals:
Breakfast: Scrambled egg, white tea and bread roll – 2 dollars
Lunch: Pasta – $10
Snack after work: Chocolate – $3
Dinner: Pastry and vegetable stew $11
Others;
Transport: $2.5
Groceries: $5
Shopping for Food: $ 30
Bought a mattress from Bob’s Furniture Store: $50
Things I had to forego: Though the day was boring due to the Monday blues, I could not afford to go for a movie concert with the rest of the employees. I could not find the reason as to why I could sacrifice that much on my eating just to spend the money in a concert.
What today feels like on a minimum wage: I must admit that it is quite embarrassing to be the only one left out while everybody else is out having fun. Nevertheless, I have to live within my means and accept my situation. However, I can’t forget that I made a mess in during one of the deliveries where the products fell off my bike and were destroyed. The cost will have to be cut from my pay for the day, which even reduces my pay. That was quite disappointing. Total Expenditure: $ 123.5
Day 2: Tuesday
Meals:
Breakfast: Breakfast Cereal, Milk and gruel – $2.5
Lunch: French Fries with vegetable salad - $10
Snack after work: A slice of pineapple - $ 1.5
Dinner: Beef stew with macaroni and cheese - $ 15
Others;
Transport: $2.5
Toiletries and stationary: $ 7.5
Welfare contribution: $10
Things I had to forego: Today a big football match was going down at the stadium. Apparently, every individual around had booked a ticket for the match, except for me. I had to be content watching the match from a hotel as I took my dinner. It was quite boring and lonely.
How today feels living on minimum wage: Right now, I am ready to give up anything just so as to have a comfortable life. It feels so bad to be the one left out when everybody else seems to be having a nice time and enjoying life. I must admit, it is not enjoyable at all living on minimum wage. I missed a match, something that I have never done before given that I am such a fan.
Total Amount Spent Today: $ 49
Day 3: Wednesday
Meals:
Breakfast: fresh fruit juice, cookies and black coffee - $ 7.5
Lunch: None
Snack after work: Hamburger: $ 5
Dinner: mushroom soup, cinnamon bread rolls and vegetable salad $ 10
Others;
Transport: $2.5
Water Bill: $20
Electricity Bill: $ 15
Things I had to forego today: I now understand that it is not that the poor do not like enjoying life while the rest do; it is only that they cannot afford the kind of food they would need. Today, I had to forego lunch simply because I knew I had to bills to settle. As such, during lunchtime, I decided to take a cup of coffee at the working site and then took a stroll to settle my bills at the respective offices. Of course, I took the walk leisurely and by the time I came back, it was time to go back to the office.
How it feels today on minimum wage: I am gradually losing hope now. The situation seems so desperate and I am in doubt whether I can go on living like this. It is quite depressing and there seems to be no easy way out. I actually hate living on minimum wage. It is even hard to lead what would be considered to be a normal life. My supervisor was quite mad with me today since I delayed some deliveries due to traffic. I am not motivated at all to continue working.
Total expenses today: $60
Day 4: Thursday:
Meals:
Breakfast: white coffee and 2 queen cakes - $ 7.25
Lunch: canned beans and corn, a glass of milk-shake - $ 7
Snack after work: Lemonade - $ 3
Dinner: Beef cuts and spaghetti: $15
Others;
Transport: $ 2.5
Things I had to forego: Today I was not very much in a good mood and was not ready to spend much on anything. As such, I had planned on no activity and proceeded straight home after work. There was nothing much to do.
How it feels today at minimum wage; I guess the acceptance that this is the kind of life is getting to sink in. I do not seem to have any urge for the activities that I would have considered fun. All I want to do is to have something to put in my stomach, somewhere to lay my head and something to cover my skin in.
Amount Spent today: $33.75
Day 5: Friday
Meals:
Breakfast: Spanish omelet and vanilla cake, white tea - $10
Lunch: Grilled chicken breast, soup and pasta - $ 15
Snack after work: 500 ml yoghurt - $ 3
Dinner: glass of fresh fruit juice, boiled rice and stewed liver: $18
Others;
Transport: 2.5$
Movie: $ 5
Things I had to forego: There was not much opportunity cost today. Being a Friday, I managed to secure some amount and go for a movie. I just had to find something to steer my mind away from this situation. The only intervention is finding a less costly joint where I can just enjoy at the minimal cost.
How it feels today: The only good thing is that today is a Friday, but only good in that tomorrow being a Saturday; I will work for lesser hours but still get something more. I pity myself since I feel that the weekend should be a time to enjoy with friends and family. However, since I need the money to survive, I just I will just have to report to work and hope that one day I will be saved from all of this.
Amount spent today: $ 53.5
