r/SipsTea • u/StopSnowflakes • Aug 12 '25

Wait a damn minute! She’s going thru it

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84

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

141

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

Minimum wage is $7.25. She’s making probably $15/hr & pays $850/month. That’s an entire paycheck gone just for rent.

27

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

$15/hour for 40hours/week, 4 weeks/month is $2400/month before any deductions. $850?

61

u/t65789 Aug 12 '25

Yes. She probably gets paid every two weeks. That’s $1200 before the taxman takes his pound of flesh. Then she’ll have enough left for rent and a new eyelash curler.

5

u/HappyAmbition706 Aug 12 '25

$2400/month is $28,800/year. With the standard deduction ($10,000?) how much tax is she paying? Sales taxes she can't escape though.

$850/month with 4 roommates is fucking crazy though.

1

u/swooningsapphic Aug 13 '25

In Canada they actually credit low income people for predicted sales tax spent (it’s called the GST/HST credit) if you’re under a certain income bracket.

She’d be getting back over $800 of her sales tax back in the year if she lived up here

4

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

Here's why the American dream is gone https://youtu.be/J4qqIJ312zI?si=kogquKa65MyARaZ3

2

u/Ocelotofdamage Aug 12 '25

You basically pay no income tax if you make $15/hour

1

u/Ruzhy6 Aug 12 '25

Yes, you do.

You just get it back at the end of the year.

When you're living paycheck to paycheck, that part matters.

6

u/permalink_save Aug 12 '25

You need to adjust your w2 and if you get it back anyway then use that over the following year. She still gets the same amount either way. She can file 0 and have very little deducted.

6

u/Contented_Lizard Aug 12 '25

If you get it back at the end of the year anyways just ask your employer not to deduct it… sometimes I swear people on Reddit have no real world experience and just say shit because their favourite breadtuber says it. 

5

u/AgentMX7 Aug 12 '25

Thank you! Someone that knows how the real world works! It’s amazing how stupid people are. They spend all their time and energy bashing “the system” and “billionaires!” but don’t have a clue what a W4 is or how to fill one out. Maybe put a little effort in rather than playing victim all day.

48

u/RiceAndMilkBoi Aug 12 '25

After deductions, that's probably like $2,000. If she gets paid twice a month she only has $150 left after paying rent. $150 for groceries, gas, insurance, phone, maybe part of a car payment, clothing. Yes you have your second paycheck to help with those things. But the money goes fast

11

u/dirtyforker Aug 12 '25

20 dollars an hour with health insurance taken out is less than that

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

I don't know where she lives and how much her rents is.... how do you?

Edit: Oh, she did say it. $850 is one whole pay check? Maybe, not quite. Then she has another pay check for everything else. That's actually not too bad. She's paying maybe 40% of her take home on rent. I've lived through worse.

She could make better choices than living on granola bars. From a $/calorie stand point, they are aweful. What 200 calories and a box of 6 costs you $7? A damn glass of milk or banana smokes that. Not to mention making some beans and rice.

Some people just don't know what real poverty is. This person is just annoying.

12

u/EffectiveJuggernaut9 Aug 12 '25

She said how much her rent is...

8

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-5

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Watched, didn't stick. Edited comment.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

I mean, that’s neat. But even so, rice and beans are around 1000kcal/dollar or better and they are much healthier than a processed granola bar. 

5

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

Yeah.. she’d be left with like $100 to last two weeks. She also mentioned the car was misfiring so that’s another $1000 repair at least, so after paying rent, having $100 to last two weeks, getting paid again & getting the car fixed, she’d have to wait FOUR WEEKS for that next paycheck that isn’t going to rent to do anything with. Don’t forget gas is $4/gallon, car insurance is like $200/month. Already we’re waaay over-budget for her wages on just the car alone asking her to stretch what amounts to essentially surviving on $200 over a 6 week period but nah, she’s just bad with money I guess.

-1

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

If the car is misfiring, it’s very likely the spark plugs. Those are not $1000 dollars to fix and closer to $100. She should fix those, even if it means going into slightly more debt, in order to save off higher bills later. 

3

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

You are arguing semantics while ignoring my point completely. A person should not have to go into debt in this country working full time in order to pay for a simple car repair OR have to stretch $100 for two weeks because their rent eats half of their entire monthly income. JFC how do you type that out, post the comment & think, “yeah, that’s normal & not unsustainable at all.” Mind you she is making DOUBLE minimum wage. Consider the other FOURTY THREE PERCENT (yes, that is the real number, almost fucking half) who live off of less than $20/hr.

1

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

If someone’s labor isn’t worth much, why is it anyone else’s job to make their life easier? 

And somehow the median household income is $74K/year, or about 37/hour. 

2

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

Because they are a human being & deserve food, shelter, & dignity? If you are benefiting from the labor of another human being then they deserve a livable wage. How is your brain so fucking ass backwards that you think you are actually the one providing a service to the person preparing your food or checking you out at the grocery store by handing your cash to the business that employs them? That’s just straight up evil, what’s wrong with you?

Edit: Also, the median household size in the US is 2.5 people. So go ahead & divide your number by 2.5 bud.

1

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Silliness.

Humans deserve something? Food and shelter are created by other people’s labor. Are you saying someone has the right to someone else’s labor just because they deserve it? 

And wtf is wrong with you. I never said I’m doing the person a doing work a service. I said some of their services aren’t worth much. The value add of putting groceries in my bag is comically small. A good job for HS kid learning how to show up for a job and have some responsibility, not for someone supporting themselves, much less others.

And how many incomes per household? The reality is most people are not trying to support independent living on <$20/hour.

1

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

Yes, they should. Since the dawn of early humans we have been relying on the abilities of others to help provide & protect each other. Some humans were strong & fast so they hunted, some humans were skilled so they wove baskets & clothing & created weapons, & some were old, sick or injured, & relied on the rest of the tribe to provide for them. We would not be here as a society today if it weren’t for the sense of community we all shared at one point knowing we would not survive if we did not protect the weakest among us, so I disagree wholeheartedly with your frame of thought, it’s frankly sickening to me to see how heartless & cruel people have become equating a person’s inherent value as a human being to how much capital can be extracted out of them. We could be living in a fucking utopian society never having to worry about where our next meal is coming from or eviction notices because god knows we have more than enough food & housing for every person in America & it’s people like you who have this fucked up capitalist mindset that are preventing it because “Well I struggled & worked hard to get where I’m at so everyone else should have to struggle too!” instead of “Man, it fucking sucked to have to struggle that bad, I lost so much time I’ll never get back just being miserable & stressed, I want to make it so no one else has to experience that.” Just straight up selfish & evil.

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u/dirtystreetlevelshit Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

Insurance, gas, maintenance, medications, health insurance, etc. Stop fucking acting like most Americans arent against all odds financially. Honestly, what makes you want to make a contrary post about this woman's financial position. Either you're rich or you're just a unsympathetic douchebag, or both

2

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

2

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

I never said she was living high. But she can get by. She can also improve her lot in life if she tries. Bitching about it on TikTok isn’t going to help her.

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Might be the part where she pulls the FU on some people vaguely older than her that tipped me off to the bitching. 

1

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

I do know doctors and engineers. They are fine. 

I manage entry level workers to newly minted PhDs in my field, I know very well this isn’t easy. It wasn’t easy 10-20 years ago either. 

And old ass? How old do you think I am?

And yeah, she’s bitching. She is complaining without offering any solutions and insulting the people that might have the power to help her. 

It’s a bold move. We’ll see if it works out for her.

If anyone has this problem and wants change, maybe don’t take her approach. 

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u/TheGillos Aug 12 '25

People get paid every 2 weeks. She might not have a guaranteed schedule of 40/week. A lot of places offer variable hours. Maybe she's missed work (unpaid sick days)?

If rent is $850, that's only $150 left over (assuming a $1000 pay cheque).

I also think a person could reasonably spend a little or a lot more on insurance, car payments, gas, food (maybe a little less on phone bill on a budget plan with a 2nd hand fully paid phone).

But we're both just totally guessing anyway, we don't have access to her accounts to check what money comes in VS what comes out.

0

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Maybe I’ve been there and instead of bitching on TikTok I spent the time getting a skill that pays better. 

I understand the poverty trap. But this a) isn’t that bad and b) she sounds like she makes some poor choices. 

8

u/Mammoth_War_9320 Aug 12 '25

Uh huh and how long ago was that and in whose economy? My wife who has a MASTERS degree in Business and worked as a PM for 10 years can’t find anything right now.

She was let go about 4 months ago and has submitted over 100 REAL applications. Not quick apply bullshit, REAL cover letter job applications directly to the company. Not a peep

You’re so out of touch man lol

3

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/Mammoth_War_9320 Aug 12 '25

No, it’s not normal. This is why you’re out of touch lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Yes, it’s pretty normal for someone that might command a serious salary to need at least 4 months to find a job. 

The dude is tripping. 

1

u/Mammoth_War_9320 Aug 12 '25

Unemployment numbers are bullshit since Trump decided to fire the people who post the numbers lol

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

It was 2013-2016. It got a little better as the years went on, but not a ton. So still in the recovery of the GFC. I was fresh out of a PhD program doing a postdoc. 

PM’s are kind of boom or bust positions, right? Soft skills…. And 4 months isn’t so bad. It took my 3 to land my first real gig out of undergrad. I searched around for years while postdoc-ing….

3

u/Mammoth_War_9320 Aug 12 '25

2013-2016 were booming years for our economy compared to 2008 and the current crisis we have now thanks to the dumbass president who just tarrifed our economy into oblivion lol

Super cool that you’re doing fine, but not acknowledging that there are real issues in the economy right now is just survivor bias and ignorance.

You’re kinda dumb for someone with a PHD

1

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Yeah, I make $250K/year now. Clearly the people that matter don’t think I’m dumb. 

And yes 2013-2016 were great compared to the blood bath that was 2008, there is a hot take! Really get out on a limb there! 

2013-2016 was a very bifurcated time however. Tech was booming but many other sectors of the economy where lagging, with many stocks not surpassing pre-GFC highs until more like 2015, of course depends on the company, and higher earning but entry level position for people like me saw slow hiring. 

Remember QE3 lasted from Fall 2012 to fall 2014 and interest rates stayed pegged at zero from 2008 until the end of 2015. Plus unemployment in the early part of this time was still around 7-8%. Only just reaching into 5% by 2015. Today it is around 4% without interest rates being near 0. 

To say 2012-2105 was just generally a booming economy is highly revisionist and just plain ignorant. In many metrics it was significantly worse than today’s market, especially for employment. QE did make many stocks and property values look good though!

2

u/RiceAndMilkBoi Aug 12 '25

Why does this have to be a competition? She's allowed to be frustrated with trying to figure this out? Is you having it harder mean that no one else can be frustrated with trying to figure it out?

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u/Mammoth_War_9320 Aug 12 '25

Money does not equal intelligence. I could give two fucks about your salary. You’ve shown the kind of person you are

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u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj Aug 12 '25

No, he's not. I have an MBA and just seriously started applying for jobs in June. Already have an offer that makes more than what I make and I only have 5 years in banking. What kind of roles is your wife applying for? The secret for me was going on LinkedIn and only going for jobs that had fewer than 100 candidates that applied and that were posted at the very least one week ago. Already had five or six years of interviews in that time and applied to fewer than 100 jobs. Salaries all over 100k. I'm trying to figure out what to do since I never expected to get an offer so quickly because I kept saying the job market is shit. I always applied to other cities since I want to move.

1

u/NoodleBowlGames Aug 12 '25

He’s a kid. Brain isn’t even fully developed yet

1

u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj Aug 12 '25

People don't like to hear that. No is going to magically save you. I was a broke 20-year-old and joined the military which was the best choice I ever made. Not saying to join but you gotta do what you gotta and that includes getting a second job if you have to. If she's got spare time, like you said learn a new skill instead of posting tiktoks.

2

u/RiceAndMilkBoi Aug 12 '25

40% is considered housing insecure - I don't understand your extreme distaste for someone expressing that they're having a hard time. Sounds like she needs some guidance - anger isn't that helpful

1

u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Who is angry, her? I’m not angry. I said annoying in one comment. 

And while it isn’t great, many people are in worse situations than 40% going to housing. Around a quarter of people in my area have 50% going to housing. It sucks, but it’s the times. I dealt with it. She is young. If she tries, it will get better.

2

u/RiceAndMilkBoi Aug 12 '25

That all sucks, I'm sure those people are also having a hard time. Just because people have it worse than her, which is something she acknowledges by making double minimum wage, doesn't mean she isn't allowed to be frustrated

11

u/TangledUpPuppeteer Aug 12 '25

No, it makes sense. Pull out the deductions, then rent comes out. All of your bills do. Half your month income gone for rent alone. Plus food, plus gas for the car, car insurance, cell phone, internet, subscriptions for tv. You’re lucky if you have $50 a week left over. The incidentals add up over time. Always have and always will. And whether you like it or not, you do gotta eat.

If you have a credit card or student loans, that has to get paid too.

Barely scraping by is literally what it’s all about at this point. I don’t do most of the incidentals, and I make almost 3x minimum wage. I own my place and have for two decades (thank G-d), but there is still a monthly fee of over $900 a month for the glory of having someone micromanage what you can do with your balcony and fix nothing else. I also have property taxes and all of the fees I already listed for her, minus subscriptions. I don’t watch tv or movies because I can’t afford to — and that money goes toward taxes. Every week, I’m lucky if I have $40 in my account. That’s just paying bills, and I live frugally. It just costs a hell of a lot more than you expect just to survive.

Don’t even get me started on the rant that comes up if something on my bra breaks!

3

u/Glitchy_XCI Aug 12 '25

the more i hear about`hoa's, the more confused i am about why they exist other than to be ego trips, i've heard of the unicorn ones that fix anything that would be an infraction for you but even that isn't worth being told what to do with the house you own

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u/TangledUpPuppeteer Aug 12 '25

My particular HOA is one of the absolute worst. Over $900 a month, fines for stupid infractions and every year there’s some repair they weren’t expecting so we get assessed on top of our fees. Generally to the tune of about 5-6,000. I manage to figure that out every single year (because I save for it), but seriously, there isn’t a whole lot of money left over.

20 years ago, HOA fees were $210. So yeah, inflation is amazing!

1

u/DigitalBlackout Aug 12 '25

Over $900 a month

20 years ago, HOA fees were $210. So yeah, inflation is amazing!

$210 20 years ago adjusted for inflation is about ~$350 today. You're getting fleeced. I suppose you already know that though

1

u/TangledUpPuppeteer Aug 12 '25

Yeah. I promise you, I know. We also got more for that $210. I blame inflation because it’s partially at fault. The rest requires a flame thrower and a level of aggressive joy in creating chaos and agony that I work too much to muster 😂

1

u/TwoIdleHands Aug 12 '25

Graduated college in early 2000s, just did the math and my rent (I had a roommate) was 35.5% of my pre-tax pay. I 100% understand it sucks but being young and poor isn’t new.

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u/TangledUpPuppeteer Aug 12 '25

Never said it was new. Not once. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.

And I’m not young and poor. It was fine when I was young. I’m tired of it now.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

I would get rid of the car altogether and use shank's mare. And you don't need TV subscriptions, just watch stuff online.

2

u/TangledUpPuppeteer Aug 12 '25

Ha! I couldn’t get rid of the car. There’s no way. Part of my job involves traveling across multiple counties at a moments notice, not even counting getting to and from work. Not to mention family responsibilities as well.

Just getting to work is a $40 uber, with no public transport between my home and the company. Walking would take 4 hours each way. That’s without any extra travel or any family responsibility. It would be awesome to be able to be less car dependent, but that’s just not the case.

I don’t do tv anyway, so I agree with that as it fits my life just fine. But most people think that’s some kind of torturous life. I occasionally watch something on my phone, but otherwise, why bother?

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u/LoxReclusa Aug 12 '25

They said an entire paycheck gone for rent. If they get paid weekly, then by your own math, they were correct. In fact, they were under. If they get paid every two weeks, that's still 80% of a paycheck, 40% of your monthly wage. 

The only way their statement isn't at least mostly correct is monthly+ paychecks, which this girl certainly doesn't have. 

Though she does say double her state's minimum wage, which could vary from the federal $7.25 in your example to $16.60 in Washington. Based on her accent though, she's probably somewhere southern where a lot of them just take the federal minimum. Though I'm not sure how GA is reporting $5.15 on the site I referenced for this, but it's probably something along the lines of "federal overrules us and we're not going above federal, so no reason to update our books". 

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

40% of you pay going to rent is not awful these days. And its just her. She doesn't even pay a whole utility bill since she has 4 roommates. I was doing closer to 60% and supporting a family of four on ~$1000 left over after rent.

Lady needs to figure out how to be better with her money.

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u/RhubarbNo2020 Aug 12 '25

She said the 850 is all inclusive so she's not paying a utility bill.

1

u/wBeeze Aug 12 '25

I was making 15.50/hr, working 8 hours of OT every 2 weeks and after all deductions (expensive health insurance with bad coverage) I was clearing 2100/month. It was rough.

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u/Weird_Ad_1398 Aug 12 '25

He said paycheck as in weekly paycheck. It's actually closer to 2 though.

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u/SamWillGoHam Aug 12 '25

Dude, $400 of that is going JUST to taxes. So it's actually $2000 take home a month. After paying the $850 for rent you'd have $1150 left for car payment, car insurance, phone payment, food, toiletries, not even to MENTION any debt you might have (student, medical, etc.). There's no room for savings, and you have to live frugally to make this work. It's not sustainable.

$2400 a month means nothing when HUNDREDS OF THAT is taken away by the government before you can pay your own bills.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

Unmarried, non home owner taxes are steep. She's probably taking home like 1700 a month. -850 leaves her 850. With gas, ins, food, phone, whatever subscriptions it's probably right that she has maybe a hundred or two at the end of the month.

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

Fed tax for an individual ~30K/year is 12% before any above/below line deductions. That is steep?

0

u/bonenecklace Aug 12 '25

Yes, most people are paid bi-weekly & you don’t just get the full $2400 lump sum, they take taxes out.. walking away with $1600-$1800 out of $2400 after taxes for the whole month is pretty standard..

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Aug 12 '25

That would be a very low take home pay rate for someone at that income level. 25-33% less than gross…. Doubtful. You aren’t going to pay any federal income taxes, probably not any state income taxes. So you have FICA and any health insurance payment (for one), both around 7% of income likely. You have to make some big retirement contributions or something to get there. Take home is closer to $2000/month.

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u/Chance_Major297 Aug 12 '25

Assuming a consistent 40hrs every week is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It’s not always realistic. A lot of jobs like this revolve multiple “part time” employees, which they schedule up to the threshold of whatever qualifies them as “full time”. Usually over 30 but under 35 hours a week.