How am I supposed to live on minimum wage?
We need to raise the minimum wage to at least £8 an hour – so that people are lifted above the breadline. The reason it is so low is that it is in the interests of companies to keep it this way – it only gets in the way of their main concern, to make lots of profit for themselves. None of the main parties want to increase the minimum wage or help low paid workers – until we get real change, it will not be increased to something people can actually afford to live on. How dare MPs on £64,000 a year salaries plus expenses pass laws which condemn millions to poverty. I hope you find a good job soon and get out of the mess you are in. Keep trying and don’t give up. Fight for a political alternative for ordinary people (see below).
Find a place to live within walking or biking distance to your job and for less than half of your income. In this example, you’ll want to look for a living situation where rent and utilities cost no more than $500 a month. This probably means having roommates, or renting a room. If you can’t find a cheap place to live close to your job, consider looking for another job in a neighborhood where this is possible. Being able to get to work reliably and for free will contribute significantly to your income stability, both by cutting costs, and by making sure you don’t lose hours due to car problems or missed buses (which would also result in paying for a taxi). * Consider going rural. There are many small towns where you can find a room to rent for $100 a month and a small apartment to rent for $200 a month. These areas often have lots of jobs for minimum wage workers – look for an area with lots of “help wanted” signs around these towns and notices inside of town halls and gas stations loo
