Can you manage to budget your $500 for five months?

[Nomad]

Same here. It wouldn’t cover my household’s grocery prices nor the rent & electricity.

Cost of living is high every where. However, if you earn in USD and live in Asia and Africa, USD will translate into a lot of money in local currency

 

[Fidelia]

The 500 dollars bulk is in my hand, I would budget it and live by it and still have $150 left. It is practical and realistic.

 

[Starmix]

We can budget that amount of $500 , excluding the bills payment. My electricity bill monthly s more or less $ 100 , internet bull $ 22 monthly, gasoline, water bill and other bills. For me, $500 is only good for one month .

 

[pousinha]

For me, $500 is only good for one month .

The same here in my city for a couple with no children that skips a full medical insurance (a full medical insurance in my State costs yet about 500 dollars per person in a single month).

 

[Starmix]

The same here in my city for a couple with no children that skips a full medical insurance (a full medical insurance in my State costs yet about 500 dollars per person in a single month).

Living in your country might be too expensive, and people must work double or do side hustles and businesses. People in my place are busy doing small businesses like eateries.

 

[Augusta]

In my country if you are not a spender you can easily budget and spend this wisely for those numbers of months

 

[Starmix]

In my country if you are not a spender you can easily budget and spend this wisely for those numbers of months

I do believe that there are families who can stretch their budget well. The $500 is also not easy to raise at this time when salaries are too slow to increase and prices soar up like crazy.

 

[eLdavis]

In my city, the cost of living is very high. $500 may only be sufficient for two months.

Even this months, if an unplanned expenses comes up, this money might not be much. As we know anything can come up at anytime.

 

[freelancermaria]

Managing a $500 budget for five months is challenging. Because of inflation, everything has become more expensive. Therefore, a $500 budget may only last for one or two months.

 

[Starmix]

It's indeed hard to budget that amount. For me $500 could be good only for three weeks. The high cost of everything may drive many people crazy. But if you have good sources of income, financial problem may not be experienced.

 

[magnus2022]

It is a mission impossible for family of four to manage and survive with average of $100 dollars monthly. It can be possible for a single person but impossible for a family of four or even less.

 

[Starmix]

It is a mission impossible for family of four to manage and survive with average of $100 dollars monthly. It can be possible for a single person but impossible for a family of four or even less.

I agree with you, it is impossible to manage $100 monthly unless you are living alone and have no aircon and washing machine that eats up the current bill.

 

[pousinha]

Living in your country might be too expensive, and people must work double or do side hustles and businesses. People in my place are busy doing small businesses like eateries.

Yes, in fact, it's very common, for ex., for a teacher working in public school, to be forced to teach among 3 or 4 schools to make ends meet. Even so, it gets impossible to pay a full medical insurance, that practically requires the salary of a federal judge.

 

[Starmix]

Yes, in fact, it's very common, for ex., for a teacher working in public school, to be forced to teach among 3 or 4 schools to make ends meet. Even so, it gets impossible to pay a full medical insurance, that practically requires the salary of a federal judge.

That would be crucial if the cost of living exceeds the overall income of some people. They might find it hard to survive such ordeals. They can do farming in their backyard to augment their expenses.

 

[pousinha]

That would be crucial if the cost of living exceeds the overall income of some people. They might find it hard to survive such ordeals. They can do farming in their backyard to augment their expenses.

Not that easy, due to the impossibility to farm when you don't live in the countryside. And yes, the cost of living easily exceeds the income of a great number of families. A lot of families live on governmental allowances, that covers the expenses of a couple during a week. For the rest of the month, they often live on charity or on illegal jobs (not registered jobs) or both of them. That's Latin America.

 

[Starmix]

Not that easy, due to the impossibility to farm when you don't live in the countryside. And yes, the cost of living easily exceeds the income of a great number of families. A lot of families live on governmental allowances, that covers the expenses of a couple during a week. For the rest of the month, they often live on charity or on illegal jobs (not registered jobs) or both of them. That's Latin America.

Oh my God it's crucial if they have two or three children. Can they not find a job even in the labor sector? That's a hard life to survive from help from charitable institutions.

 

[pousinha]

Oh my God it's crucial if they have two or three children. Can they not find a job even in the labor sector? That's a hard life to survive from help from charitable institutions.

...it could be even more than two or three children (even if four and more children per family were more common until about 15 years ago). They often are not qualified (or too old) to get a job even in the labour sector (good for the youngsters, but what about a middle aged or worse, a third aged?)...or worse: too lazy to work, preferring by far the government allowance for free, also considering that every child under legal age carries the right for his/her unemployed parents to get an additional amount from the government (despite it's crumbs, not enough to sustain a child over a few days).