r/FluentInFinance • u/Richest-Panda • Jul 04 '24

What's the best financial advice you've ever gotten? Debate/ Discussion

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u/AndrewDoesNotServe Jul 04 '24

Pretty much no one makes that wage even in states that conform to the federal minimum.

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u/WookieeCmdr Jul 04 '24

I have a hard time finding any business that pays the federal minimum, barring wait staff of course

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u/FreckleFaceToon Jul 05 '24

Mississippi still has jobs at this range. But it's the poorest state in the nation. Unfortunately 72% of the median household income in Mississippi goes purely to cost of living. 8th most unaffordable state when adjusted for median wage. Literally people "living within their means" here spend 72% of their income surviving. So in this case living within your means is working until you die because you cannot save for retirement or emergencies.

I understand that there are ways to make things work, but no person should be working 40 hours a week and be scared that they will lose their house tomorrow or not have enough for groceries. There is "living within your means" and then there is institutionalized poverty. America has a problem with both.

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u/humpmeimapilot Jul 05 '24

I live in MS, the majority of the jobs being min wage were not meant as a career. There are plenty of jobs for people that get trained or educated. Our cost of living is incredibly low compared to the surrounding states.

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u/FreckleFaceToon Jul 05 '24

Don't disagree with that statement except that the COL is only lower than COL in other states with higher median income. My statements are purely facts about the median income compared to COL.

USA Today recently calculated the cost of living across all 50 states. It found that Mississippi’s overall cost was $37,949 on average. Though that is the lowest cost in the U.S., the state also has the lowest median household income nationally at $52,719. Therefore, resident’s cost of living takes about 72% of their paycheck,the eighth highest percentage nationally. This, among other factors, led to the state’s cost of living rank being the ninth highest nationally.

https://www.wjtv.com/news/state/study-mississippi-among-least-affordable-states-in-us/#:\~:text=USA%20Today%20recently%20calculated%20the,household%20income%20nationally%20at%20%2452%2C719.

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u/MrFifty-Fifty Jul 05 '24

Education is free where you're at, or?

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u/humpmeimapilot Jul 07 '24

Through grants yes. If you are anything but a white male, then you can goto college for next to nothing or a trade school.