Can you Survive off minimum Wage?
According to the dictionary, the minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union).
The minimum wage was first introduced in the USA in 1938 whit the passing of the (FLSA) Fair Labor Standard; at the time of its passing minimum wage was set at $0.25 per hour; today, 81 years after it passed, the minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour.
There was a time when most of the minimum workers were teenagers working for some pocket money, but today, unfortunately, that is no longer so.
Only one in five workers today earning a minimum wage is a teenager; it has been documented that most of these minimum wage earners are unskilled workers,
The Minimum Wage does not provide a living wage.
These workers scramble to get enough hours by working several jobs to keep up with basic household bills, some surviving only with help from family or government subsidies.
The minimum wage does not provide a living wage for most American families. A typical family of four (two working adults and two children) needs to work nearly two full-time minimum-wage jobs to earn a living wage, which is considered to be at least $22,000 per year.
A single parent with two children must work three and one-half full-time jobs to earn a living wage on a minimum wage income.
There is now a debate to raise the minimum wage to 15.00 dollars per hour, but the fear is that many small businesses will either have to cut staff or close their business altogether.
The other fear is automation; in Japan, Majorities of Japanese say growing reliance on robots and computers will lead to joblessness and income inequality. Taken from an article in Entrepreneur magazine.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323216
At $7.25 per hr and working 41 hours a week is just a little under $16,000.00 per year, but it does not matter how much we make; we should make an effort to save something for our later years.
It may seem ridiculous to think about saving by making less than $16,000 per year, but it will take willpower and a lot of denying certain things, but it can be done.
We adjust the budget to the bare essentials; You do not need Starbucks coffee; you can make your own and carry it in your non-spill cup; you can cut your cable subscription; I know some people tell themselves they can’t live without cable but believe me, you can,
I had to live without cable and a lot more, financially it had gotten so bad our house was going into foreclosure, and we cut everything that we could cut; now that things are better financially, I have not returned to the things I had to cut, so I have no cable, I found I could live without it and survived.
Stay away from high-interest debt, like credit cards, and keep your credit card usage to a minimum, preferably not.
Increase Your Income
Increase your income by looking for ways to earn extra money; there are several things that you can do to earn a little extra.
You can earn extra by hiring out your service for cleaning houses, fixing things, or if you have a particular skill.
What I did, was I started my own online business doing affiliate marketing; Affiliate Marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products.
Some companies or platforms will teach you how it works, and in the case of the company I am a part of, you can become a member for free.
And with a free membership, there is no expiration date, the company I am a part of is Wealthy Affiliate.
Affiliate Marketing
Wealthy Affiliate was formed in 2005 and is now one of the best platforms for wealthy affiliate training.
The great thing about this platform is that it is not just for beginners but for every affiliate marketer; it is for those who are new to affiliate marketing, those who are acquainted with affiliate marketing, and those who have established professionals in affiliate marketing.
The company has an A+ rating with the BBB and has members in 193 different countries; with free membership from Wealthy Affiliate, you get 2 websites, 10 websites themes to choose from, and in less than 30 seconds, you will have a beautiful website,
I must add that web hosting is also included in the free membership. Along with backup and 10 lessons or phase 1 of the online entrepreneur course. Training websites charge $50 per month for web hosting
this is a screenshot of the5 lessons in phase 1 of the online entrepreneur class.
You will not be asked for any financial information either, you will only be asked for your name and email address, and you will be asked to state your goals and what you would like to earn per month.
At the end of the free membership 10 lessons, you will have your website up and running, content written and posted, and Google will have your website listed.
Here is one of the training videos from phase 1 of the free membership course.
There is also the premium membership; with the premium, there is a lot more information and tools that are available,
Here is the list of what is available in each membership
Now you can see the vast amount of available information, which will increase your success rate.
There are live video classes once per week this is just extra training to keep you up to date on the changes that may be taking place in Google and any new updates in the online marketing world.
Conclusion
Living on the minimum wage is not easy, but you do not have to continue in that state; you can do something about it.
I have suggested online marketing because I am doing it, and it is not as stressful as other areas of work might be.
For one, it can be done anywhere you need an internet connection and a computer, and there is no going to another destination; you can do it at your home.
With online marketing, the start-up is very low, and in this case, you can start for free; if it is not something you would like, you can stop, and you will lose nothing.
Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich venture; it takes time; I think the most challenging part of affiliate marketing is the need for patience.
With affiliate marketing, there is the need to build trust, and it does take time to build trust. At Wealthy Affiliate, you will be taught how to draw an audience to your website and build trust.
There is no better place to learn affiliate marketing than Wealthy Affiliate. Please do not think you are new, have no experience, are too old, are not a technical person, or have no one to assist you.
Training Videos
The training videos go through the lessons step by step; you learn at your own pace, and the videos are always there; you can revisit them anytime you wish.
Here is a blog from one of our members who joined in 2010 and is still with us.
There is someone always around to assist you, we pride ourselves in having a community that is willing to assist you, and because our memberships are from different time zones, someone is always there to assist.
Should you wish to become a member of Wealthy Affiliate, you can do so by clicking on any of the links in this post, and I will be your coach. Hoping to see you on the platform, give it a try; you have nothing to lose.
Thanks for reading this blog; please remember to share, and should you have a question or comment, please leave it in the space provided at the end of this post, and I will reply ASAP.
NOTE: This post includes affiliate links, which, if clicked on and a product purchased, I get a small commission (with no increase in cost to you).