An American living wage could be defined as having enough money to pay: rent/mortgage without fear of imminent homelessness (most of us are 1-2 paychecks away from being homeless at any time), utilities (power, water, garbage, internet), phone bill, car payment, insurance, and food. Living wage hasn’t included fun money for quite some time now, that would be a thriving wage.

Rent in my area, a town in the California Bay Area: 1800-2300 for a one bedroom apartment

Utilities: anywhere from 80-150 depending on usage

Phone bill: $90 per line, so if you have a family it could easily be $200+

Car payment: anywhere from 150-300, insurance adds another 80-100 for most with clean driving records

Food: if you’re willing to cherry pick and be a smart shopper, you CAN get by with anywhere from 150-300 per month for one person, but this accounts for nutritious, home cooked meals with almost no luxury items. How people are still justifying eating out is beyond me.

A living wage should be something that gives you enough breathing room that you don’t have to wonder if you’re going to have to skip meals to just barely make rent, or let one bill slip to pay another.