General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: WOW: In No State Is a 40-Hour, Minimum Wage Work Week Enough to Afford a Two-Bedroom Apartment [View all]Daalalou
(54 posts)That's a huge if.
In many parts of the country, public transportation is very limited or non-existent.
Many people can't work more hours, because the work (in the form of a second job, or extra hours at their current job) is unavailable.
Roommates bring a host of other issues, as it can be hard to screen for someone you can truly live with. What you can tolerate in college or your 20s--a roommate who might smoke, drink, smell, party--can be intolerable when you're older and need a decent place to sleep and de-stress. And if you have children, you have to worry about their safety from either the roommate, or friends the roommate might bring by.
Getting rid of cable is the only genuine option for many people (and many people have dropped cable over the last few years; I've seen articles about it), but that only nets you an extra $50 a month.