Is it possible to live on minimum wage?
Ringing in orders of pizza, donuts and Hazel’s bread is what pays Anna Johnson’s bills.
She only makes $6 an hour, a mere 85 cents more than minimum wage, and although she gets by, she said she usually lives paycheck to paycheck.
Johnson, who is working at the Hub, said she works full-time this semester and hopes to return to school next in January for her sophomore year in history.
Each day she shows up to the student center in her blue Hub visor and shirt to earn the cash that will be budgeted, scrimped and saved.
“It is hard to have fun. I have to do free stuff or hang out with friends,” she said, adding that she can’t afford a cell phone or car. Instead, she uses a landline telephone and gets around by catching the bus or riding her bike.
Doing without is something Jed Anderson is used to as well, he said, in between making sub sandwiches at the Hub’s Hogi Yogi. Anderson, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said living off a low income “is doable,” adding that he lives pretty cheap.
“I don’t have any of that fancy stuff like a car or cell phone,” he said. “We get a discount [at the Hub] so I eat here pretty often and at home I eat cereal and milk, which also doesn’t cost very much.”
Anderson said he has a scholarship that pays for his tuition and he doesn’t have to worry about insurance because he is still on his parents’. For fun, he spends time outdoors camping, hiking or fishing, which costs less than going to dinner and movies all the time.
While a student is single, it’s possible to live within a minimum wage income, said Alena Johnson, who teaches Family Finance at USU. Having a family and more bills would make money matters a lot more complicated, she said.
“The biggest problem is health insurance. The university doesn’t have a good student insurance program,” Johnson said.
For some students who are either married or are not covered by their parents anymore, this means going without insurance that would be critical if they were to get sick or injured in an accident.
Others who live off minimum wage end up going into a lot of debt, Anderson said, although students at USU are below the average debt for college students.
“A lot of students work full-time during the summer. If they make more money in those months, they can ration it out during the school year,” he said.
Alena Johnson agreed, saying, “It’s hard to do that for a long period of time, but some students are good at low-cost fun. There are a lot of things on campus that are free.”
Scholarships can help students who aren’t making very a lot of money live more comfortably. Melanie Jacobson, a sophomore majoring in elementary education, said she attended Idaho State University last semester and was only making $5.20 at the computer center there. She said she was able to get by because she didn’t have to pay tuition due to scholarships.
She suggests students should apply for whatever scholarships they can. And although having a car and cell phone makes getting around town and contacting friends easier, it’s not necessary if students can’t afford them, she said. And if it’s possible, she said students should save whatever money they can.
For Lynette Hunt, saving wasn’t an option last school year when she was working part-time at the Copy Center in the TSC. Even though her tuition was paid for by scholarships, she didn’t have a car payment or cell phone bill, $5.15 an hour was barely enough.
“I still had to scrimp,” she said. “I tried to buy healthy food, but I didn’t buy as much as I needed. I didn’t starve, but I didn’t eat as much I as should have.”
Now married and with a raise at the Copy Center, Hunt said she and her husband are staying afloat. They both have grants that pay for tuition and they watch a lot of movies at home to save money.
“We do go to dinner about once a week and we like to see plays,” she said. “I get we should be more conservative in that way.”
For students making minimum wage, Hunt said, “Get a different job. Don’t do it unless you have a scholarship.”
-mnewbold@cc.usu.edu