Is it imprudent to get married when only making minimum wage?

[whatsmyname]

Please don’t assume that simply because someone is in a low paying job that they simply can’t be bothered to do better. Laziness isn’t the only thing that stops people advancing.

It’s rather offensive to imply people like me are simply lazy and “choose” to be in my position. I assure you, if I had any “choice” my medical issues are the first thing I’d change about my life.

Been in America wouldn’t change the fact that I’m not in my position by choice but by circumstances. If anything my situation would be even worse in the US. At least in Australia I have access to good medical care. In the US treatment for my condition is out of the financial reach of many sufferers, as they can’t get or hold jobs long enough to pay for it. Not to mention, successful treatment is usually very intensive and doesn’t allow you to work at the same time which throws another spanner in the works.

Despite the fact I am anything but lazy.

I don’t recall anyone accusing anyone of being lazy. But I think there’s a problem if you take a minimum wage job, a starting salary for an unskilled worker, and never receive any raises or advancement. For some, it may be laziness. If it is poor health or lack of intelligence that makes you unable to show up for work and perform your job adequately, there are government disability programs available to you. If you can show up and perform, you’ll get a raise after 6 months or a year.

Walk into any McDonalds, Burger King or Taco Bell and get a minimum wage job. If, after 6 months, you haven’t been offered an assistant manager position, you need to look at the way you are doing your job and make some changes. It may be your time management skills, it may be your attitude or grooming, it may be you need a refresher on company policies and procedures, but you need to figure out what it is and adapt.

As for U.S. medical care, no you wouldn’t have a poor situation here. You make a minimal income. You’d be eligible for all kinds of government benefits and free medical care. If you had a good paying job, you’d be in trouble, but the poor have free medical care. Or at least they did with Medicaid and sCHIP. I’m not sure what they’re experiencing under the Affordable Care Act.

 

[whatsmyname]

How many hours does someone need to work, at a minimum wage job, to pay for one set of braces for an 11-year-old’s teeth?

I rest my case.

I’m confused. You were making minimum wage when you got married. Now you have an 11-year-old and you’re still making minimum wage, probably 12 years later? Why? What happened? Why have you never received a raise or advancement in 12 years? Did your spouse get a raise during those 12 years?

Oh well, since you’re still making minimum wage, I suppose you would shop around for those braces and either go with a free or reduced service if your child is eligible or you would go to a dental school to have the work done. It’ll probably still cost you about $3000, which would mean you’d have to work 333.33 (8+ weeks)hours to pay for it. I’d start saving up when she’s little. If you do have dental insurance, they’ll likely pay part of the cost, but not all.

 

[PolarGuy]

Whatsmyname, you are confusing me with another poster.

My point is that the costs of living make it functionally impossible to raise a family on a $9/hour income. I stand by that. Also, where I live braces will set parents back $5k minimum.

 

[sailor28]

I have heard a number of horror stories of traditional Catholic families (also known as trads) going through a financial nightmare because they got married and had children with only making minimum wage or just a little above minimum wage. The majority of them end up living in horrible conditions and extreme poverty. With this being said, isn’t it imprudent to get married only making minimum wage?

My opinion is that if a couple is thinking about getting married, they should have at least an annual income of $45,000 to $50,000. The reason why I say this is because starting a family with an income of $40,000 or less is going to place a family in extremely serious financial problems. Lets face the reality here. We live in a world that consists of many expenses. We no longer live in a world of cottages and villages anymore. Yes, the essentials in life is to have food, clothing, and shelter. Though, the shelter part shouldn’t just be any shelter. It should be a safe shelter, that is, living in an area that is not crime-ridden. Who wants to raise a family in a neighborhood of where you have to worry about getting shot at, having your car broken into, or getting mugged? It costs a good amount of money to live in a decent area that is not crime ridden. I’m not talking about living in a fancy luxurious area that is drenched in materialism. I’m just talking about living somewhere that is just decent … and this costs money to do so.

With all of the above being said, wouldn’t you say that it’s imprudent to get married and have kids only making minimum wage? Shouldn’t a man have a good paying job before getting married?

I know that a good number of trads are very much anti-NFP. Though in traditional Circles, NFP is debated. Some say it’s only ok to use for serious reasons and others say it’s wrong to use no matter what.

It is wise to do some financial planning and be prudent.

There are large traditional families who do live on a low income, don’t use NFP and have 8 or more kids. They receive government assistance. That is how some of them do it. While I can’t see this as morally acceptable, God is the one who knows our hearts.

I do struggle a bit when they mock families where both parents work. I kinda shake my head at that. Really? They are helping to pay for your gov’t assistance so you can stay home with your kids and have as many as you want.

 

[schaeffer]

I don’t recall anyone accusing anyone of being lazy. But I think there’s a problem if you take a minimum wage job, a starting salary for an unskilled worker, and never receive any raises or advancement. For some, it may be laziness. If it is poor health or lack of intelligence that makes you unable to show up for work and perform your job adequately, there are government disability programs available to you. If you can show up and perform, you’ll get a raise after 6 months or a year.

Walk into any McDonalds, Burger King or Taco Bell and get a minimum wage job. If, after 6 months, you haven’t been offered an assistant manager position, you need to look at the way you are doing your job and make some changes. It may be your time management skills, it may be your attitude or grooming, it may be you need a refresher on company policies and procedures, but you need to figure out what it is and adapt.

As for U.S. medical care, no you wouldn’t have a poor situation here. You make a minimal income. You’d be eligible for all kinds of government benefits and free medical care. If you had a good paying job, you’d be in trouble, but the poor have free medical care. Or at least they did with Medicaid and sCHIP. I’m not sure what they’re experiencing under the Affordable Care Act.

Wow! I want to live in the USA you do! Because sadly that hasn’t been my experience.

Where are these amazing government handouts? I’d love me some of those!

Due to medical issues (like a poster mentioned above) I am no longer able to do skilled labor. I worked a minimum wage job, first they said “blah blah…can’t afford cost of living raises…blah blah…” Then they gave us a raise because they had no choice…the state raised the minimum wage by ten cents! 2 and a half years later, and with all my employee reviews saying I was an excellent employee that went above and beyond…the ONLY raises I ever got were when the state gave us that extra 10 cents an hour. After all I could always be replaced by a foreign student who’d work for minimum wage. Apparently the company got some sort of tax write off for hiring foreign students.

My next job…“blah blah blah…to keep the company afloat everyone has to take a 4% wage cut!”

I can’t afford health insurance, the state isn’t giving me medicaid, but the government told me I won’t be fined for not having insurance because I am unable to pay for it.

Well, that’s the USA I live in. But I’m glad your experience has been so much better.

Also, where is the 9 dollar an hour minimum wage? I may have to move there because the state I live in now (I’ve recently had to move) has NO minimum wage law. Freedom is a beautiful thing!

 

[whatsmyname]

Wow! I want to live in the USA you do! Because sadly that hasn’t been my experience.

Where are these amazing government handouts? I’d love me some of those!

Due to medical issues (like a poster mentioned above) I am no longer able to do skilled labor. I worked a minimum wage job, first they said “blah blah…can’t afford cost of living raises…blah blah…” Then they gave us a raise because they had no choice…the state raised the minimum wage by ten cents! 2 and a half years later, and with all my employee reviews saying I was an excellent employee that went above and beyond…the ONLY raises I ever got were when the state gave us that extra 10 cents an hour. After all I could always be replaced by a foreign student who’d work for minimum wage. Apparently the company got some sort of tax write off for hiring foreign students.

My next job…“blah blah blah…to keep the company afloat everyone has to take a 4% wage cut!”

I can’t afford health insurance, the state isn’t giving me medicaid, but the government told me I won’t be fined for not having insurance because I am unable to pay for it.

Well, that’s the USA I live in. But I’m glad your experience has been so much better.

Also, where is the 9 dollar an hour minimum wage? I may have to move there because the state I live in now (I’ve recently had to move) has NO minimum wage law. Freedom is a beautiful thing!

Freedom is a beautiful thing. As I suggested in my first post in this thread to the hypothetical minimum wage worker considering marriage, you might need to look into changing employers or moving if your current location doesn’t provide you with a lifestyle that sustains you.

The federal government mandates a minimum wage of $7.75 for all states, including yours if it is in the United States. 29 states have a state mandated minimum wage higher than that. California’s minimum wage is $9/hr, increasing to $10/hr next year, but the COL is much higher here.

If you don’t have to pay the fine for not having insurance, I believe that mean you earn less than 133% of the poverty level. If your state has opted out of the Medicaid plan that would have been available to you, you can move to another state that has not opted out. If you have children, you might also look into CHIP.

My sister, her husband and 3 children have been on government health care for years. My nephew spends several weeks in the hospital each year as well as seeing medical specialists for expensive tests just about every month, and my sister and her husband have both had multiple surgeries paid for. They also receive benefits like free school breakfasts and lunches. They are eligible for food stamps, but don’t utilize that. Perhaps you should research the laws and benefits in some other states and see if those might work better for your difficult situation. However, to get back to the topic of this thread, if I were you, I probably would think twice before marrying and having children knowing I could not provide them with health insurance and I had no hope of advancement, improving my job skills, or moving to a better paying job in the future.

 

[schaeffer]

The federal government mandates a minimum wage of $7.75 for all states, including yours if it is in the United States. 29 states have a state mandated minimum wage higher than that. California’s minimum wage is $9/hr, increasing to $10/hr next year, but the COL is much higher here.