I was just coming on to echo a few of the comments. This is a thoughtful article, and it's great how you've broken it down and pointed out alternative ways of approaching the situation presented in the infographic. Still, you haven't addressed the fact that many workers out there have children or other dependents. As soon as you throw that into the equation, living with a roommate (or in a one-bedroom, etc) is no longer such an easy solution.
When our daughter was younger she helped with household chores. She dumped the little garbage cans, fed the dogs, helped dust and general picking up around the home. We gave her spending money, but it wasn't because of the chores she did. As she got older chores changed and so did the amount of spending money. We feel that everyone in the family should help out around the home whether you are given an allowance or not.
Ah - I did not realize that the report took into account the 30% rent ratio. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will have to look more into the report.
Thank you for this post! I was raised in a culturally but not religiously Jewish family and we celebrated Christmas when I was a kid more than Hannukah. And I don't celebrate either now. BUT - It is really great to see holiday posts this time of year that are not only aimed at Christmas/ Christians! Of course, all of these activities can be adaptable for anyone of any faith or lack thereof, but its wonderful to see Hannukah being considered here, even if its a minor Jewish holiday to begin with.
Kirby? We've had one for nearly 20 years. Sure we've replaced the belt a few times, we've had the motor serviced a few times, and have had to buy new brushes because they were worn down to stubs. But 20 years in it still sucks as well as the day we bought it. $750 was a lot of money for a vacuum 20 years ago (still is, actually) but it's relatively inexpensive if you can get 20 (or 30?) years out of it.
Dyson's have always struck me as cheaply built plastic toys.
I was looking for a large purse at Goodwill - picked one up that was plaid and had a metal name tag on the front "Berber of London". I used it once, didn't like it (not enough compartments). Checked it out on the internet and discovered it was a pricey item. Bought it for $1.99 - sold it on Ebay for $89! Another great find was an entire big basket of 1950 Christmas Ornaments about 2 weeks after Christmas. Bought them all for .18 each. Sold them individually on Ebay and one of them went for $22! It's a bummer I don't sell on Ebay anymore - too much $ and too much hassle but I still check out St. Vincent's (right up the street from me) and get bargains all the time and I actually get compliments at work for what I'm wearing.
If I ever have kids, I would definitely make them do light chores around the house and give them a small allowance based on their age/grades/behavior. However, I would give them an extra allowance for voluntarily doing the more time consuming chores.
My kids have chores which include setting/clearing the table after meals, taking out the trash, cleaning their rooms, bathrooms. They don't get paid for chores but do get paid for mowing the lawn. Everyone has responsibilities as part of the family.
I have three kids and they each do an age appropriate chore six days a week. The chore itself usually takes less that 5 minutes and we have decided not to pay for these in the form of allowance. They do these chores simply because being a part of a family means you pitch in on the keeping of the house. Everyone likes a clean space! Once in a great while something will come up that is above and beyond, like maybe raking leaves or washing cars, we will kick down a few bucks for these things. My oldest son is nearly 9 and sometimes he will ask to earn money to save for something, we will try and come up with a project he can do to earn money in that case.
You may be right about the hours/week versus hours/month. (That is, it isn't clear to me whether that's hours per week to pay a monthly rent or something else.)
On the other hand, they do presume throughout that you can only afford to spend 30% of your income on rent, and all their figures are calculated on that basis. So they're assuming that everyone has 70% of their income available for other necessary expenses.
Separately in the report they calculate a "housing wage," which is what the minimum wage would need to be for someone to rent a 2-bedroom apartment with just 30% of a full-time minimum-wage income. It varies from $31.68 in Hawaii down to $11.41 in Arkansas.
The report is worth reading, if you're interested in this sort of thing.
My son (5yo) is expected to clear his plate from the table to the kitchen counter and clean up any toys he's played with. His reward for cleaning up at the end of the day is 30 min of TV. I don't consider these chores per se, just teaching him personal responsibility and he's basically been doing this since he was an infant/toddler (where I obviously did most of the toy pickup and he helped - now that's reversed). However, when he turned 5 we gave him a chore and an allowance: once a week he collects the trash from the small cans in the bedrooms/bathrooms. There are 6 total and he gets a quarter for emptying each one, so $1.50/week. He has a bank with 3 sections - spend, save, share - and he divvies up his quarters into each section (3, 2, 1). I'll be taking him to Toys-R-Us to use his "share" $ to get something for Toys for Tots and he's meticulously counting his "spend" $ until he has enough for an Angry Birds game if Santa doesn't bring him one.... His "save" $ is for when he's "older" though we haven't really talked about what that means yet. I started doing chores/allowance with him for a couple reasons. I want my son to be responsible and capable of doing things himself - even if it's just emptying a trash can. The allowance does two things: 1. I get to help him count and learn about $. Since it's his, he's a little more invested in understanding it. (He still thinks it's hysterical that 100 pennies = 1 dollar, so we're not talking any major investing discussions right now...lol) 2. Mom and Dad can't buy him everything he wants, so if there's some toy he just insist he needs to have, then I tell him it's something he can use his own $ for. And already that makes him stop and think about whether he really wants it. (This is the same strategy my mom used when I was 16 and insisting on the high end $12/bottle shampoo instead of the $2/bottle discount brand. If I really wanted it, I had to make up the price difference with my own $.)
I dunno. I think roommates work fine when there is no care-giving involved, but take one minimum wage earner and add a few kids or a disabled partner, and you start to understand just how impossible the situation quickly becomes . . .
I think the implication is that someone working a minimum wage job AND who has a child is unable to afford housing (not including child care and other associated costs). To me, this is an illustration of the importance of enforcing child support laws, but there are a lot of deadbeat parents out there.
This is yet another example of how the American Dream is beyond the reach of so many lower skilled workers.
I agree with your overall premise that the map simplifies something that is more complex. When I was making minimum wage, no way would I have tried to rent a two-bedroom apartment by myself.
However, it's worth noting that you talked about hours of work per month (50) and compared it to the map, which talks about hours of work per week.
So in Arkansas, you have to work 63 hours a week at minimum wage to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment, and then can start to pay all your other expenses. If you have a roommate, then 31.5 hours a week apiece will do it, but, again, doesn't take into account any other expenses.
I was just coming on to echo a few of the comments. This is a thoughtful article, and it's great how you've broken it down and pointed out alternative ways of approaching the situation presented in the infographic. Still, you haven't addressed the fact that many workers out there have children or other dependents. As soon as you throw that into the equation, living with a roommate (or in a one-bedroom, etc) is no longer such an easy solution.
When our daughter was younger she helped with household chores. She dumped the little garbage cans, fed the dogs, helped dust and general picking up around the home. We gave her spending money, but it wasn't because of the chores she did. As she got older chores changed and so did the amount of spending money. We feel that everyone in the family should help out around the home whether you are given an allowance or not.
Ah - I did not realize that the report took into account the 30% rent ratio. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will have to look more into the report.
Thank you for this post! I was raised in a culturally but not religiously Jewish family and we celebrated Christmas when I was a kid more than Hannukah. And I don't celebrate either now. BUT - It is really great to see holiday posts this time of year that are not only aimed at Christmas/ Christians! Of course, all of these activities can be adaptable for anyone of any faith or lack thereof, but its wonderful to see Hannukah being considered here, even if its a minor Jewish holiday to begin with.
My daughter doesn't really have assigned chores. I have to hound her to pick up her room. Big mistake on my part. I should have started her sooner.
Kirby? We've had one for nearly 20 years. Sure we've replaced the belt a few times, we've had the motor serviced a few times, and have had to buy new brushes because they were worn down to stubs. But 20 years in it still sucks as well as the day we bought it. $750 was a lot of money for a vacuum 20 years ago (still is, actually) but it's relatively inexpensive if you can get 20 (or 30?) years out of it.
Dyson's have always struck me as cheaply built plastic toys.
We have one on the way, and we do plan to give him age-appropriate chores, probably starting around 4-5 (other than just picking up his toys).
I was looking for a large purse at Goodwill - picked one up that was plaid and had a metal name tag on the front "Berber of London". I used it once, didn't like it (not enough compartments). Checked it out on the internet and discovered it was a pricey item. Bought it for $1.99 - sold it on Ebay for $89! Another great find was an entire big basket of 1950 Christmas Ornaments about 2 weeks after Christmas. Bought them all for .18 each. Sold them individually on Ebay and one of them went for $22! It's a bummer I don't sell on Ebay anymore - too much $ and too much hassle but I still check out St. Vincent's (right up the street from me) and get bargains all the time and I actually get compliments at work for what I'm wearing.
My little one is not quite 2, so no chores assigned yet.
yes, wash the dishes.
No kids here yet, but I'd def give them chores to learn all about responsibility early on!
Great list! You've just added to my "reading plate" for the day....
If I ever have kids, I would definitely make them do light chores around the house and give them a small allowance based on their age/grades/behavior. However, I would give them an extra allowance for voluntarily doing the more time consuming chores.
My kids have chores which include setting/clearing the table after meals, taking out the trash, cleaning their rooms, bathrooms. They don't get paid for chores but do get paid for mowing the lawn. Everyone has responsibilities as part of the family.
I have three kids and they each do an age appropriate chore six days a week. The chore itself usually takes less that 5 minutes and we have decided not to pay for these in the form of allowance. They do these chores simply because being a part of a family means you pitch in on the keeping of the house. Everyone likes a clean space! Once in a great while something will come up that is above and beyond, like maybe raking leaves or washing cars, we will kick down a few bucks for these things. My oldest son is nearly 9 and sometimes he will ask to earn money to save for something, we will try and come up with a project he can do to earn money in that case.
Absolutely, Every hand is a helping hand in this house! :)
My son is a little young for chores (age 1) but he will do them when hes a little bigger. He already knows to put his shoes away!
You may be right about the hours/week versus hours/month. (That is, it isn't clear to me whether that's hours per week to pay a monthly rent or something else.)
On the other hand, they do presume throughout that you can only afford to spend 30% of your income on rent, and all their figures are calculated on that basis. So they're assuming that everyone has 70% of their income available for other necessary expenses.
Separately in the report they calculate a "housing wage," which is what the minimum wage would need to be for someone to rent a 2-bedroom apartment with just 30% of a full-time minimum-wage income. It varies from $31.68 in Hawaii down to $11.41 in Arkansas.
The report is worth reading, if you're interested in this sort of thing.
My son (5yo) is expected to clear his plate from the table to the kitchen counter and clean up any toys he's played with. His reward for cleaning up at the end of the day is 30 min of TV. I don't consider these chores per se, just teaching him personal responsibility and he's basically been doing this since he was an infant/toddler (where I obviously did most of the toy pickup and he helped - now that's reversed). However, when he turned 5 we gave him a chore and an allowance: once a week he collects the trash from the small cans in the bedrooms/bathrooms. There are 6 total and he gets a quarter for emptying each one, so $1.50/week. He has a bank with 3 sections - spend, save, share - and he divvies up his quarters into each section (3, 2, 1). I'll be taking him to Toys-R-Us to use his "share" $ to get something for Toys for Tots and he's meticulously counting his "spend" $ until he has enough for an Angry Birds game if Santa doesn't bring him one.... His "save" $ is for when he's "older" though we haven't really talked about what that means yet. I started doing chores/allowance with him for a couple reasons. I want my son to be responsible and capable of doing things himself - even if it's just emptying a trash can. The allowance does two things: 1. I get to help him count and learn about $. Since it's his, he's a little more invested in understanding it. (He still thinks it's hysterical that 100 pennies = 1 dollar, so we're not talking any major investing discussions right now...lol) 2. Mom and Dad can't buy him everything he wants, so if there's some toy he just insist he needs to have, then I tell him it's something he can use his own $ for. And already that makes him stop and think about whether he really wants it. (This is the same strategy my mom used when I was 16 and insisting on the high end $12/bottle shampoo instead of the $2/bottle discount brand. If I really wanted it, I had to make up the price difference with my own $.)
Yes, my little girl unloads the dishwasher and my little boy takes out the trash.
I dunno. I think roommates work fine when there is no care-giving involved, but take one minimum wage earner and add a few kids or a disabled partner, and you start to understand just how impossible the situation quickly becomes . . .
My kids have to do chores to get an allowance -- take out the garbage, walk the dog, feed the dog and cats, clean their room.
WOW. Not sure that having money will help you find a woman.
I think the implication is that someone working a minimum wage job AND who has a child is unable to afford housing (not including child care and other associated costs). To me, this is an illustration of the importance of enforcing child support laws, but there are a lot of deadbeat parents out there.
This is yet another example of how the American Dream is beyond the reach of so many lower skilled workers.
I agree with your overall premise that the map simplifies something that is more complex. When I was making minimum wage, no way would I have tried to rent a two-bedroom apartment by myself.
However, it's worth noting that you talked about hours of work per month (50) and compared it to the map, which talks about hours of work per week.
So in Arkansas, you have to work 63 hours a week at minimum wage to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment, and then can start to pay all your other expenses. If you have a roommate, then 31.5 hours a week apiece will do it, but, again, doesn't take into account any other expenses.