How I Saved Over Half My Income on a $30,000 Salary

So many folks out there are out of work, underemployed, or unsure where their next paycheck is coming from. There was a point in 2016 when I had my own brushes with such uncertainty, and even that small dose was horrifying. To help others out, I thought my own experience with saving over half my income could show how big savings was even possible in a high cost of living (HCOL) location.

I am definitely qualified to speak on this too, as 2016 and 2017 sucked in terms of earned income. My 2016 tax returns say I earned a little over $22,000 that year, which is hopefully the lowest I’ll ever make as an adult! We’ll ignore that year as it was clusterfuck of odd jobs and full-time work only appearing more than halfway through the year. 2017 is a much better year for this, as my taxable income was a little over $30,000!!!! And my spending for that year was a little over $13,000. Using the specific numbers show I had a 57% savings rate that year; here’s how I did that SO YOU CAN TOO.

Crappy housing = big savings!!

Since housing prices keep on skyrocketing, getting this under control was absolutely key. But it’s not like I could expect to find an apartment that’s both nice and affordable; so was everyone else in the city, what with HALF of us plunking down over 30% of our incomes on it. With competition that fierce there wasn’t anywhere you could find a place for a good price.

Well, not a decent one anyway. All I had to do, then, was to make sure my standards for living were lower than everyone else’s. Hell, even lower than what the government says they should be! That’s how I found a place for about $600 a month, with a room all to myself and only ONE roommate.

And no mouse infestations like my last apartment!

Sure, it didn’t have heating and we lived in the attic of an 1890s house. Sure, sometimes a rat crawled up from the kitchen sink and into the cabinet below it. And yeah, the landlord’s family living downstairs refused to put salt down or shovel the steep steps, which sent me sprawling more than once. But hey, I’m young and can spring back up like nothing happened! Why rock the boat about the iced-over steps or heating when we had such a good deal?? No way I could save so much if the landlord had to make these changes; you already know she’d just up the rent so it won’t actually cost her anything. Savings over safety, that’s what I say!

In all seriousness that place did have some huge perks, including the location being the city I live in today. My front door was maybe a five-minute walk from the subway and a bus stop. It also had a washer/dryer in the house (albeit down three flights of stairs in a creepy, creaky basement…) What really made the difference was that I didn’t have to pay anything towards utilities; I could use up all of the Internet, water, and electricity I wanted. This really came in handy as, again, it didn’t have heat or A/C; getting a heater/AC combo from Amazon took care of that for my room and it worked out well.

SO glad I’ve got such awesome health, too! That way I actually stood a chance at not getting seriously ill with my living conditions. 😊

Food service work/free events = leftovers you can take home

HOORAY for strategic weekend gigs!!! I was in too insecure of a financial situation to rely on my full-time job, so I picked up many hours over the weekend waitressing at swanky events. These gigs were flooded with leftover food at the end of the night, which I happily took home with me to gnaw on the rest of the week. Big savings via stale food that’s sat out for several hours, here I come!!

This ended in early 2017 but introduced me to the world of free food. Several event organizers out there will offer food if you go and enjoy their lectures, ceremonies, or networking mixers. Sometimes it’s a full meal, like to-go boxes of salad or even long buffets. Other times it’s mostly light refreshments like crackers or cookies, which can also be a full meal if you put your mind to it.

Oh wait… those events aren’t really a thing in 2020 are they? Well, I guess there’s always the food banks – you know, the ones currently stretched to the max and overwhelmed with the amount of hungry people?

Yeah. I mean, there’s always some way of getting food! There HAS to be, since what are you gonna do otherwise? Starve?? Please.

No dependents for meeeeeee

In 2017 I turned 23 years old. Roughly three out of four women don’t have children at that age, with me being one of those three. There is no way I could have supported a child at that income, full stop, so it worked out for the best that I didn’t. Having children is definitely a goal of many for loving them, supporting them, and getting to be a part of their lives as they mature into incredible adults. Which, in my case, would have been impossible in my 2017 scenario. Having a baby would mean giving up that cheap housing and any other big savings, as all of it would have to go towards the (similarly) skyrocketing costs around childcare.

And for that 25% of women my age who DID have kids? Let’s hope they got the support needed to keep their heads above water. It’s hard to keep those social programs afloat as well.

Healthy enough to not die!

I thankfully have excellent health that, combined with my youth, makes living on $13,000 at least doable! I didn’t have to worry about getting expensive prescription medications nuking my budget! Ditto for buying multivitamins or even Tylenol! Since I didn’t have really any ongoing health issues to worry about, I didn’t have to worry about the American healthcare system sucking me dry! I could therefore avoid the doctor without much issue!

… Okay, I did as a matter of fact actually visit the doctor in that year. Once. Just for a checkup. And the copay made me decide to not go back until I got better health insurance. Your mileage may vary.

NO DEBT!!!!

Unlike most of my peers who couldn’t have otherwise afforded an education, I had no ongoing debt repayments! That would have put a serious crimp in the amount I could save and invest; no way could I have hit that big 50% savings rate with paying that monster off.

No basic pleasures = SIGNIFICANT BIG SAVINGS

Most of the stuff I own now is secondhand, free, and something I’ve procured since moving into my own place. Before that everything I owned could fit into a minivan, with plenty of room to spare; it meant I really had zero costs for maintaining the things I owned! Having next to nothing to my name meant walking around with shoes that were falling apart sometimes, but hey. We’ve all got to suffer a little, right? Denying myself basic pleasures is what’s required anyway, right? Gotta stay humble somehow; it’s not like your low salary already takes care of that!

All public transit, all the way!

Who cared if I lived an hour outside the city by train? What did it matter that my commute to my weekend job was 90 minutes, assuming the trolley car didn’t break down at some point? You gotta roll with the punches! A crowded train ain’t that bad a place to sleep in, after all! And who can afford a car when a bike is a perfectly acceptable alternative? You won’t get those big savings if you get reliable transportation, don’t you know. Don’t let dangerous weather conditions or the lack of bike infrastructure deter you! That still goes even if you’re physically incapable of riding a bike! I heard somewhere you can, like, get the government to pay for a wheelchair. Or something.

Being motivated by fear.

It gets a little easier to save up so much when you’re scared of a more terrible fate.

Having options

I knew that, if all else failed, I could sneak into my office and sleep in the basement or something. There were dark corners down there no one would check out; I wouldn’t have to go sleep somewhere really dangerous.

You get even more options if you have family support at any point! I did not, but there’s several folks who did – parents that give you free room and board, or a nice inheritance, really help you move forward on the path to wealth. Many of the famous “self-made” critics out there, many of them now worth millions, neglect to mention this little tidbit for some odd reason. Huh! I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why that doesn’t make them out as hopeless hypocrites.

And there you have it!

So for all the talking heads on television and social media who scream these big savings are possible, I can assure you it totally is! All you have to do is have zero debt, live in substandard housing, rely on others for supplementing your ability to eat, and become homeless if all else fails! This is obviously something anyone can do, assuming they don’t come into this with disabilities, dependents, or other obligations, of course. And if they do? Well, maybe they should’ve considered that before falling into a void that’s back-breakingly hard to crawl back from.

After all, you have to blame your lack of responsibility instead of the discriminatory systemic biases designed to keep “undesirables” down forever. We’ve seen women, queers, and BIPOC buck those trends before in small, fleeting doses! Surely you can join their threadbare ranks if you just fix whatever the hell is wrong with you. It’ll make for a great anecdote about your success, assuming you get any in the first place. Then you’re somehow smarter and more worthy than the millions that didn’t reach the heights you have! Hot dog!

So what are you waiting for??? Give up your humanity and go live in the sewers to save up your income! I provided a very narrow guideline that sucks and was unique to my situation, so you’re an automatic failure if you still can’t do what I did. Best of luck!!!

Cover image credit: Annie Spratt via Unsplash