Living in 2024

I am currently looking for work in the north Central Valley (of California). I am also pricing apartments. I see places in Redding for $750=850 but they are in “crime ridden” parts of town. An apartment in a decent part of town is around $950 which is better than Sacramento where $1150 is about as inexpensive as a livable rental goes. There are places (in smaller north valley towns) I could probably find an okay place for $850, but then I would be commuting which brings other expenses into play.

Let’s focus on Redding and Sacramento. Establishing a housing expenses budget of $200 (for electric, gas, wi-fi, and laundry) in Redding we have a total housing budget of $1150. In Sacramento, this is $1350.

My baseline for expenses—not including housing—is $850. That includes my phone, car insurance, websites/domains, a debt left over from my marriage, and other month to month bills.

We add the baseline to the total housing budget and add $450 for groceries, gas, and incidentals to get what I call the extended baseline.

In Redding this is $2450, in Sacramento this is $2650.

Okay, my calculations for net payroll are rough but should be kinda sorta accurate.

At $18 per hour, my monthly net income should be $2300. So, neither Redding nor Sacramento would work.

At $18.50 per hour, I may be able to afford a rental in a small town but, as I said before, then expenses like gas and car repairs increase. My van averages 22-23 m.p.g. and has 163,000 miles so this is important.

At $19 per hour, the net rises to $2430. It would be tight, but Redding would be workable.

At $20 per hour, the net is $2565 making Redding work but I still couldn’t afford Sacramento.

At $21 per hour, the net rises to $2693 which is the minimum for affording Sacramento.

This is the reality of living in California. If I lived somewhere like Alabama, housing would be a lot less but the minimum wage is $7.25 opposed to the $16 minimum in California. On the topic of wages, fast food workers get a bump to $20 in April. I believe this to be a bad thing and here’s why: Fast food used to be a first step in the working world; it’s a tough gig for little money so it was an easy gig to get if you were a teenager, for example. I’m guessing workers at sit downs like Chilis or Denny’s make around $17-18. So…now those people with actual restaurant experience are going to be going for fast food jobs to get an extra couple of dollars an hour—how is Clancy or Cindy Clerosil supposed to compete with experienced workers? Not just that, but do you think the franchisees are going to be okay with lower profits? No. So, fast food goes up, making it even tougher for working people struggling to get by. One franchisee, when interviewed, said he would not only be raising food prices but he would also be cutting paid time off for employees. In my opinion, they should have raised the minimum for everyone to $18 (in California). It’s a travesty the Federal minimum is so low—$7.25 in 2024, really? 

Well, Izaak, those minimum wage jobs are not meant for grown ass adults.

The baseline—in this case $7.25—effects wages altogether. If a semi skilled worker can expect $18 here in California, maybe they’re only getting $11 in Alabama. Excuse me for stating the obvious, but the Federal minimum should be bumped to $10 and increase $1-2 per year.

I think about this a lot, how working people get the dirty end of the stick in this country…and we fight each other because someone voted Blue or someone voted Red. Wake up, people, seriously...