About This Quiz
Many people experience a time in their lives when they are financially tight. You look back on things you spent your money on and wish you had saved it instead. When making purchase decisions, it's often difficult to decide whether we really should be buying something or not. Take our quiz and learn how much money you really need to live on.Simon said that "there is no such thing as a free lunch, but at least its getting cheaper and cheaper." To live within our means does not necessarily mean living a live of deprivation and poverty.
To work out how much money we really need to live, we must separate our wants from our needs.
According to renowned economist Adam Smith, the major factor in deciding how much we need to live is social pressure. If we will be embarrassed by our lack of something, we will most likely purchase it, even if it is beyond our means.
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The U.S. government measures absolute poverty, which is based on the costs of necessary things like housing and food.
Orshansky defined the poverty threshold with this formula: she added up the costs of foods that make up an adequate diet (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture), and multiplied it by three (because a 1950s census determined that most households spend one third of their income on food). The U.S. government uses this formula to determine the poverty threshold.
Some researchers say that currently, households spend only one seventh of their income on food, which is why they say the poverty threshold needs to be reassessed.
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Fully 97 percent of America's poor own televisions; 62 percent have cable or satellite.
The accessibility of credit enables people to purchase things they cannot afford.
Generic products, especially generic medications, are identical to branded products, just without the label and the price tag.
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Eggs are a vitamin and mineral rich, inexpensive source of protein.
Just because something is a bargain, it doesn't mean you should buy it. Buy something only if you need it, or you know it will save you money when buying a similar item at a later date.
It is estimated that people spend $ 960 a year on buying lunch for work. Preparing food at home saves a significant amount of money.
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Health foods are pricier than regular foods. But there are some ways to eat healthy on a budget. For example, purchase canned tomatoes; they contain a greater concentrate of the antioxidant lycopene.
In 2007, an income of $ 10,590 per annum was considered the poverty threshold for one person; $ 21,027 a year was considered the threshold for a family of four, with two children under 18.
Opponents of the proposal to raise the minimum wage say it won't help reduce poverty; employers will downsize either by firing people or reducing their hours.
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