The Next Steve Maxwell??

[0 kids n not countin]

http://earnestcontention.blogspot.com/2012/01/just-shall-live-by-faith.html

 

I don't often read the male fundy blogs, but I read this one because I followed his wife's blog, don't know which scares me more, the fundy men or the fundy women bloggers. After reading his blog, I can see that he and his wife are made for each other. I feel bad for their daughter, and any future kids of theirs.

[julie paradox]

His latest post says "I personally know two families living on 500 dollars a week... doesn't seem possible does it?"

Now, I have no idea what costs are like in the US, and I freely admit that it's considerably less than we're on, but surely it's not that unlikely? Families in question have three and almost-five children.

[sippin0nsunshine]

deleted because I misunderstood the 500 dollars a month as being for groceries not bills & stuff too :whistle:

[liltwinstar]

Hm...when I was on my own, I lived on about $500/week...that was after my 401k contribution and my health care premium and taxes (of course). It wasn't easy, but there was some wiggle room. I was able to go on vacation - frugal vacations, but still vacations - and I was able to pay for Christmas presents, etc.

If I was supporting 2-5 other people? That would have been hard...all clothes would have to come from the thrift store, the food budget would have to be super tight, etc.

I don't think it's impossible, but it would be pretty hard.

Where do they live? When I was living on about $500/week, I was paying $750/mo rent for a one bedroom (granted, it had a large walk in closet that I suppose the stack-children-like-cordwood-crowd could have used to house, oh, 6 or 8 kids...), but I live in CA and I wanted to live in a decent neighborhood.

[emmiedahl]

My household (7 people plus my younger sister off and on) has less than $500 a week. Our monthly rent (subsidized housing) is two week's income. It can be done. We get food stamps, though.

eta: I have money left over from my student loan after paying for tuition. This usually covers some emergency, like needing new tires or whatever, and also pays for my internet access that I need for school and work, plus test proctoring fees and miscellaneous school stuff. We also get a sizeable tax return that is used for small trips to visit family and any other emergencies, although this year it will be going entirely to the cost of taking the MCAT and applying to medical school.

[0 kids n not countin]

liltwinstar, I believe Zach lives in Georgia, maybe Atlanta but not quite sure.

[Koala]

My household (7 people plus my younger sister off and on) has less than $500 a week. Our monthly rent (subsidized housing) is two week's income. It can be done. We get food stamps, though.

eta: I have money left over from my student loan after paying for tuition. This usually covers some emergency, like needing new tires or whatever, and also pays for my internet access that I need for school and work, plus test proctoring fees and miscellaneous school stuff. We also get a sizeable tax return that is used for small trips to visit family and any other emergencies, although this year it will be going entirely to the cost of taking the MCAT and applying to medical school.

It'll all be worth it when you're done with school!

[Koala]

Can't read the blog. The writing is too tiny, and that background throws me off.

[emmiedahl]

It'll all be worth it when you're done with school!

Totally. And tbh, we have our needs met and are generally happy with our lives.

[Koala]

Totally. And tbh, we have our needs met and are generally happy with our lives.

That's wonderful. I really admire you for pursing this goal. I think it sets a great example for your kids.

[liltwinstar]

liltwinstar, I believe Zach lives in Georgia, maybe Atlanta but not quite sure.

Huh - a quick scan of craigslit atlanta shows that you can rent a three bedroom house for between $675 and $1000 (although that one is listed as "huge"). So, for roughly the same as what I was paying, you could get a 3bdrm house.

So, yeah, $2000/mo for a family would be tight (maybe even super tight, depending on insurance premiums and whatnot), but I'm not sure I would call it extraordinary...isn't most of the US working class or lower middle class? So I would guess that there are a lot of families living on a similar income.

$500/week works out to an hourly wage of $12.50 (assuming a 40 hour week, no OT), which is a fairly solid wage...not high, obviously, but for a young fundie guy with (presumably) no degree or anything? It seems like a solid wage to me. That said, I'm glad I'm *not* living on that wage, but I had the opportunity to go to college, and I have no religious beliefs that forbid me from working and from pursuing a (hold your pearls tight everyone!) a career.

[0 kids n not countin]

Both Zach & his wife went to Athens Christian High School & Athens Technical College. She majored in early childhood education & he majored in marketing management, so perhaps he earns more than 12.50 an hour. They also record Christian music and give it away free to those who want it. I think they met in high school, so sad their daughter will be robbed of the experiences they had when they were younger, but hope she won't end up like Sarah Maxwell in 28 years. The one thing I do admire about the wife is how they switched to an all natural diet, and they don't eat junk food and so forth, that is admirable, and they also seem to care about the environment in that they seem to have gone "green" as well, save the wife wanting a bunch of kids, though so far they only have the one and she's had two (maybe more) miscarriages.