this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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The point is not to chill and just burn through the savings and not work. How would having that much money saved, change the way you look for jobs?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

You said in another comment that your rent was $800 a month, two years of that is $19,200. Rent is (supposed to be) about 1/3 of your living costs, so that would be $2400 per month. You're good for a little over 4 months, more if you live very lean.

Average cost of groceries per person per month in Texas is $289. Let's say you're thrifty and only spend $200. https://www.sofi.com/cost-of-living-in-texas/

Gas has averaged about $3.10 over the last year. https://ycharts.com/indicators/texas_retail_price_of_gasoline_monthly I don't know how much gas your car uses or how much you drive, but lets say you drive a prius and get 50mpg. Most people drive about 1200 miles per month ( https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/average-miles-driven-per-year/ ) let's say you only drive 1/4 of that, so 300 (75 miles per week). Not bad, only $18.60 for gas. Minimum legally required car insurance in Texas (gets you nothing if your car is damaged) is $47 per month (https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/average-cost-of-car-insurance-in-texas/).

Average utilities in Texas (including internet) is $402 per month, again you're thrifty so we'll halve that at $200 per month.

So, if you buy absolutely nothing besides bare minimum groceries, gas, car insurance and utilities (I'm assuming you're on no-cost Medicaid here), that's $465 per month + $800 rent is $1265. You're good for almost 8 months. Not a dire as some here are claiming, but also not two years. If you lived like the "average Texan" it would be about 2.5 months.