Somewhere along the way, society has put  in our minds that we require an ever-increasing income and ever-growing list of assets to be happy. That’s why it seems inconceivable to most of middle America that someone could live comfortably off $1100 a month.

We all have different incomes, comfort levels, and expenses. Most people in most occupations have the ability to influence these. How we spend our money depends on our values. Some folks buy nice homes, while others buy nice cars. Some donate everything to charity and others yet enjoy the local nightlife every night. I’m not going to assert that any of these is better than any other. To each his own. We spend on what we want, hopefully for smart reasons and hopefully within a budget.

What I practice and advocate is living below your means (LBYM). You can search the internet and find hundreds of tips and techniques about LBYM. They range from the practical (coupon cutting) to the extreme  (living in an RV) to the absurd (cleaning, drying, and re-use of paper towels). Living below your means is as easy as keeping your expenditures less than your income. Obviosuly, LBYM is a very broad topic with wide strategies depending on income, location, and a host of other variables. To keep this article short, I’m going to avoid delving into specific tips and focus on what I consider to be a reasonable and low-expense single person’s budget.

My only objective in this article is to demonstrate that it is possible to live comfortably on a very modest income. Whether or not you ultimately agree with my $1100/month contention depends on your definition of “comfort” and your idea of what these things actually cost where you live.

These rounded dollar figures are for a single person and based closely on real expenses. For bigger cities which generally are more expensive, rent might be higher, but you can offset that increased expense by relying on public transportation, thus lowering your automobile expenses substantially.

NOTE: This budget is for a person on maintenance status, meaning he already owns a working vehicle and household goods.

MONTHLY EXPENSES

Rent: $500 This will pay for an older, yet well-maintained apartment, or cover a decent home shared with a friend

Food: $200 This is an average of $6-7/day which is enough to cover healthy grocery store food as well as eating out once a week

Renter’s insurance: $10

Auto insurance: $50

Medical/dental coverage: $150 This number is highly variable, ranging from $0 to nearly $1000

Gasoline: $60 Based on 500 miles per month (ride a bike and carpool half the time), 20 miles/gallon and $2.40/gallon

Auto maintenance: $20 Average based on a carwash every month and an oil and lube every three months

Personal Supplies: $15 Includes hygienic items like soap, toothpaste, and shaving cream

Household Supplies: $15 Includes cleaning products, and light maintenance

Clothes: $40 This is enough to buy a decent pair of shoes, a pair of pants or two, or some shirts each month

Entertainment: $40 A little something to treat yourself to some movies, a concert, or a professional sports game every month

What do you think? Are these estimates way off the mark? Is this level of spending too low to be considered “comfortable”? Do you believe the title of the article—that someone can live comfortably off $1100/month—or do you think it’s sensationalistic and a stretch? Did I miss any typical expenses? Leave a comment!

By the way, $1100 per month means $13200 per year. Working 40 hours per week for all 52 weeks of the year, this breaks down to $6.35 per hour. In other words, a fulltime worker can live this budget if he makes $6.35/hour. As of this writing, the federal minimum wage is $6.55/hour.