Surviving on low income

Lifestyle Relationships
141

Re: Surviving on low income

If you limit the discussion to households with internet access (which was not in the OP question) you are correct.

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Re: Surviving on low income

ok.......so what about me in all of this?? i see some discussion about how i am qualified or not about responding here......... mennu kuch samjah nahi aai ...

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Re: Surviving on low income

someone said you live on less than roadsweepers salery so your view does not count. :)

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Re: Surviving on low income

I should've said brothers in PA, par jaldi main your name rolled off my tongue.

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Re: Surviving on low income

actually someone said IF he lives on roadsweeper salary or less, then sure go ahead and ask him how people survive in less than 20K

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Re: Surviving on low income

I support two families in Pakistan, both have their own houses but earn around 10 to 15k. With my and other relatives' support it comes upto 20 or 22k, they don't have any savings but they eat nicely 3 times a day and don't have any loans.

I wasn't making it up but I didn't wanna mention anything about me supporting someone.

Oh and the man of the household isn't a sweeper but a head-cashier.

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Re: Surviving on low income

OP didnt really talk about households as such. She told of her own household and asked how you would run it. Im thinking that since her household is one with internet access, the reply should be made accordingly thinking about people in that bracket.

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Re: Surviving on low income

yar but dekho na, YOU support them.

They are home owners.

They have 15 K to spend for themselves since they have support coming in. Theek hey it comes to 20K, you can eat nicely three times a day sure. Grocery is for around 10 K easily, chicken once a week, sabzi otherwise, taking into account the cost of oil masala and gas kharcha.

But if you ration it well you can eat within 10K for a month relatively well.

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Re: Surviving on low income

Peace All

From my experience and dealings with people from Pakistan it appears that people have particular focus on what is "normal" based on their own experiences.

There is a difference between range of income from average income and difference between modal average from numerical mean average.

There is also a big misunderstanding of class and expense ...

For example:

The servant classes that live in richer areas are earning the same as working class/civil servants in less affluent areas. The majority of Pakistan is not rich ... I would say the split of rich areas versus the less rich areas are on the split of about 80:20.

Of the 20% that are approx. 40% who are working in some capacity as employees/servants earning a numerical average of about Rs 15,000 per month to Rs 20,000 per month, which is not enough to be living in the rich areas, but is enough to be allocated a living quarter within a large private estate, which means that some of that money comes back to the employers as rent. So effectively it translates to free living with an average of Rs 10 - 15,000 per month.

Private rent in the rich areas is going to be about Rs 4,000 to 6,000 per month plus bills for a 2 to 3 bed property.

Meanwhile in the average areas - that is 80% of the populated areas in Pakistan, some of the best houses are rented for Rs 4,000 per month ... you can get up to 4 to 5 bed houses on that rent. The servants are sometimes not given a salary, but are given a home to live in and food and clothes, and perhaps pocket money of about Rs 500 per month if they are lucky. The modal average salary of the people living in these lower class areas is Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. The mean average is about Rs 30, 000 per month. Sometimes there are two or three people working in a family make the household income to about Rs 50,000 per month on average with no servants that makes a decent living standard.

Now the issue of bills ...

It is also untrue that the bills of poor areas are the same as the bills of richer areas ... Richer households will use more luxury energy ... i.e. more fans, ACs, refridgeration, computers, transport - i.e. travel further distances, more holidays and more fancy eat outs and clothes. This means the average mean expense of the lower working classes and upper working classes respectively is about:

Rs 10,000 per month and Rs 25,000 per month

Much richer people can spend up to Rs 100,000 per month ...

My point in saying all of this is that people of one class who cannot survive on a certain amount should not say that the same amount is not comfortable for those who live in other classes or areas.

Rather the servants of the rich areas are living in a similar lifestyle to those who are average workers in other areas. Just as there is a class of worker there is also a class of servant ... some upper class servants earn more than lower class workers. The difference is that a servant living in a rich area more often than not has to spend in those rich areas as well and hence has a lower living standard than the people of same income but who live in other areas.

So the underliying question here is what is the "lifestyle" that the OP has in Pakistan ... are they living in a "planned town" or in a "market town" ??? A planned town is a custom built residence, but a market town is the building up of houses around places of trade and work ...

It is obvious from the title of the thread that the OP already thinks Rs 30,000 is a low income.

Then you need to extrapolate this in order of scale 80% of the people living in Pakistanis cities are subject to the conditions of the market town people ... and only 20% are subject other lifestyles ... People in villages for example can earn less still and be well off, but there are the landowners and farmers who have a different measure of lifestyle again ... farmers for example will have larger turnovers, but will have high reinvestment costs so their effective profits are how their lifestyles are measured not by the overall income.

Some landowners, business tycoons and aristocracy of Pakistan are in the clouds and earn or make money which can exceed the incomes of professional people living in the West.

Pakistan is a place with about 5 or 6 classes of people ... the majority (about 60%) of them being in the second from the bottom.

Taken as a pure numerical average Rs 30,000 per month is slightly higher than the national average mean salary and much higher than the average mode salary. For this reason it is possible to live fairly well in a market town on this salary.

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Re: Surviving on low income

You know, you could suggest that he look for a job in some other bank perhaps. My entire family is in the banking line, and seriously, below 15 K for a head cashier is very weird.

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Re: Surviving on low income

No, not in a bank but it's a governmental institute. My niece would be applying for a bank job soon, she told me her starting salary would be between 15-20k.

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Re: Surviving on low income

psyah - The OP said she lives in Karachi, and they are renting. It is self explanatory that she will have more and larger expenses than those living in small towns or rural areas.

Demesne says you can eat comfortably within 10,000. She has 2 to 3 times her normal family members almost daily that don't want to eat what she's cooking, so you can easily make that 10,000 into 20,000 on food.

That's her problem and that's what she came here for help on.

Seriously, there was a time a when families would get together to eat together to save money and waste less.

This seems to be the opposite and the oft heard thing of 'let's go to so and so's so we don't have to cook today' because you know that they will have to give you something decent. It's the same mentality that has people going to weddings just for the free food.

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^I don't think he's talking about the OP in particular....just a view about different classes in Pakistan in the same city just like we have in London.

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Re: Surviving on low income

Bilkul... see? Phew. Finally some realism. Starting salary 15-20 in banks makes sense.

As far as government thing goes, don't all government jobs offer living quarters?

And subsidies on electricity and so on and so forth ?

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Re: Surviving on low income

Bilkul stoppit. 10K if every member of the household in on board with saving money and eating chicken say, once twice a week ONLY.

Chicken per kg is around 300-500 rupees (depends on where you buy from and quality). Add cost of cooking and masalay, oil, tomato/yogurt etc and thats a 500 rs meal one time for household of say five people.

So naturally you cannot feed 10-12 people chicken twice a day below 1000 rs per day.

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Re: Surviving on low income

I don't think so. I guess each company or field has different things to offer. I know some people who worked in WAPDA and they had some free units to use....I doubt if any company would cover full rent or bills.

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Re: Surviving on low income

peace psyah.

From my understanding the OP is from a class which

a) is moderately educated and english speaking. That rules out quite a bulk of the population right there
b) has access to and understands usage of computers in daily life (rules out yet more people)
c) OP was living in the US or abroad herself (rule out yet more)

keeping those factors in mind, of course 30K is less for her to survive in in pakistan.

Let's retain perspective people.

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Re: Surviving on low income

Bills are subsidised for government officials. And housing is provided at minimal cost if any.
Same is the case for army officials, on a more personal note. Housing is provided at minimal rent.

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Re: Surviving on low income

.....

I like this thread.

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Re: Surviving on low income

For those living abroad, this means

*living on a salary of 330 US dollars/215 british pounds/260 euros per month
*