Money makes the world go around, and most young writers don't have a good understanding on how much things cost. This chapter is dated the second I put it online in 2016, and I'm sure you can go back ten years from now and laugh at how cheap some of the numbers I'll be putting up are. Either way, this is a reference guide for people inexperienced with money. This will let you understand "round-about" how much things cost.

I am very specifically talking about the US. Most of my experience is in the Midwest, but I'll try to range my estimates for including city life. As I mention on my last "in the US" chapter, the closer you live to a city, the more expensive things get. Certain areas are cheap living, other areas are expensive. It depends on an innumerable number of factors, but at the very least, this will give you some perspective on living in the United States and how much money is when translated to actually living.

The minimum wage in the USA right now is per hour of work. Forty hours a week with 52 weeks in a year means your bringing home around . That is the minimum salary. Assuming you'll get basically all of it back at the end of the year taken for taxes, because at this point you are destitute. However, most minimum wage jobs don't give you 40 hour work weeks, which also puts a damper on things. You see, when a job give you 40 hours a week, they're required to provide benefits like healthcare, so they'd rather hire a bunch of people at 20 hours a week. If you're desperate, you might have 2-3 20 hour a week jobs.

Anyway, for one person with a full time minimum wage job, this is considered just above the poverty line at . For one person plus a kid, the poverty line is . For a four person family, it's around ~. Keep in mind this is the federal limit for impoverished (in 2015), and not the limit for when you can gain financial aid nor the level anyone would want to be at. You're still poor, but at these thresholds it's theoretically possible to provide for your family.

A studio apartment might cost around to rent per month. A required deposit of one month's rent to twice one month's rent, per animal is due when getting an apartment. A one bedroom would be , a 2 bedroom would be , a 3 bedroom would be , ect... ect... In the city, this price can double the numbers I just mentioned, based on how close to the city center and how nice the area is. Typically, the closer you get to nicer areas, the worst the price per square foot. Square footage is a big affector. 350 square feet might be a studio apartment, while a 2 bedroom can go from 700-1000 square feet. Of course, there are always bigger places, and smaller places for that matter.

Electricity and gas usually end up on one bill, but not always. You can get a gas only or an electric only home, and will require appliances of the same type. Typically, gas + electric would cost around a month for a family of four in a 3 bedroom home. How airtight the home is, how much you use television and other power hungry devices, ect... all play a role.

Internet can go from a month depending on the speed. Cellphones can also go from based on the plan you go with and the data you get. Satellite or Cable Television will usually put you about a month. You can get packages that combine some of these, so it's feasible to get television, internet, and a home phone for a month or so.

A new car will cost over . The cheapest cars will be a little cheaper ), but anything but the base models will put you . The payment plan will have you paying (more for more expensive cars) per month. Most car loans are a six year loan. Cars need insurance, so add from per car per person for that. You can also go and buy a used car, and perhaps find one for , but there are always risks that come with buying used.

Car maintenance can go from oil changes ) to tuneups ) to brake pad replacements ) to tire replacements . If something important breaks, don't expect to get out of it for less than .

The cheapest, smallest houses are around would be the base-line for your typical move in ready house (maybe 2-3 bedrooms)... and they only go up from there. A house someone would describe as "nice" would cost at least . When you buy a house and have a mortgage, you're paying for insurance, house taxes, interest, and the principle on your home. Most mortgages are 30 years, but you can get a 15 year as well. A $100,000 home would cost about for mortgage. This depends on a lot of things, from un-insurance, to MPI, to how much you owe, to the taxes of the city you own the property in. They fluctuate a lot. My home started out , and is now (Originally a $89,000 home) because taxes increased in the city I lived in. Once again, houses in nicer neighborhoods and in bigger cities will get more and more expensive. My parent's house in small city was an expansive 5 bedroom that's worth around $250,000. My grandma lived in downtown LA, and her smaller, older home was worth nearly $600,000 when it sold.

Going to high school doesn't cost too much. Going to college is an entirely different beast. If you go to a state school and actually live in that state, you're looking at $. There are two semesters a year, so that's To live in the dorms and eat as part of their meal plan, you can usually double that. So It's around to go to a cheap state university. Go out of state, and that price jumps to . Go private, and that price jumps from . Talking about medical schools, Ivy league schools... it goes up from there.

Community colleges are a little cheaper. It's usually charged on a per credit basis, and you're looking around. Universities usually give you 15-16 credits a semester, so you're still looking at paying $3000-$4000 a semester, even at a community college. Thankfully, you usually only need 2-3 years of community college instead of 4 years at a university. By the way, 4 years at $8,000 a year means the minimum cost for a bachelor's of science is , and more likely $50,000 or more.

You can pay for it with loans, grants, and scholarships. As soon as college is over, you have to pay back the loans you owe. These payments can be quite a lot, . Many people end up spending 15-30 years paying back their student debts.

Groceries for food can vary based on what you eat and how you shop. I'd say about , although you save a little by buying in bulk. I'd say I spend close to to support a family of four. I could probably buy cheaper and bring the price down, but barely.

So... take all of that together.

Rent: $700

Electricity: $100

Car: $350

Insurance: $80

Internet: $40

Phone: $50

Groceries: $200

Total: $1,520

That's just for one-two people to live... not live comfortably. That doesn't include gas ), that doesn't include fun, that doesn't include going out to eat, that is basically the bare minimum you need to live. Health Insurance? What's that? About , maybe . Oh, yeah, you need to pay for water too if you live in a house so add about $. Note that the minimum wage pays you or so and the projected cost above is about . (Naturally, you can buy a used car, live in a crappy apartment, no health insurance, ect...) So if you're complaining to your parents, hopefully that puts some of what you're spending into perspective for you. Once again, note these prices are for the Midwest. While I don't expect car prices or cellphones to change all that much, the cost of food, electricity, insurance, and rent will all increase depending on the area.

Of course, not everyone makes minimum wage. In fact, most people who have their act together don't. So how much do they make?

An elementary-high school teacher makes around . This can go up to depending on location, skill, presence of a masters, that kind of thing. A Nurse would make around , but could probably get as much as , once again, depending on luck. A family practice doctor would make around , but a surgeon could go into the . I could keep throwing numbers at you, but if you really need a number, go to salary.com and look for it in a certain area. Remember that someone out of school will start with the low number. The high numbers are for people who have been in the field for 20+ years and made some good decisions.

We already established impoverished is from . A poor family would probably be from . You could say lower-middle class around . Naturally, this depends on location as much as lifestyle of the people involved. A single person making $40,000 a year is better off than a family of three with $40,000 a year. A normal middle class family would make from . This could be based on a single or a combined income. Once you break , you're starting to get into the upper-middle class and rich categories. By the time you're making over ... I'm sorry, you rich. No other way to say it.

This list is obviously trying to focus on abstract and sometimes hard to look up things. If you want to know how much a coke costs in LA, well, just go look it up. Prices of random products will fluctuate, but what they cost on amazon would be a good enough estimate for most purposes while writing.

The major point of this chapter is just to put money into perspective for you. Like people don't seem to understand how much weight is "heavy", not a lot of people grasp money. How a person lives can go into how they're perceived quite a bit. Some people shop at thrift stores, buy cheap, and don't replace things, other people eat out at a restaurant six times a week. How you use your money affects how comfortably you live just as much as any of the numbers I quoted you. So take this information with a grain of salt.