My daughter works full time here in Florida.
Let me run her numbers.
State minimum wage is $14/hour. Sheās making $15.
40 hours a week = $600/week
Thatās about $2,600/month before taxes.
Florida has no state income tax, the thing they love to sell you on.
After federal and FICA, she takes home roughly $2,200.
Average one-bedroom in our area? About $1,600.
Thatās 73% of her entire paycheck gone to rent before she eats a single meal.
That leaves her around $600 a month for:
groceries
gas
car insurance
health insurance
phone
emergencies
savings
Car insurance alone eats a huge chunk of that in this state.
She works 40 hours a week and still canāt save a dollar.
Not because sheās careless.
Because thereās nothing left to save.
I spent thirty years paying off a house here.
Sheās doing the same thing I did at her age, working full time, and she canāt even afford a one-bedroom apartment.
Thatās not a discipline problem.
Thatās not avocado toast.
The floor moved and nobody lowered the ceiling.
Working full time should be enough to afford a roof over your head.
In Florida, it barely covers the rent on one.