Making Ends Meet With A Minimum Wage

The cost of living is always a hot topic, and here in Davao Region, it hits close to home. I wanted to take a closer look at what it's really like to live on minimum wage here in January 2012. It's a tough situation, and breaking down the numbers really brings it into focus.

Right now, the daily minimum wage is 260 pesos. If you work 26 days a month, that's a gross monthly salary of 6,760 pesos. Most folks get paid twice a month, around the 15th and the 30th, so that's 3,380 pesos gross per payday.

But before you can even think about groceries or rent, there are deductions. We've got 233.30 pesos for SSS, a withholding tax exemption (which varies), and 75 pesos for PhilHealth. That's 308.30 pesos gone from your monthly paycheck, right off the bat.

So, your net monthly income comes to 6,451.70 pesos, or 3,225.85 pesos per payday. That amount has to last you 15 days, which means you can't spend more than about 215 pesos a day. Try living on that!

Let's break down some typical expenses for a single person:

• Transportation: If you're lucky enough to live close to work, you might spend about 20 pesos a day on transportation. Over 13 working days per payday, that adds up to 260 pesos.
• Food: A very basic food budget might be 40 pesos per meal and 10 pesos for a snack. That's 130 pesos a day, or 1,950 pesos over 15 days.
• Rent: A lot of people here rent bed space, which averages around 800 pesos a month, or 400 pesos per payday.
• Personal Care: Soap, shampoo, laundry detergent – the essentials – might cost around 150 pesos per payday.

Just those basic necessities add up to 2,760 pesos. That leaves you with a measly 465.85 pesos from your net pay. And that has to cover everything else:

• Clothing: You need clothes, right? Shirts, pants, shoes…
• Personal Habits: Maybe you smoke or enjoy a drink now and then.
• Cellphone Load: Everyone has a cellphone these days, and load isn't cheap.
• Social Activities: Movies, hanging out with friends – these things are important, too, but they're hard to afford.

It's a real struggle. These numbers paint a clear picture of just how difficult it is to make ends meet on minimum wage here in Davao. It makes you wonder how people manage. This is just one perspective, of course, and everyone's situation is different. But it gives you a sense of the challenges many face.