Can You Live on Minimum Wage?

Find out what it really costs to live on your own – and what wage you’d really need to get there.

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Part of the Money Matters Journey on Level Up Life w/PrplJennifer This simulator is a free companion tool to the full Journey, available to Level Up Life members. Use the defaults to see the big picture — or plug in your own numbers to make it personal. Parents: this tool works well as a starting-point conversation with a teen.

Pick a city, set a wage, and watch the real cost of living stack up against take-home pay. Most configurations won’t balance. That’s the point.

Ready to Go Deeper?

This tool is a free resource from Level Up Life. The full Journey walks through the history of the minimum wage, the policy debates, and what financial stability actually looks like — with real activities and no fluff.

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