I am writing this piece knowing that the typical African will survive in any environment. While his spirit is built with the resilience to overcome any situation, the “I CAN” spirit of the African man is further emboldened with information of this nature. History of African immigrants dates back a long time ago. In recent times, however, it is common to find new immigrants confused as to what to do in a new country. They are often perplexed regarding how to survive on a low income, which, inadvertently, caused them to become a burden to other immigrants.
The need for survival is the most compelling of all human necessities. It can cause happy people to become troubled and terrified to the point of running against constituted authority. The need for survival often turns meek and goodhearted people into bad guys, overnight. While it is un-African to be criminal minded, many Africans in the Diaspora are often pressured into becoming a menace to their host community. However, in the true African spirit, the typical African man would rather suffer than commit crime and bring his name to ridicule. It is upon this reality that we need to discuss ways African immigrants can live on meager income until he rises through thick and thin to become a happy, proud member of the society he lives.
What is considered low-income earning?
While those living on minimum wage can be said to be on the national benchmark of survival, this discussion is interested in people who are not on standardized income. The expected $21,000 gross income per annul for federal workers working full-time does not apply to a new immigrant still finding his place in a strange land. This means these are people who will have to live on whatever is made day-in-day-out until they can find a regular job that pays the basic wage and more. Typically, what I consider low income will be an amount slightly around or below acceptable poverty line. In this case we will be talking around $12,000, which is about $1000 per month.
In 2014, according to the Social Security Administration, roughly 60.2 million people in the US were on the income of $20,000 or less. Although this cannot be said to be an ideal situation, the study shows these people survive on such earning annually.
Assuming you are new in town with no regular job and have to live on the little income you make each month, how do you survive? The typical line of expenses for low-income earners
The fact is that no spending is waste, but it is not every expense that is reasonable. Therefore, we need to be sincere in our daily line of expenditure to select only the expenses that are basic and necessary.
Hypothetically, the following will form the basic line of expenditure for a typical African immigrant while in the struggle for survival: Housing, Food, Transportation, Communication, Clothing, Health care, Education or new skill acquisition, Savings, and Provision.
Of course, as they say, “all work and no play make Jack, a dull boy;” living by this saying requires social expenses, but in survival term, I think you should find a hobby that won’t cause you to spend money. With that said, let’s look at how low-income immigrants can survive in the US.
