What is up with the pricing? Do we live in 1940s?

[anne O'nymous]

How do you manage to sustain yourself on a budget of 75 euros per week?

What can I answer to that ? I don't have a secret, I just buy food and it happen that it rarely cost me more than 75€/week, and often cost me less. I just look at the price and change my mind when I found that the price is abusive, even if I can afford to buy it.
Also note that I said "rarely", because when, with the holidays by example, you buy a bloc of Foie gras, smoked salmon and wild meat, you obviously break the limit. But it stay really exceptional. In day basis I eat quality food, not luxury one. I know: shocking !

Would it be possible for you to provide me with a spreadsheet detailing your purchases?

Who the fuck have that ? I don't even know what I'll buy before I'm in front of it and decide that I'll eat "that" this week. I buy fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as meat, mostly beef, but sometimes I goes for lamb or noble pork pieces (like Filet mignon by example).

- I am stating that life is equally expensive here as it is in any other place.

It's not true, even in regard of the minimal wage. And, of course, it's even less true when you decide to keep pricing in dollars.
[Roughly converted and quickly found values] Globally, with US$ 1, you get 1kg of rice in the USA, 400g in Japan, 500g in France, and 800g in Slovakia. Reported to the minimal wage, one hour of works in the USA give you 7.25 Kg, 2.6Kg in Japan, 4.8 Kg in France, and 3.7Kg in Slovakia.
I insist on the fact that it's obviously a rough and global estimation, especially for the US that have a really wild range of price and effective minimal wage, and based on cheap rice. But globally the range are correct.

Must be kept in mind that the range is "at minimal wage". Rice is still a bit cheaper in Slovakia than in France, but we have a higher minimal wage in regard of the life cost in the country. Globally rice is 10% cheaper in Slovakia, but french minimal wage is ~170% the one in Slovakia (1,3xx€ against 750€). You need to works longer at minimal wage to buy what I could buy at minimal wage, but in the end I would still spend more than you for the same purchases.

- How can I save $300? Considering my rent is $500, living in a tent seems like a viable option. If I were to spend half of that amount, I might even start losing weight.

Well, I estimated accordingly to the fact that you claimed that the average housing price of 685€ was below the reality, and related to the average price I found. But globally it seem that you can save up to 100€ in your housing cost, what is obviously relative since you need to found the right rental at the right moment.
It's mostly with food that you can save money. I don't know how you manage this, but you really spend way more than you should in Slovakia.

I'll not give prices, because it was in early 90's, but when we moved together with my wife, both of us starting in life,
we did something crazy, spending 1 month salary to buy a good freezer. It costed us, but starting there we jumped on every single bulk offer, and probably saved three time the price of that freezer for just the first year. I don't miss those times, at least not because of the food, but it helped us starts as adults while keeping a relatively good quality of life. Like we saved more than needed, we had the possibility to goes to restaurants or eat luxury foods time to time.
Slovakia being in the EU, it probably have a law regarding food wastage. Start going in supermarket time to time, you should find products at 25% to 50% less because close of the limit date. Put them in the freezer, in individual portions, and you have food of relatively good quality for a lower cost.

- Do you appear to possess a house? Reside with your parents, perchance? Is it possible that the cost of goods is lower in France? or you eat less than me.

I'm 52yo, it's been a long time that I don't live with my parents, and I own my flat, but between the taxes and all, it cost me way more than 500€/month, without the bills of course. I'll not give numbers, but if I was at minimal wage, I wouldn't have money left to eat and probably wouldn't even be able to fully pay the power bill.
As for the cost of goods, it's clearly not lower in France. And I have no fucking clue if I eat more or less than you, I eat what an average human eat I guess.

 

[Glorified_ignorance]

Get real, those prices will only work in USA. Outside wont work, don't complain do regional economic research then come up with tiering system or something. Based on regions, set different quality models. Or quality/time based pricing.
No one is doubting your skills, but such mentality is just wrong.

If people will be willing to pay full price they will pay, otherwise make options that would require less of your work time. Money is still money. You would be surprised in such way you might get more work to do. And everyone's gonna be happy, and YOU will be approachable in price wise. More work more money More loyal customers might appear.

I don't want to call people cheap but damn, when you expect Pixar level work with MCDANOLDS budget what should they be called?

the other 10 percent of clients are great people that I respect and they put there money where there mouth is and don't expect me to risk my time and my lively hood and believe in there vision. And to them I wish succuss and happiness!

Please stop. Such thinking is unhealthy and toxic.

 

[Jack Madrigal]

It's disheartening to see all theses comments about how one should lower his life, as if there was no choice but to put everyone on the lowest common denominator, and there's no hope, but living a drone's life.

Reading all this, you wonder why we're not all eating rice in mud houses, for Christ's sake x), been working in advertisement for the past 20 years and if there's one think to take out for it, is that you can sell ANYTHING at ANY PRICE if you're loud enough,

there's a literal ocean of money waiting for you outside, and it all depend on the size and the quality of the bucket you use to draw water from it.

whether OP specifically is truthful with what he's saying or not is irrelevant, there are enough discouraged young peoples that live unfulfilled lives out there.

 

[Icarus Media]

I'll put my two cents in now.

1) You should be paid what the market believes you are worth, absolutely 100%, taking into account your expenses and the years of learning the skill you have, your marketability, your professionalism, communication etc etc. I agree.

2) You also need to take into account the market itself you are looking at, i remember in another thread they endeavoured to shew the quantity of devs that were earning less than $1,000 per month. This is something you MUST consider or you WILL price yourself out the market, especially in a global one where someone with a lower standard of living, currency favour etc can compete.

In many ways this reminds me of the forum on FIVER.com, as I've seen these types of thread on there going back to 2019 about this topic. So to that end let me offer you something that I believe someone touched upon before, and to which Fiver has made an excellent solution to:

Have you considered tier based pricing? another thread commentor mentioned about creating a basic house template and charging $75, but custom made being $800. Perhaps you could do something similiar? Instead of full 100% quality and effort from you each time, let them justify the work with the pay they give. If they want or can only pay $75, then give them a ready made model or template. They want custom? Okay how about $400 but it's only the model with no textures, then $800 for the full?

A LOT of people on Fiver were complaining about exactly what you mention. Now rather than try to put out a top tier quality product, they give whatever is justified by the price and the creators have taken a "Well you pay peanuts I'll give you peanuts, you get what you pay for."

What say you OP?

 

[Sextus-400]

that means you have expenses of about $1500 or $2150 depending on if you count that as 5 working days/week or 7 working days/week. the average salary in slovakia after taxes is about $1100, so you need much more than average salary to just break even. that's your problem, not the people paying the commissions'.

you're asking why most people have a problem with paying like a month's worth of the average salary in their country for just one commission. what do you expect when most of them are indie devs, often working solo, needing to make their ends meet just like you? not everone can afford to spend $10000+ to make a game.

1600 USD last month, my friend who usually takes the crypto off market was traveling so I had to pay tax on it and commission 10% which left me with 1313.57 EURO 600-500 are sent to my parents, rent is 500 exactly, there is internet expense since my location is a bit far I spend 30 on cellular internet, there is also transport and such, leaves heating and water with 100 as I don't use much heating. I literally have nothing form this.

and I made 600 euro from my retail job after tax which I'm living on. I have 358 euro as of now.

Usually, when people pay $1k or more, they expect to get more than 15 days of work done because they anticipate changes along the way. I had one client who I spent a total of 41 days working on a single house for. Every day, he would come back with new requests for changes, saying, "I paid you a lot." However, he actually only paid $750. Despite this, I ended up redesigning the house twice for him, starting from scratch and even creating a larger residence worth $100 million. The funny thing is, he kept complaining that it didn't look like a "rich person's house" and that his bathroom wasn't big enough, even though he had chosen the exact layout from a house on Zillow. He knew that the $10 million house he picked had smaller bedrooms, but he still chose to complain about the size.


This client resides in Florida and earns around 3k from their patrons not including what he do off the internet... yet he was crying about SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLLARSSSSS

 

[Icarus Media]

1600 USD last month, my friend who usually takes the crypto off market was traveling so I had to pay tax on it and commission 10% which left me with 1313.57 EURO 600-500 are sent to my parents, rent is 500 exactly, there is internet expense since my location is a bit far I spend 30 on cellular internet, there is also transport and such, leaves heating and water with 100 as I don't use much heating. I literally have nothing form this.

and I made 600 euro from my retail job after tax which I'm living on. I have 358 euro as of now.

Usually, when people pay $1k or more, they expect to get more than 15 days of work done because they anticipate changes along the way. I had one client who I spent a total of 41 days working on a single house for. Every day, he would come back with new requests for changes, saying, "I paid you a lot." However, he actually only paid $750. Despite this, I ended up redesigning the house twice for him, starting from scratch and even creating a larger residence worth $100 million. The funny thing is, he kept complaining that it didn't look like a "rich person's house" and that his bathroom wasn't big enough, even though he had chosen the exact layout from a house on Zillow. He knew that the $10 million house he picked had smaller bedrooms, but he still chose to complain about the size.


This client resides in Florida and earns around 3k from their patrons not including what he do off the internet... yet he was crying about SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLLARSSSSS

So if I'm reading this right (Per Month):

INCOME	EXPENDITURE
Job: 600	Parents: 600
Average Commissions: ?	Rent: 500
	Internet: 30
	Transport: ?
	Gas: ?
	Electric: ?
	Groceries: ?