Well, the "game" is clearly rigged to make a point, so I thought I'd add some missing factors:
I chose the “restaurant server” job for the flexible hours (I too failed the typing test). That gives me a take-home of $1048
I opted for the health insurance, and housing right by work.
Just to be more realistic, I opted for a Section 8 place – the voucher of course caps my payment at 30%, or $314 of the $850, putting $536 back in my pocket.
Sell the shit you can’t fit in your apartment. And since it is apparently so tiny, why is my gas and electric bill $225? I reduce my usage a bit, and enroll in PG&E’s CARE program. I save $125
The game then introduces a twist where my landlord tries to gouge me for an extra $150. I have many options available to put a stop to that, and get my $150 back. My side account is up to $811
Of course, since I’m taking advantage of Section 8, I can’t let anyone crash in my place for money, so I have to pass on that opportunity.
Oh, good – it says I qualify for food stamps but not until next month! (How convenient.) So I go to a local food bank instead, saving a few bucks this month, and nobody goes hungry.
Oops, broken window, $100. Fortunately, I’ve got it covered.
I skip a few things, like lottery tickets and nights out. Oh well. There’s plenty of free things to do.
Oh no! I just got into a traffic accident. But wait! I sold my car when I moved close to work, so how can that happen??? There’s $550 I don’t have to pay (though I could with the money in my “side account”, but we’re done. It won’t let me continue.
Let’s try again since the game cheated on me…
Waitaminute… a speeding ticket? I don’t have a damn car. Whoever coded this seems to think a human being can’t live without a car.
One more time…
Another speeding ticket for a car I don’t have, and then insurance and mobile phone bills I don’t have since I don’t need either of these things ends the month with $108. Add back in the $811 from the inaccuracies, and I’ve got $919 to start the next month with. I’ll not be buying that Rolex any time soon, but I’m surviving.
Another run through, and I have $468. Adding back my savings from programs, I now have $1129 that month. Still fine.
Not an enviable lifestyle, but absolutely doable. The simulation really just shows how whoever created it is either willfully misleading or out of touch with reality.
