That is a very low wage for the US but it can be done. I used to live on a little less than that (adjusted for inflation). My rent and utilities were around $400 a month with 3-4 roommates in a mid priced city, I had a flip phone when some were switching to smart phones (this was 2006-2009ish). The part that blows my mind the most now is that I was spending $20 a week on food. $1 loaves of bread, cheese, maybe some super cheap lunch meat, peanut butter, cheap pasta and sauce, rice, beans and maybe eggs. I didn’t ever eat out, rarely went out to drink, and I drove a $1000 car and sometimes paid for gas with loose change.

The US isn’t set up for living on poverty like some countries are. Social services are hit or miss, public transportation is pretty bad in most of the country, and food is expensive. It’s expensive to be poor. You need a car but cheap cars break down often, poor diets lead to expensive health problems, and expensive education means that it’s hard to get out of your situation.

In contrast, I’ve spent a lot of time in South America where public transportation is often pretty decent and even people on low incomes can afford to eat out pretty regularly. I can’t speak to social services in most of the places I’ve been down there.