In 1972 I worked at a furniture mfg in Orlando FL. for the minimum wage of $2.10 hr.
I was 20, single, and shared a 2 bedroom apt. For $150 a month split 2 ways.
Key points:
To make more money, after I had proved myself, I asked to be trained in one of the piecework jobs. I was good at it and busted my butt. Nice increase in income.
Even at minimum wage I was able to support myself. Because the government had not yet destroyed certain consumer markets.
I paid $9 every 2 weeks for health insurance
Decent beer was 99¢ a six. I paid 35¢ a pack for cigs. (quit them in 1978)
I paid 33¢ a gallon for gas and drove a 3 year old Datsun 510 with 25K miles that I bought for $1050 & got 25 mpg - no A/C.
I made my lunch every day for work. Breakfast at home every day. Do I need to mention the cost of food at the grocery store? Pretty cheap relative to my wages with careful shopping.
I worked 5 to 10 hours a week of over time. Business was good at that time, but OT was voluntary & I took all they would give me.
I had no debt to service and I still saved a few bucks every week. Even got laid on rare occasions LOL
Try to do that today on minimum wage or higher. It’s the government’s fault that you can’t.
A big reason health insurance was low was the fact that some coverage was a la carte and not mandated by the government.
A single 20 yo man didn’t have to pay for mental health coverage, nor did he have to pay for maternity coverage. Drugs were part of the policy deductible. When they began the low copay for drugs, premiums had to go up.
Before maternity coverage was mandatory for all policy holders my BIL paid $300 cash for the delivery room fee on his first kid. 2 years later and maternity coverage was mandatory, the cash cost for his next kid was $1600.