Most people would consider $6,000 a month a pretty comfortable budget—unless you're someone's retired mom spending $1,500 of it just on dining out, with zero rent, zero healthcare costs, and a paid-off house in California. According to a post in the Millennials subreddit, that's exactly what one user is dealing with.
"My elderly mother claims it's impossible to live on less than $6K a month," she wrote, baffled. "She eats out almost every meal and spends roughly $1.5K per month on food." Meanwhile, the poster is pulling full-time hours and still brings in less than half of her mom's passive income—money her mom receives from the poster's late father and grandparents.
That disconnect struck a nerve.
Don't Miss:
- Would You Have Invested in eBay or Uber Early? The Same Backers Are Betting on This Vacation Home Platform
- ‘Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.30/share.
One commenter joked that their lunch consisted of "a deep breath," prompting someone else to add, "Honestly, sometimes it just hits the spot, like having sleep for dinner." Another chimed in, "Moneybags here taking deep breaths, meanwhile us plebs are surviving on shallow inhales." Because when the average monthly food budget starts to look like a luxury cruise, gallows humor becomes the main course.
Among the more grounded replies: a single parent raising a child on $2,000 a month, making every penny count but still ensuring their kid never goes without. Another user said they spend $1,000 a month feeding a family of four—including two young kids—with 90% of meals made at home. One family of five, with three kids under 18, clocked in at the same number. Their total household income? Less than half of what the mom spends.
And then there was the person living off just over $900 a month in disability housing. They bake their own bread, grow herbs in a modest garden, and treat themselves to a $20 pizza once a year—for their birthday. "Your mother sounds like the type of person to assume someone like me is lazy for being on food stamps," they wrote. "No offense to you."
Trending: Kevin O'Leary Says Real Estate's Been a Smart Bet for 200 Years — This Platform Lets Anyone Tap Into It
Another broke it down even further: three people surviving on just $1,754 a month combined. Of that, more than $800 is strictly for groceries—no takeout, no deli food, just the basics. "Your mother is spending nearly as much on food alone as my 3-person family is spending on EVERYTHING."
Some replies were slightly more sympathetic. One couple said they spend about $2,500 a month on food—but that includes socializing with friends, pastries at coffee shops, and weekly dinners out. "I think the $1.5K food budget for an elderly person to socialize and go out is great," they said. "Less great if it's all takeout." And that's the distinction—meals as moments versus meals as convenience.
Still, most of the thread leaned toward disbelief. "That's wild for a single, elderly person," one user said. "The elderly women in my life barely eat." Others joked about $20 Cobb salads left half-eaten and wondered aloud how one person could even spend that much on food.
One particularly sharp reply summed up the generational divide with a scathing roast: "We're not 19 years old paying our dues anymore, mom. We're 30-something watching the best years of our lives vanish while paying your social security, that you'll probably blow at a slot machine or on another addition to your horrible Christmas village."
It continued: "Your kitchen is too big. You're not a good enough cook to have an industrial fan above your stove. That goes for your deck and the pool you don't swim in too." From the Peloton she stopped riding two Januaries ago to the out-of-touch ideas about ambition, it was brutal—just like the poster asked for.
So how much is enough? Some people said they manage on $3,000. Others clocked in around $8,000 for two people in high-cost areas. One person said they live on just $16,000 a year. But across the board, most Millennials are scraping by on a fraction of what this mom thinks is the bare minimum.
For the poster trying to convince her mom to come back down to earth, this thread might be the ultimate reality check. The replies weren't just honest—they were a portrait of how far today's dollar has to stretch when you don't have the safety net of a mortgage-free home or inherited income.
Turns out, for a lot of people, the modern food pyramid looks more like rice, beans, and the occasional deep breath.
Read Next: In a $34 Trillion Debt Era, The Right AI Could Be Your Financial Advantage — Learn More
Image: Shutterstock
