5 Items You Can Buy With One Hour of Minimum Wage in Texas

The minimum wage in Texas is currently $7.25 an hour. I don't know about you guys, but I think that's pretty awful. A paycheck for two weeks of work, at 40 hours a week will earn you a measly $580 BEFORE taxes. That also doesn't include insurance policies you might have deducted through your employer for yourself and your family. Pretty rough, huh? I'm not sure how anybody can make life work with that kind of budget, especially with how expensive things have gotten at the grocery store, restaurants, and everywhere else. One month of rent in my small one-bedroom apartment in Lubbock, Texas is hundreds of dollars more than someone on minimum wage would make for their entire month of work.

Let's see some examples of what you can buy for $7.25 in Texas right now and whether or not you think they seem worth an entire hour of your life. I found these items by searching for "Clearance under $7.00" at Walmart.com.

This might put things in perspective if you're someone that has never lived at minimum wage in Texas. It's really hard to do, especially for people with children. It basically requires you to ask for help from the state with low-income programs just to scratch by at all. When will it ever change? So far, it's been the same rate since 2009.

Dollar menus hardly exist at any fast-food restaurants, gas has gone way up, and I'm sure you've noticed the increase in grocery prices for main staples like eggs. Why do we allow it to stay this way? Something's gotta give.