One of the biggest difficults in life is to manage growing your patrimony and income, when earning minimum wage and living in poor areas where opportunities are scarce, as is the money circulating in the local economy.
Very true, I live in such an area and the salary is quite meager 600-700$/month. In general, if you have a family and children, most of the living expenses will be equivalent to nearly $500/month. If you do not have a family, your savings will be greater with $300-350/month. For such a fixed job and salary in the modest sector, the most important thing is to save, spend appropriately and take advantage of opportunities from savings to invest properly. Human needs are infinite, each income generated / compared to expenditure is different. I don't think anyone should learn from the wasteful spending problem that you have to bear the consequences of.