I've been thinking about this challenge for some time. Here it is: I want to try to live for a month within an average Bulgarian salary.  I want to see how this influences/changes my habits when it comes to grocery shopping, eating lunch at school, going out and the like. (Oh and even right now before I crunch the numbers, I'm pretty sure I'll have to cut out my now regular Onda coffee habit. Gasp!)

So why do this? Well, I'd like to try this out because I want to have a better glimpse of the kind of choices average Bulgarians have to make each month. I hope this will lead me to thinking seriously about what implications are of living day in and day out in the EU country with the lowest average salary of any member state. And I'd like to come face to face with my own privilege.  I know that I am lucky to live in Sofia as an expat but in practice I don't think I actually know how lucky I am.  So, what it boils down to is that I'd like some perspective on this issue and this seems as good a way to get it as any.

In order to prepare for this challenge I've done a little research. My understanding is that today the minimum Bulgarian salary is 240 leva a month; this works out to something like a 1.60 leva an hour (which doesn't even cover the cost of a beer). In 2009 <a href="http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=103725">novinite.com</a> a Bulgarian news agency reported that the average Bulgarian salary had risen slightly to 563 leva or about $415.

What these numbers don't tell me is this: how is the average 20-something doing in Bulgaria? If you have a college education and an entry level job are you above or below the average salary reported above?<!--more-->

As a twenty-something, are you living at home or paying rent? What percent of your salary goes towards this? What about electricity, heat, water, internet, a cell phone?

Then there's transportation.  A girl's got to get to and from work in order to continue getting paid.  What does this cost?

And what about food? what percent of your salary is spent on grocery bills? restaurants?

Then there's entertainment.  I assume that twenty-somethings must spend some money on things like movies, concerts, museums, travel as well as evenings out at bars/clubs.  But how do you budget for this is?

On top of all if this, it's not as if a girl can go around naked either.  Do you have a budget for clothing?

Finally, how much, if any, are you saving each month for the future?

In the States, the following breakdown is a pretty standard recommendation for how we should spend our money each month is something like this:
<table style="height:155px;" width="287">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Housing</td>
<td>33%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Food</td>
<td>15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Auto--transportation</td>
<td>15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Entertainment and clothing</td>
<td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Debts and Savings</td>
<td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Medical and insurance</td>
<td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Misc.</td>
<td>7%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Thus I am wondering can I apply the same breakdown to salaries in Bulgaria to figure out how I should be thinking about spending my money in Bulgaria? My initial response to this question is that it doesn't seem possible to use the US guidelines to budget in Bulgaria because here are the numbers I came up with based on a salary of 560 leva.
<table width="287">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Housing</td>
<td>184 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Food</td>
<td>84 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Transportation</td>
<td>84 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Entertainment and clothing</td>
<td>56 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Debts and Savings</td>
<td>56 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Medical and insurance</td>
<td>56 L</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Misc.</td>
<td>39 L</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The thing is I have a hunch that housing and food cost much more in Bulgaria for a single person than the numbers I arrived at. <em></em>

<em>Thoughts?</em>