>The average cost of a studio apartment is over $900 a month [...] That leaves you $26 a day to spend on food, clothing, hygiene, Internet access, electricity, transportation, health care

Seems like we're talking about different things. I was talking about the net gain/loss from getting a job, whereas you're talking about your overall living situation.

See my reply to jolux's comment. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26996114