It sounds like a bus is probably the same. Yet some places will not have a bus at all. And busses really say nothing about housing, bills and dining - the real items that effect your monthly budget. Within America, those type things vary a great deal. Some of the biggest expenses to an American may be things that you do not need to deal with at all. Did you know an American who has a degree past a BA - or even a BA, will likely have a 200-500$ monthly college loan bill? That we do not take the bus - we would rather pay 300$ a month for a car? That we pay 80$ each month for a phone and 40 for internet? We do not generally live with our parents. We do not generally live with anyone except a spouse when we have them. We generally pay our own 500 - 2000$ home or rent payment.

You could buy - - an small chocolate bar (1.5 ounce) - Skittles (2. ounces) -Kool-Aid Bursts Soft Drink - Tropical Punch - 6 (6.75 oz bottles) - 5 Kool-Aid Mix packages - 3 ounces of cat food (salmon and chicken) - 50 paper lunch bags - 25 sq. ft of aluminum foil. All the above were sold at Meijer for a dollar or less. Probably the better comparison would be rent and utilities(gas,heat,eletric) per month .