Cooking Fires - South Carolina Named One Of The State's With The "Most Careless Cooks"

Woman wearing apron and Pilgrim hat cooking fires holding pan and fire extenguisher with charred face and shocked expression in kitchen.

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It's one of my biggest fears uncontrolled fire. And it's not a bad thing it's actually great to be cognizant of it. I am certainly the person who checks multiple times that the candle is blown out, that I turned the hair tool off and unplugged it, and of course that the stove/oven is off. But when it comes to the stove being on I can't say I'm always hypervigilant about it. According to a study by Claimguide.org 72% of Americans admit to walking away from the stove while cooking.

It's so easy to do especially when it's something that is going to take several minutes to cook. Who is going to stand there for 20 minutes waiting and watching? Claimguide.org set out to determine the states in the nation with the most cooking fires. They shared their research with us and here were some of the interesting stats they determined.

72% admit to leaving the stove unattended while cooking
50% say they’ve accidentally left the stovetop on after cooking
More than one-third (38%) don’t know how to properly extinguish a grease fire
56% say it's been six months or more since they've tested their smoke detector

But perhaps even more interesting is that South Carolina came in 9th on the list with 59.9 cooking fires per 100,000 residents. The Palmetto State averages 3,163 cooking fires per year. That ends up being about 33.7% of the residential fires in the state. In contrast, North Carolina ranked 16th with 51.7 cooking fires per 100,000 residents. They have a slightly higher percentage of residential fires attributed to cooking- 37.3%, with an average of 5,527 cooking fires per year.

Each year, cooking fires claim an average of 153 lives, cause 3,225 injuries, and account for nearly half (48%) of all residential fires. So while it may be tempting to walk away from that stove don't. It's not worth it!

Thanks to our friends at Claimguide.org for sharing their research with us. You can read the full cooking fires study here.

Here’s How Much Money It Takes To Live Comfortably In The 5 Major North Carolina Cities

It's hard to not be stressed or depressed about money these days. Prices have skyrocketed and I often joke that the value of everything seems to have gone up- except me. But goods and services don't tell the entire pictures when it comes to cost of living. So how much money does it take to live comfortably in each of the major cities? A lot. The financial experts at Smart Asset recently conducted a study about the salary needed to live comfortably in cities across the country.

How Much Money It Takes To Live Comfortably

Smart Asset recommends a budget they describe as the 50/30/20 budge. This means that 50% of your salary should go to to needs. They include costs such as housing, transportation, and groceries in this category. The 30% is allocated to entertainment and hobbies. While the final 20% should be used to pay off debt, or if you're lucky enough to be debt free saving or investing.

So to conduct this study they took the "local cost of necessities and taxes" and factored it into the 50/30/20 budget to determine the "pre-tax salary needed to live comfortably" in the 99 largest U.S. cities. They found that $96,500 is the amount needed for an individual to live comfortably in a major U.S. city. 5 North Carolina cities were included in this study. The five largest in the state- Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, and Winston-Salem. When it comes to the amount of money it takes to live comfortably in North Carolina cities, only two were less than average. I thought the south was supposed to be cheaper!

These days it truly feels like most people are living paycheck to paycheck or at least not able to save significant money. Even though when it comes to salary people are making higher than they have before that money doesn't go near as far as it did even a few years ago. Keep reading to see how much money it takes to live comfortably in each of the 5 largest North Carolina cities. Don't say I didn't warn you though, it may sting a little!

Read the full study from Smart Asset here.

Winston- Salem

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According to this data the most affordable North Carolina major city to live in is Winston-Salem. This Triad city is the fifth most populous in the state. It features a vibrant downtown, historic sites including Old Salem, and lot's of character and charm. It's the home of Wake Forest University, and provides easy access to other areas of the state as well.

Hourly Wage Needed For A Single Adult: $39.36

Salary Needed For A Single Adult: $81,869

Total Salary Needed For Two Working Adults And Two Children: $194,605

Greensboro

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Staying in the same area the next city on this list is Greensboro. It's slightly more expensive than Winston and located in Guilford County. Greensboro is the third most populous city in the state.

Hourly Wage Needed For A Single Adult: $41.88

Salary Needed For A Single Adult: $87,110

Total Salary Needed For Two Working Adults And Two Children: $203,674

Durham

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We now move to the Triangle. The third most expensive city to live in is Durham. The city offers lots of great jobs in tech and is home to Duke University. Downtown Durham has lots to offer from breweries and restaurants, to sports, arts, and entertainment.

Hourly Wage Needed For A Single Adult: $47.62

Salary Needed For A Single Adult: $99,050

Total Salary Needed For Two Working Adults And Two Children: $233,043

Charlotte

Mark Borja

No Charlotte doesn't require the largest salary much to my surprise. The largest city in the state is the 2nd most expensive. And that hourly wage? I don't know many people making that.

Hourly Wage Needed For A Single Adult: $48.72

Salary Needed For A Single Adult: $101,338

Total Salary Needed For Two Working Adults And Two Children: $235,123

Raleigh

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Which means the city where it takes the highest amount of money to live comfortably? The state capitol of Raleigh. Though it was a close race and fair to say the cost of living is fairly comparable between Charlotte and Raleigh. But hey if they want to win this one I'm ok with it since it impacts my bank account!

Hourly Wage Needed For A Single Adult: $49.40

Salary Needed For A Single Adult: $102,752

Total Salary Needed For Two Working Adults And Two Children: $235,872

Fires Safety South Carolina

Melanie DayWriter

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.

Cooking Fires – South Carolina Named One Of The State’s With The “Most Careless Cooks”

It’s one of my biggest fears uncontrolled fire. And it’s not a bad thing it’s actually great to be cognizant of it. I am certainly the person who checks multiple…

Melanie Day