I was listening to talk radio in the car the other day and the were talking about the poverty rate in the United State and what that really meant.

Apparently, a politico was making a speech about the number of people who went to bed hungry. The call morphed into a discussion of the redefinition of the poverty rate in the United State s and how many baby boomers would be considered as part of that poverty rate nowadays.

Here are the 2006 Poverty Level (or guidelines - established by Health and Human Service Department):

That got me to thinking that, based on our standard of living when I was growing up, I could have been considered a poverty kid.

For instance, when I was young our house had:

• No air conditioning;
• One bathroom;
• No garage
• One television
• Two bedrooms
• Our pool was one that was set up in the backyard during the summer.
• The house was probably around 1000 square feet and my parents paid $26,000 for it.

We had one car. If my mom needed to go anywhere, we rode the street car. I can't remember anyone in our neighborhood who had two cars.

In the 1950's, the average house size was 1,100 square feet and the average family consisted of 4.2 people. In 2005, the average new house increased to 2,434 sq. ft. while the average family size decreased to 3.1 people.  And that doesn't include all the STUFF we STUFF our houses with!

Is it any wonder that debt is such a horrendous part of so many lives?

How many things do you consider necessities (like cable tv, DSL, cell phones) that are not? If you have the money, then go ahead and enjoy it. But if you are struggling to pay the bills, challenge yourself to find at least one thing that is a luxury and can be given up.  (For instance, if you just can't stomach cancelling your cable altogether, at least downgrade to the basic service. That will save you $600 or more a year!)