I make $6.50 an hour. Am I poor?

[raccoon]

Here's how I slipped from the middle class into near poverty, and what I'm doing about it.

By Karen Datko

(Boy, could I relate to the parts of her article that I bolded. I guess lots of us on DU and off DU can.)


As a single professional woman, for years I sat securely among the lower rungs of the middle class.

Now I've fallen off the ladder.

In a matter of months, I went from a comfortable life with decent pay and health insurance to a $6.50-an-hour job with no insurance, no furniture and just enough resources to keep the wolf from the door.

I no longer buy anything unless it's absolutely essential. I spend $40 at the supermarket and make it last for more than two weeks.

I never turn down a free meal. I've learned to graciously accept money, furniture, elk meat and encouragement from worried friends.

I am no longer proud.

I have no romantic notions about being poor. I'm not nobler than others, and I'm not a victim. But I am one minor medical emergency away from welfare.

Simply put, I'm in survival mode.

Here's my story in a nutshell: I lost my job as a managing editor at a small newspaper in Montana after the ownership changed hands. Six months later, I moved to Pennsylvania to take a similar job. My living arrangements fell through, and as I searched for a rental that would accept my three dogs, I lived in a campground. When it became clear that I'd be a campground dweller for a while, my boss fired me, telling me my living situation was "bad for business." I sold off my household goods -- everything from a sofa to pots and pans -- and drove back to small-town Montana.

I still own a house here. And I have a network of loving friends.

(snip)

I've decided that the only acceptable course of action, poor or not, is to consider this an opportunity. I used to wake up with the notion that my situation was temporary and that I'd somehow return to my "real" job. Now I have no illusions. But I do have solutions.

I've put in my notice at the restaurant in favor of a much better paying job at a new discount giant moving into town. The pay still will not be enough to live on, but it will do wonders to reduce my stress.

I've begun a pet-sitting business, taking care of pets in their own homes when their owners are away. I charge $10 to $15 a day, competitive with local pet boarders.

I volunteer my writing services for local nonprofits that I support. I've gotten active in community affairs that my previous occupation required me to keep at an arm's length.

I no longer define myself by what I do for a living. On the flip side, I won't base my identity on my income.

Published Dec. 28, 2006

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/IMake650AnHourAmIPoor.aspx