Reply #23: there is a part 2 to this story:

[LSK]

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

The wolf has backed far away from the door since "I make $6.50 an hour; am I poor?" -- my account of how I fell from the middle class and what I'm doing about it -- appeared in January.

My plan of attack has worked. My circumstances are more secure, and my future includes the prospect of regaining health insurance.

I'm operating a pet-sitting business and steadily building a clientele. I get paid to visit pets in their homes while their owners are away.

I'm now working nearly full time -- I'm part time by choice, to allow sufficient time for pet-sitting -- for much more than $6.50 an hour in the produce department of a new retail giant that opened in my small Montana town. The pay covers basic living expenses like food, mortgage, heat and phone. And going to work is like getting paid to work out. My 52-year-old body is in better shape than it's been in years.

After 30 years as a full-time journalist, I'm now pursuing freelance writing as well.

The issue of health care is unresolved. But after a year at my retail job, I'll be eligible for health insurance.