Reply #10: Who said $80K per year is "poor"?

[ReverendDeuce]

Maybe I missed a post or something...

I do know what being flat-out broke is like. After the dot-com bust in 2000, I was out of work for nine months. I was surviving only on a royalty check of $1200 a month for some software I developed. I had come from a $60K/year job. I had a car payment, insurance, rent, utilities, etc. When that job was lost and all I had was the royalties (and being young and naive, I had blown tons of money on bullshit because I thought there would always be a job around the corner). I made it for nine months -- but barely. If I had not had the car payment, I would have been just fine and could have made it indefinitely, but it would not have been comfortable. There were several times where I just plain had no food and could not buy any.

Of course, it does depend on where you live. In some parts of the country, $80K is barely enough to survive. Cost of living and all. Here in Nebraska, $80K is a fortune.