Whether you do or not, the government just might. After reading the post on TheTaoOfMakingMoney titled Interesting Facts And Confusing Thoughts About The American Poor which talks about a report from the Heritage Foundation called Understanding Poverty in America it is amazing the things that the average ‘poor’ family has. From owning a home, having amenities live TVs, DVD players, multiple cars, they don’t go hungry, and on and on.

As some of the commentors suggested, being poor can mean many things. It could mean being in a certain level of debt, or having an income level below a certain (which is what the government generally uses). The concept of being poor is also relative as to where you live. Being poor in America is a whole lot better than being poor in, say Africa. Most people equate being poor to somewhere between homeless and living on welfare.

My take is that being poor is a state of mind more than anything else. Even if you live below the poverty line — as I did once — this does not mean that you will or should always be poor. More often than not, we live at or slightly above our means. As long as you look to improve yourself and control your spending you will never be ‘poor’.