I believe we can all use a little inspiration sometimes and by seeing what others do with their money, it gives us a chance to reflect on our current habits. I will post bi-weekly on the different states of life and what people are doing with their money. We need to inspire each other to lead a life that is not only productive but fulfilling and fun.

Let’s start with poverty. How much money does someone who lives below the poverty line really need? Well, they may need more than you think. We hold the perception that if we live below the poverty line, then we do not need much money at all. But this is simply not true. The average person who lives below the poverty line in the United States needs $15,000 per year to barely make ends meet. When we look at other states in the world, this number climbs drastically higher!

How much money does someone who lives in middle class really need? Someone who earns $50,000 a year may be able to save about $4000 for retirement accounts and $2000 for a down payment on their first home which means they are spending around $42,000 per year on living expenses like rent or mortgage payments, taxes, car payments, insurance, utilities and food costs

For many of us, money is a constant source of stress. We worry that we don’t have enough, we worry about the security of our jobs and incomes, and we worry about the cost of goods and services. While it would be nice to not have to worry about money, it would be even nicer to not have to worry about money because you had so much of it.

So… how much money do you need to make in order to live a comfortable, happy life?

One way to find out is by comparing yourself with others who are at different points on the income spectrum. If you’re poor and can’t imagine ever getting out, what does life look like for those who are in the middle class? Would you love their lives? Would their problems seem small or large compared to yours? What about the rich? Do they face problems that make your own seem insignificant? How much do they need?

I decided to take a look at what people at different income levels in America spend each year on five important categories: food, housing, transportation, entertainment, and health care. To keep things simple I didn’t include taxes or savings or any other budget category. I also rounded off all numbers. These aren

I am fascinated by the different philosophies on how much money we really need. I think it is a very personal question with many variables that are specific to our individual lives. I also think there is a universal answer.

First, let’s make sure we define what wealth means. In my opinion, wealth is freedom. Freedom to do what you want, when you want and where you want. Freedom to choose what you do with your time whether it be travel, volunteer or maybe stay at home and take care of your family. Freedom also means having no debt and being able to pay all of your bills on time without any stress.

I think most people in America have a warped idea of wealth because they compare their life with the millionaires and billionaires they see on TV and social media who are flashing cash and buying expensive toys instead of looking around in their own communities at the people who are comfortably living off their income without any debt and seemingly able to get whatever they want when they want it. These people may not be driving Lamborghinis or flying private jets but they are living a good life, free from financial stress.

To be entirely honest, I have no idea how much money we need. I do know that in the current economic climate, we should have enough to pay our bills, feed ourselves and have some left over for leisure activities and travel. But what if there is a global economic crisis?

My husband and I both work full-time jobs, but we don’t make very much money. We are not poor, but we do not have a lot of extra money left over at the end of the month. If something were to happen to one of us and we lost our job, that would be a big problem. It would mean looking for another job or trying to get by on one income until things got back to normal.

In order to survive without two incomes, we would need to live very frugally. We would need to cut out all non-essential spending such as eating out at restaurants and buying clothes that aren’t needed for work or school. We would need to eat at home more often and buy generic brands instead of name brands. It would also help if there was someone who could babysit our son while we worked so that we didn’t have to pay daycare fees anymore.

If my husband loses his job and I am still employed full-

Money is often a treatment for stress, but it can also be a cause of stress. We always need money, but do we need so much money that we have to work 3 jobs and never see our family or friends? I don’t think so.

One of my former colleagues always obsessed over money. She worked at least 2 jobs on top of her main job, she never saw her family, she was constantly stressed out and she was always unhappy. Just because she wanted more expensive shoes? Or to take more vacations? I don’t think so.

Another colleague that I worked with bought a house with his wife in a nice neighborhood next to a park in San Francisco. They both had jobs that paid them well but they were still worried about the house payment and took care of the house like it was the most important thing in their lives. Luckily they didn’t have kids yet because they would probably have been neglected!

What’s wrong with us? Why are we so obsessed with money? Why do we feel the need to buy things we actually don’t need just because someone else has one? What are we doing with all these things? Where are they going to end up when you die or move to an assisted care facility?

I hope you’re reading this

A lot of people say they want to be rich.

But most people don’t say they want to be miserable. So you might think not wanting to be poor would be enough incentive to make them rich. But it’s not. Why not?

What if you could be rich without being miserable? What would that even mean?

The answers are more practical than you think. Rich is a relative term. And if it means what it obviously means, then we’re all already rich. We have electricity, cars, air conditioning, hot showers, and the Internet. And yet none of us are happy.

Why not? Are we really that shallow? Or is there something else going on here?

It’s not just the way they spend their money, but also the way they save it. And that’s where you can see the difference between the middle class and the rich.

The rich know that every minute spent planning is worth 10 minutes of execution. So they plan every little aspect of their lives.

You can see it in the way they handle their budgets. They don’t leave anything to chance.

They plan everything: food, gym, charity, entertainment, investments – even taxes, kids’ education and clothes shopping.

And as a result, they are always better prepared than everybody else. For all eventualities in life.

The middle-class people? They think planning is a waste of time, so they don’t do it (or if they do it is ad hoc). They just hope for the best, and when things go wrong – which they always do – they get stressed out and frustrated.