Let’s say that this child by 2009 standards takes a position as a teacher making to start $30,000 per year.

As with most teachers, this person has a college debt of approximately $17,000 to start.

That, along with attempting to at least have a bed in his or her new apartment, has another $5,000 in “life start up costs.”

That debt takes approximately ten years to eradicate on average.

At this point, the child marries another teacher in the same lower middle class financial boat.

By the time they are 35, they have the average 2.1 children, and being environmentally responsible, they stop there.

What with all the expenses of child raising, they are able to save about $3,000 per year, which requires that they have a zero dine out budget, drive second hand cars and live in a neighborhood that they hope will improve with time.

At the end of a thirty years together (if they divorce, it is financial disaster), this couple has amassed a savings (minus emergencies) of $100,000, which places them in the upper one half of one percent of savers in the United States for middle class professionals leading lower middle class lives. (The average person in the US not born to wealth has zero savings.)

If they do not wish to spend down the principal, their income at retirement from savings is, at the current 3%, $3000 annually.

Their total retirement amounts to a little over $1500 since one of the teachers wanted to take off time to raiser her children, and the other, feeling as though he needed to do better by his family, tried unsuccessfully to start a small business, leaving the couple with $100,00 in additional debt. (Four out of five small businesses fail. The new bankruptcy laws do not allow the couple a fresh start.)

So, at the end of a life, having denied themselves every luxury, their total income is approximately $1800 per month.

Their utility bill (including heat, electricity for other uses, garbage, street, phone) alone as high as $400 per month. Car maintenance, registration, insurance $200, health insurance another $300. Food: $300. Home and miscellaneous maintenance and replacement: $100. Rent, since they have not been able to pay off their home because of seconds taken to finance their own children’s expenses: $1,000. Service on the $50,000 debt still owing on the business failure: $400. Expenses: $2700+

Dental, Eye Care, Clothes, Travel,…..(un-financed expenses.)

Choices: Continue work (Both work part time), borrow on home (no), spend down their principal (on months when the part time work does not suffice)

To compare: George W. Bush made approximately $3,000,000 as his share for selling the Texas Rangers. His investment to become an owning participant (zero), a loan from a generous family friend (George’s father was President at the time.

What Marie and I say: We are happy for George, and would hope some day every child has an opportunity of this kind.

Well, you don’t really have to cut dinners out completely, but I’ve found recently that you can go out and still not spend alot of money. There are cheap AND good restaurants.

Also, turn off your lights and television when you don’t need them.

Some good ideas here, thanks!