No, we never considered ourselves poor either.  Money was tight as far as us kids were concerned....I didn't realize how tight until after I had a family of my own and my mum told me about how hard it was.  Put it this way:  I needed a new pair of shoes once and had to wait a month to get them - mum had to budget her housekeeping money and cut corners in order to afford them.  But, we always got what we needed.  There just weren't any extras. Sodas were a rare luxury, as was eating out or getting take-out.  My dad had always been semi self-sufficient; we raised chickens and had a large vegetable garden, so we were never without fresh veggies or eggs (and the occasional chook when one of them got too old to lay any more).

We knew families that were worse off than us, so we never really thought of ourselves as 'poor'.

You're totally correct.  I see so many airmen an their families getting into deep financial doo-doo because they have to have the big screen TV and the new furniture and the new car.  I sat down with one of dave's troops that had got himself into a world of hurt that way and we talked about it - he said "well, you guys managed to get all of your stuff.  We just wanted the same".  I explained to him that it took us 10 years to accumulate all of our belongings, and that we had to save and scrimp and buy a lot of it second hand. 

The advent of a 'buy now, pay later' culture hasn't helped any.  People see that they can have nice things NOW, and they want them NOW without thinking through the consequences.

I wish that more people would see living either at or slightly under their means as a good thing.  A really good thing. 

Poor is not having internet or a computer, not having a car, or having a car that "has to make due another 5 years even though it's worn out", having to make pizza from scratch because you can't afford store bought.  Not going to movies because they are a luxury.

What you described is lower-middle class.  Which, is not "poor" (at least in my view)

I think that people are too greedy to realize what poor really is.  We expect luxuries, and if we don't have them, then we are "poor". 

I grew up in what was considered lower middle class for the time.  My Dad drove the "junk of the month" to work and back.  We packed our lunches.  We had soda only on special occasions.  We used dry milk because it was cheaper.  We bought clothes at Kmart and we didn't take vacations.  We went to a movie a few times a year, and we only ate out when it was a major event.  We only had one TV and we used an antennae for reception. We weren't poor.  We had a roof over our heads and 3 meals a day.  We had heat because we chopped wood and used it to heat our house.  We had clothing budgets and food budgets which we sticked to. 

I grew up around real poor kids.  They had shelter, but that was about all you could call the "house" that they lived in.  They had hair cuts done by their Mom, and wore clothes that their Mom made.  They had shoes that were fixed many times, and somebody giving them a stick of gum was like Christmas to them.  In todays standards, that would mean that they didn't have internet or a computer (oh, my!  How can that be?) or a VCR even.  They maybe could afford WalMart clothes on sales, only because it has become cheaper to buy WalMart clothes than it is to buy fabric.  Is that really "poverty" though?  If you can provide shelter, 3 meals a day, and clothes, is that "poverty"?  Or, is it only "poor" because you can't afford luxuries?

I personally think it's a brilliant idea, but the PC police won't go for it. 

I just don't get how people who can't afford to support themselves and the kids they already have think they can just keep churning babies out.  My husband and I had one accident....actually, it was more of a surprise...but after that we took the necessary steps to ensure we didn't have any more because we knew we couldn't afford it.

Some who claim government assistance see children as a meal ticket, though. 

By mine too.  Unfortunately, society deems it necessary to have $40,000 vehicles, $250,000 homes big screen TV's and brand name clothing.  If you don't have those, you're considered poor.

No wonder so many folks are living below the poverty level.

That rocks!! I love lego....except for when it's left in the bottom of the bath tub and I step on it.  Then it's a pain in the ass.

Poor....is a much used, poorly understood term.  Someone else's 'poor' is my 'well off'.  I personally think that if you have clothes to wear, and you can afford to pay your rent, light, heat and buy food that you're doing okay.  'Poverty' to me means having to decide whether to pay your light bill or buy food because you can't afford to do both.  Poverty is always waiting for the eviction notice because you can't make rent that month.  Poverty is your kids having to wear shoes that are too small for them because you can't afford to buy more.