(Note to Gene Nash: I actually had this blog in mind well before your comment on LW's thread).

One of the things that irks me in this country is the number of people who seem entirely incapable of living within their means. On Little_Whip's thread about minimum wage, for instance, one reader makes the comment that you are in trouble if you make $45K a year because a house costs $240K and a car costs at least $20K. Of course, it was pointed out repeatedly how wrong he was, but I'm sure he didn't pay much attention.

For one thing, the median cost of housing across the USA is $206K. Some places cost more, others cost much less. Sure, you can't always take your job with you, but if you have a job that pays $45,000 a year or better and you can't make ends meet, it's probably in your best interests to move elsewhere.

$45,000 a year, for those keeping score at home, is between $3500-4000 a month. Even in some of the most expensive cities, you can find an apartment for less than $1200 a month. It's not the same as owning your own home, but 1) there's no constitutional right to own your own home and 2) it's a living. It may not be an extravagant living, but you can and should be able to make it on far less. Most families, in fact, do just that.

So how does one make it on a paltry salary? Simply by following Gideon's rule: NEVER pay retail. Thrift stores aren't always your best bet for secondhand clothing, as they've been "picked" by resellers, but you can still find a few values there, added to the values you find at garage sales. Buying closeouts at the end of the season and buying "factory seconds" are other ways to stretch your clothing dollar further. Always look for clearance merchandise and shop at Dollar Stores (a corollary to Gideon's Rule: WalMart's too expensive!).

Food works the same way. Look for bargains at dollar stores that don't specialize primarily in foods and "shop the ads". As a rule, don't use coupons, as  they're usually for overpriced items in the first place (the exceptions to this are for foods where you are "brand loyal" and would buy the brand anyway, and anything free). Bigger cities have "surplus" stores (dented cans, etc), and you can usually (though not always) save if you buy in bulk. It doesn't pay, however, to buy 50 pounds of kumquats if you're not gonna USE 50 pounds of kumquats. And I never buy less than 24 rolls of toilet paper at a time.

Electronics, DVD's? Two words: PAWN SHOP. They are full of practically new merchandise from people who bought items they couldn't afford, and you can usually negotiate an extra 10-15% off the purchase price (I have always been able to; no exceptions).

Books are the gold in many thrift stores. Put simply, books just don't sell, especially bestsellers. So you can usually get them at a bargain price. Add to that "friends of the library" book sales held at most libraries from time to time, the aforementioned rummage sale and estate sales and auctions.

There is absolutely no reason in this day and age that you have to pay retail for ANYTHING. With a little creativity and a good deal of research, you can ALWAYS find a better price and make your "paltry" $45,000 salary go a little further.