Remember the good old days when you used to set up your budget once a year? Say, around January or so? When you got your annual salary raise and/or bonus?

That's what I used to do. Every January, right after I rang in the New Year, I used to sit down at my computer, in front of my software program, Excel, and figure out my new spending program for the upcoming year. I used to channel my salary increase into upping my retirement percentage. I would look over my past year's expenses, total them up, add in a 3 to 5% increase and any money remaining went into a savings account.

Ah! The good old days.

Now, I have to adjust my budget, not annually. Not bi-annually. Not even monthly. I have to watch over my budget, adjust for increases and coordinate my lifestyle DAILY. Everytime I fill up my gas tank, the numbers are different. Everytime I go to the food store, I can't buy what I used to buy before. I have to make changes, substitutions, find an alternative or just forget about the whole damn thing. Everytime I fill up my home heating tank, everytime I make a dry-goods purchase, I see numbers that I haven't seen before. Not once or twice. Every time.

We live on $50,000 a year. Give or take. That $50k has to support two households and a business. What used to be a breeze before (managing wise, that is) has now become a creative, mind-blowing challenge. A daily challenge. A daily challenge of constant downgrades, constant readjustments, constant changes, constant substitutions, constant feelings of questions and of loss. Loss of a life I used to have. I see it daily. Slipping away. One day at a time.

Gone with the wind.

Now, I know what that means.

I am the American middle class. And I am shrinking. New countries, like India and China are seeing a massive surge in the middle classes. Right now, India has over 250,000 million people entering the middle class. This number only represents 25% of India's population. America's whole population is about 300,000 million. Because of all the American jobs that went overseas to India & China, these folks now have the lifestyle and buying power that we Americans used to have. Massive shopping malls, condo apartment buildings, food emporiums, highway infrastructure (thus more cars) and corporations (more jobs) are being constructed hour by hour in both India and China. In China, 100 million people so far have reached middle class status. That number only represents less than 19% of the population in China. The numbers are growing day by day.

Aren't we all glad that we are sharing the wealth? Are we glad that we mindfully decided to help other nations rise from poverty and live the American dream?

Only, what is the American dream today?

I don't know. I'm too busy trying to keep my head above water. I don't have a lifestyle anymore. Do you? I'm in 'survivor mode'. My daily routine is trying to survive. Just like the Chinese and Indians used to do, just a few scant years ago. The Indians have entered the middle class by only earning $18,000 a year. Same with the Chinese. $18,000 to $25,000 puts them into a fancy car, luxurious apartment, ordering up Kobe beef, buying the latest appliances and sending their children to state-of-the-art schools.

Maybe I should go live the American dream in India or China? At least I could go back to setting up my budget annually instead of daily. And I could be working for an American corporation again.

And so it goes.