You are forgetting phone service, internet, any car repairs that come up, any leisure time activities, Christmas presents, birthday presents, vacations (LOL yeah right), pet care, replacing any electronics that die out (computers, televisions), cleaning and laundry supplies, and several other things that you would need to pay for. The poverty level really should be adjusted, it is nowhere near accurate. I'd say that at least phone service, the internet, and cleaning and laundry supplies are mandatory on that list. You can always grinch your family or screw them out of birthday presents, but you end up feeling like garbage afterward. Vacations used to be the one thing that would make working worth it, now it is almost an impossible dream for most working adults (especially single working adults).