Star Wars is good

Severe poverty affects 1.6m UK children, charity claims

Ministers should draw up an emergency plan to tackle extreme levels of poverty as new research showed that more than one in four children live in penury in some major UK cities.

The figures, compiled by Save the Children, show that 1.6 million youngsters live in severe poverty, which the charity condemned as a "national scandal".

With unemployment rising and a radical shake up of the welfare system seeing £18bn wiped from benefits, the charity fears the number of children living without the basics will rise unless action is taken.

The government's survey defines severe poverty as a household with half the average income – for a family of four this would be pay of less than £12,500 – and also suffering from material deprivation. For example, they might not be able to pay for repairs to appliances or afford insurance.

The statistics coincide with the revelation that pregnancy rates among British teenagers are at their lowest level for almost 30 years with 7,158 under-16s expecting a child in 2009.

However, Save the Children says more than one in five children now lives in severe poverty in 29 areas of the country. The highest proportion – 27% – is in Manchester and the London borough of Tower Hamlets. More than 20% of children experience severe poverty in Birmingham and Liverpool.

Wales has the highest proportion of children living in severe poverty (14%), followed by England with 13%, then Scotland and Northern Ireland which have 9% each.

The charity said it was concerned that the government has proposed switching focus from traditional anti-poverty measures, based on income, to improving children's life chances. Ministers have defended the controversial move, saying they are treating the causes of disadvantage not its symptoms.

Save the Children said: "You cannot ignore incomes when tackling child poverty." It argues the government should adopt a severe poverty measure to give a true picture of the deprivation that some of Britain's 13m children suffer.

It is calling on the chancellor, George Osborne, to announce an emergency plan in the next budget to create new jobs in the poorest areas and increase financial support for low-income families.

Sally Copley, Save the Children's head of UK policy, said the government needed a way to count children in extreme poverty.

"Children up and down the country are going to sleep at night in homes with no heating, without eating a proper meal and without proper school uniforms to put on in the morning," she said.

"No child should be born without a chance. It is a national scandal that 1.6 million children are growing up in severe poverty."

Labour MP Kate Green MP, a prominent anti-poverty campaigner before entering parliament, said the report made for worrying reading, saying the "progress [made under Gordon Brown] was now reversed by the Conservative-led government's decision to go too far and too fast with deficit reduction".

She said: "George Osborne promised at his budget and spending review that his tough approach to cutting the deficit would not increase child poverty. But Save the Children is right to warn about the impact of rising unemployment, the VAT increase and unfair cuts to welfare."

Money has a bad reputation with people who don't have it.

It has been blamed for everything from wars to infidelity, from destroying friendships to wrecking families. In the minds of the masses, the more ways they can demonize money, the more validated they feel for not seeking their own fortunes.

Instead of seeing the positive ways that money can enhance the most important things in life like our health, family relationships, and friendships, most people would rather scorn money and tell you how it can destroy the things we hold closest to our hearts.

Don't listen to negative people who don't know any better. The truth is money is not the most important thing in life, but it will make the most important things in life so much better.

Health

A pervasive belief of the masses is that building a fortune requires seven-day workweeks, losing sleep and constant stress. If I believe I have to choose between being rich and being healthy, why would I want to get rich?

The truth is wealth gives you far better access to world-class healthcare, preventive medicine, and alternative treatments. If you need a specific cutting-edge procedure that's not available where you live, you simply fly to a place that offers it.

Another reason being rich makes you healthier is the elimination of the biggest stressor of the masses: money. The wealthy don't have sleepless nights worrying about paying their bills. Imagine how much healthier you would be if you didn't have to worry about money? How much healthier would you be if you never had to wake up to another alarm clock and could sleep as long as you wanted every day? What would be the impact on your stress level if you could afford to fire your boss? Being rich can positively impact your health.

Family

The most common middle-class belief I have encountered is the mistaken idea that you have to choose between world-class success and a happy family life. The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation. This is rooted in a fear and scarcity mentality that says you must choose, because there is only so much time in a day.

If you love your family, get rich and give them more of your time, plus opportunities only money can buy. Figure out a way to be more efficient with your time because money can help your family live its dreams. Instead of using your family as an excuse, use them as your primary motivation to start earning more.

Don't listen to people who say money leads to dysfunctional families. Dysfunctional families were dysfunctional before money entered the scene; it's just that money magnifies whatever it touches.

Friends

Another common belief that keeps people from getting rich is the idea that they'll lose their best friends if they move into the biggest house on the block. After all, this belief assumes, what good is all the money in the world if you have no friends? It rarely happens. Will you lose a few friends due to jealousy and envy? Maybe. But a better question is: Were they really your friends in the first place?

I'm sure you have friends you've known for years, and you could care less about how much money they have. You gain far more friends than you lose when you get wealthy, and I'm not taking about people who befriend you because you're rich. I'm talking about how money opens up the world to you. You'll have the time and resources to travel, meet almost anyone you want, and gain access to the inner circle of some of the most successful, interesting people in the world. Wealth will bring you more opportunity to make friends than anything else in the world.

The takeaway

It's true, money doesn't buy happiness. But it will make you more comfortable, open doors, create opportunities, and make the good things in your life even better. It may even save your life or the life of a loved one. Decide today to make money a bigger priority in your life. As the late Zig Ziglar said, "Money isn't everything ... but it ranks right up there with oxygen."