Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

As PlayStations, iPods and Nike Shox grow in popularity, parents like Viri Esparza find themselves doing more to keep up.

Esparza, who remembers receiving gifts such as a bicycle and a camera as a child, works side jobs and sets aside money from her paychecks to make sure her son and nephew get certain popular items.

"I try to limit what I buy them, but I do have them spoiled," Esparza said. "If they want something, I try my best to get it for them. I'll pick up dog-sitting jobs or I'll do something else, but I try to get them what they want to a certain extent.

"I am not going buy them an electronic game (PlayStation) that they already have just because there is a newer version, but I will buy them a new pair Nike shoes because they need them."

Though Esparza earns well above the minimum wage, she says, buying some of these items is, at times, taxing. And she's one of the lucky ones.

For people working a 40-hour week and making minimum wage, the cost can be even greater.

Buying a child Heelys Kids' Torch shoes would cost a little more than two days of work. It would take more than four days of work to buy a T-Mobile Motorola RIZR Z3 cell phone.

A 4-gigabyte iPod Nano would cost more than a week's worth of full-time wages, and a PlayStation 3, which costs about $648, would cost more than three weeks of work for someone earning minimum wage.

"I think the wages here are little more depressed than that of the rest of the nation," said Maureen Hankins, director of the El Paso YWCA's Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

"The people that we see in need of debt management or in spending trouble do reflect what the rest of the nation is doing. They are not saving money and are turning to credit cards to buy things they want, rather than saving to buy things that they need," Hankins said.

As a financial educator at Fort Bliss, Zenaida Gutierrez constantly stresses to soldiers the importance of establishing and maintaining a budget.

"I met a soldier who has a baby and is in debt, but the baby has three cribs, a bassinet and youth bed," Gutierrez said. "I have another soldier who has a 52-inch plasma TV in his 6-year-old's bedroom and another one who bought a PlayStation for a 5-year-old."

The lure of marketing is not unique to soldiers. According to Hankins, societal expectations often encourage debt.

"We have all seen the advertising that tells us that in order to be beautiful, successful and young, we have to purchase these things," Hankins said. "Is it true? Of course not. But it is really hard for people not give in to that and say no.

"Also, the ease of being able to get credit hurts us because we think, 'Why should we save when we can get it now pay for it in the future?' " Hankins said.

Relying on credit cards and loans during difficult economic situations can be difficult for poor people, who may not have the opportunity to establish good credit, Hankins said.

"People with good credit go to credit cards or get a signature loan when they need money," Hankins said.

"People with bad credit seek out finance companies or payday loans. I believe that people of any income level can save. The disadvantage is that if they don't have the credit and they don't have savings, they have to turn to subprime lenders," she said.

Joe Heyman, chairman of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at UTEP, said that poor people are sometimes unfairly chastised for their spending habits.

"If you can't afford a $1 (million) to $2 million house, you might still be able to afford a cell phone," Heyman said.

Hankins agrees, but said that people must make sure they are not overextending themselves for unnecessary luxuries.

"There are people who make minimum wage and can make it, and there are people who make $100,000 a year and abuse credit so much that they can't make it," Hankins said.

"A lot of people think that they really need to have a cell phone, or they really need Internet access. But 20 years ago, we did not have all of these objects, and we were fine."

El Paso Times reporter Jake Rollow contributed to this article.

This article was published in Week 2 of the El Paso Times Poverty Series.