Monetary status is one of the most regarded characteristics of a person. In the story, “Wilderness Tips” by Margaret Atwood, George is the main character. He was a poor boy from Hungary who made millions after moving to the United States as a refugee. “Are These Actual Miles?” by Raymond Carver, centers around Leo and Toni, a married couple filing for bankruptcy. A key theme in each of the stories is money, and the affect it plays in the characters lives. Whether in reality or fiction money is a tried and true story line, place holder, and area of criticism. In both of these stories characters live life with wealth, life without wealth, and what comes with each life. George, from “Wilderness Tips,” gives short descriptions of his life in Hungary. There is not much detail to the excerpts, but an idea of what it was life living on the streets. The story itself is named after a book, Wilderness Tips, in his wife, Portia, family’s vacation home about how to survive in the wild. When George first reads this book he compares the tips for surviving in the wild to the skills he acquired surviving in Hungary. These same skills are a part of what made him a millionaire because he used his survival skills to make his fortune. When George’s climb is described it is said, “He’d made his money quickly, and then he’d made more,” describing a child with nothing taking all that he could get (Atwood 48). This is affectively how George lived the rest of his life detailed in the story. Leo