What does your paycheck say about you? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at money and identity. How "middle class" shame drove one woman to Wall Street. Why marriage makes men rich. And how a thinner wallet will make you happier!

Financial consultant Marlene Jupiter tells Steve Paulson why she wanted to be rich and what she did on Wall Street to make her fortune. Jupiter is the author of "Savvy Investing for Women." Also, Jim Denison is a virtual beggar. He tells Judith Strasser about his "Make Me Richer Than Bill Gates" Web page.

Andrew Hacker teaches political science at Queens College and is the author of Money: Who Has It and Why. He tells Steve Paulson that you need an income of a million dollars a year to be rich; seventy five thousand to be middle class in New York City though you can be comfortable upstate on thirty thousand; and that nobody thinks they're working class anymore.

Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller are the authors of Getting A Life: Real Lives Transformed by Your Money Or Your Life. They tell Judith Strasser what their lives were like while they worked in the corporate world, and what they're like now. The boat, ballet season tickets and second luxury car are gone and they spend a lot of time involved in volunteer activity in their community. Also, Christopher Buckley and John Tierney - both writers, journalists and very funny guys - tell Jim Fleming about their novel, God Is My Broker: A Monk- Tycoon Reveals the 7 1/2 Laws of Spiritual and Financial Growth. And they reveal the laws!

Distribution dates:

• week of 04/12/98 - hour 1