It's not easy to get by in the land of plenty these days. One in ten American homeowners are either behind in their mortgage payments or already in foreclosure. 20% of LA County residents are currently unemployed or underemployed. And at least one Hollywood celebrity is scrambling to pay the bills on yet another pair of ugly Lycra-blend leggings.

Yes, recession-fighting friends, we're talking about Lindsay Lohan – who, despite being a tabloid favorite, hasn't had a movie role since her 2007 flop I Know Who Killed Me.

"It's scary when you realize, 'Oh my God, I'm not working. And I have a house to pay for now,' " Lohan says in April's Nylon.

This isn't to say that Lohan is technically "unemployed." In fact, she gets paid quite generously for "personal appearances" – when she can get them. Unfortunately, that's less and less often these days due to her tendency to cancel at the last minute, or behave badly when she bothers to show up.

Adding to Lohan's money woes is her out-of-control shopping habit. "Lindsay is spending like crazy!" a source tells the New York Daily News. "She’s living on credit right now. She has no cash."

But how is it then, that she's able to afford such treats as the $30K Rolex watch and a new $100K Maserati she recently splurged on (not to mention all those leggings)? The Daily News sources say that: "The money being spent is mostly Sam's…she's really taken on the 'man' role in their romance" (that's their awful wording, not ours).

Of course, that doesn't mean that Ronson enjoys the arrangement. In fact, "friends close to the couple" say she'd like it if Lohan grew up a bit. "Sam really thinks Lindsay needs to learn how to become a recessionista and manage her money better."

But is Ronson being unrealistic? Can a wild child accustomed to caviar ever learn to live on a crackers-and-cheese budget? Especially when there are so many leggings in the world that still need to be purchased? Perhaps we'd be better off asking an AIG exec for his opinions on annual bonuses.

Photo: Splash News