[ecobiker]

I grew up with the kind of income that would qualify me as poor. However, my parents' financial discipline were off the charts for someone in their position. Both of them had a decent education for their time and knew what matters vs what doesn't. We never got anything fancy - two pairs of uniforms, one nice set of clothes, one pair of shoes and pretty ugly looking backpack for the whole school year - nothing more. Absolutely no pocket money. No movies, not even extra-curricular activities - basically anything that costed money.

What we got was good healthy food, a great education - things that ended up making a difference in the long term. There were people like us all around us who we could clearly see not appreciating the value of some of the things we valued.

I would go so far to say, it's not the money. People need education. People need discipline and self-control if they are really going to pull their weight. They need help along the way but it's not always money they need.

[AstralStorm]

There are levels of poverty. Once you are low enough, you are pretty much unable to afford extra time for either education or probably even proper food. Or time to cook. I personally know a few people pulling 16h of work daily to make ends meet.

What you describe as poverty would be called middle class in quite a few countries. No frills but not really poor. Especially if you managed to always pay all bills on time.