Define Poverty

Define poverty, and you'll find it depends on your situation in life. If you live in a mobile home while your colleagues live in nice homes in the suburbs, you may be considered poor. Or maybe you don't have enough money saved up yet for a down payment on land, and that used double-wide. Others, or even you, may think of poverty as not having your own home. The definition of poverty really does depend on one's perspective.

define poverty

So How Do You Define Poverty?

When my husband Rick and I married, I shared my desire to stay at home and become a homemaker as well as a stay-at-home mom to whatever children God was willing to bless us with. I wanted to provide my children with the one thing I didn't have growing up - a stable home with two parents.

That meant living on one income in a world where both people in a relationship typically worked a full-time job outside of the home. We almost always had less than other people we knew. Plus, we live close to a wealthy community of people who live in million-dollar homes and who wear designer clothing and drive expensive cars.

Back then, I often considered myself poor. Then I went on a mission trip to Brazil, and it completely changed my perspective.

I discovered that in parts of Brazil - and parts of Mexico and other countries as well - people can't afford to rent or buy a home, so they make do, building themselves shelters out of whatever items from the dump they can find. Often these people came from rural areas hoping for a better life in the city. What they found instead was a worse situation than they were in before. They had no job skills and couldn't find work. Instead, they were forced to beg for food and money or sell their bodies.

In comparison to that, my double-wide manufactured home looked pretty good.

define poverty

An example of poverty in Brazil.

That's why I argue that whether you consider yourself poor truly depends on your perspective. Poverty is relative.  If you live in the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau would consider you living in poverty if you are part of a family of four and bring in $25,211 or less per year.

But what if you owned your land outright? What if you built your own home and had no debt? And what if you raised your vegetables, kept chickens and kept bees for your honey. Then that certainly wouldn't mean that you're poor, even if your annual income was less than $25,000 per year.

But what if you don't own your own land yet? What if you're living in an apartment, and your income isn't so great? Would you still consider yourself to be poor?

Poverty and Perspective

Do you realize that if you have money in the bank, you are better off than most people in the world? For example, almost one third of the population in Brazil lives on less than $1 a day. Not being able to live in the type of house you want does not mean you are poor. If you have running water, indoor plumbing, and food on the table every day, you are truly living in wealth.

The older I get, the more I realize that having more things isn't the answer to happiness. Good health, loved ones you enjoy being around, and work that you enjoy are far more important than living in a million-dollar home and driving a Lexus.

Learning Simplicity

And while you may not consider yourself to be rich, even if you do have indoor plumbing, it does make you think about what your "basic needs" really are. Do you really need to have meat for dinner every day? What if you learned to cook beans and had those a couple of times a week? In light of how the rest of the world lives, would you still define being poor as living without meat a few days a week?

Or what if you raised goats and chickens for your meat, eggs, and milk? That way, you could have meat every day at a fraction of the cost. You'd be living - and eating - better than most Americans who earn more than you do. And what if you cut out that fast food burger and brought a simple sandwich to lunch every day?

Stop thinking about what you don't have and focus on your blessings instead. Learn to define poverty as true hunger rather than living without luxuries.

Learn More About Frugal Living

Return from Define Poverty to the Home Page

About the Author

My name is Sue Merriam, and I began the journey of self-reliant living more than three decades ago, which enabled me to stay home with my children. Fifteen years ago, I founded Joyful Homesteading to help others save money and face the future without fear. My goal is to give you practical, honest advice so you can save money and experience the joy of simple living. I hope you join me.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.