Being in poverty might mean being without proper housing, not having clean water, healthy food, and medical attention. It is, however, unlikely that you are poor if you are reading this from a device that you own.
While poverty limits your resources, there are some ways to approach being poor.
Today, we will look at ways to deal with being in poverty. So if you’re interested, we highly implore you to continue reading.
What is poverty?
Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty might also mean that the income level from employment is so low that one cannot meet basic human needs.
Every country may have its own standards to determine what poverty is and how many of its people are living in poverty.
The question of interest in this piece is – “How to deal with being poor” – You might be wondering, what does this question even mean?
So let me finally remove the veil and tell you. It means we will be identifying strategies that will either alleviate one’s state of poverty or help one live through poverty.
That’s that. Are you interested to know more? Continue reading for this very valuable piece of information and don’t forget to share it.
- Reach out.
By this, we mean reaching out to governmental and nongovernmental agencies that cater to the underprivileged.
You would be surprised at how many governmental opportunities exist for underprivileged people that you have never heard of.
Regardless of where you are, you can still seek help. Food For The Poor caters to the poor on an international level. This organization provides food, medicine, and shelter, among other services, to the poor.
If you are in Australia, you can reach out to CARE Australia. CARE Australia is an aid agency that assists in disaster relief efforts and addressing the causes of global poverty in developing countries.
If you are in America try The Hunger Project. Their mission is to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world.
If you are in Europe, you could reach out to the European Anti-poverty Network. The European Anti-poverty Network lobbies for and with people and groups facing poverty and social exclusion by engaging them as stakeholders in the EU and national decision-making processes.
And there are many others. So as you can see, there are quite a few places to gain assistance in the area you need help.
- Make filling meals.
A big part of being poor is not having enough food or any food at all. We hope the following tips will help. For this tip, we suggest preparing meals from food types that are filling to the stomach.
For example, while green vegetables are very healthy, they are not quite filling. Filling meals can be produced from food like yams, potatoes, oatmeal, pulses, etc. This will limit the amount of food bought and/or eaten.
- Grow your own food.
Our next tip for you is to grow your own food. We know not everyone will have the space to do this, but for those who do, listen up.
You can grow your food from seeds bought or seeds from the plants you already use. What we are saying is, plant those foods that are quick to grow.
For example: pepper, tomato, cabbage, potatoes, beans and many others are easy catch crops.
You may also recycle whatever leftover/unused part of vegetables that you have. Recycle by planting them. Instead of throwing away the stalks on certain food items like onions, potatoes, etc replant them for your own use.
Not only will your garden flourish, you will enjoy doing it and you will have food to eat and/or sell.
Growing your own food will reduce the amount of food you need to buy because you are producing your own.
- Get a job or work multiple jobs.
If you are poor and are currently without a job, we record that you try to get a job. It will put some cash in your pocket and help buy food, and other necessities.
Ask your neighbors if they have anything they need done around the house/yard that you can make a little money from.
Sometimes you can have a job and are still poor. If this is the case, work multiple jobs. Not all of these jobs need to be working for someone else.
In fact, none of these jobs need to be like that; you can start your own. You can even have a combination of the two. Also, in the case of working, you can opt for overtime and make some extra cash there.
- Upcycle clothing/material.
Being poor forces a person to have less of everything- one such thing is clothing. We have a tip to help in this area.
You may have clothing that is damaged or too tight or ill fitting – upcycle them into new creations. You get to repurpose it and you get to make it your own style.
That shirt has a burn or tear on it? Cut it up and turn into something else; underwear, maybe. That old bedspread can become a really stylish outfit.
- Recycle Shopping.
What IS recycle shopping? Recycle shopping is taking stuff people have thrown away.
We are not asking you to take people’s garbage, we are suggesting you take things that have been discarded, but still works; is fairly new or has no damage.
Many a time, people throw out items that have little to no damage; things that are fairly new. A lot of goodies can be found in what people have thrown out.
You may find things like canned food that hasn’t expired yet. This will limit the amount of money you spend on food- you get to use that money in other ways.
You may find clothing. You may find furniture.
- Plan, plan, plan.
Plan everything STRATEGICALLY. Plan your spending (make a budget) and only spend on necessities; like water, food, healthcare, etc.
To piggyback on our second point, plan your meals beforehand, so you can be sure they will be filling.
Also, plan for the escape out of poverty. We know you might think there is no way of getting out, but we know you can. But it will take major planning.
It will involve planning how to get out, planning what to do when you are out of it and planning how to stay out of poverty.
So as you can see, it does take some good amount of planning. Your planning may include getting a job or working more hours. It might even be a change of job.
It might include spending less on an item or not buying a certain thing for a while. Just make sure to plan.
- Save.
Now this one might seem really out of it. Let us first say, we know this option is not possible for everyone, but those who can – SHOULD.
When people think of saving, their minds automatically go to money, but today we will also talk about other forms of saving.
Save whatever money you can. Regardless of how small it is, because as the popular saying goes – ‘many a little makes a mickle’.
This means many small amounts can accumulate to make a large amount. That’s the foundation of saving – a little at a time.
If something untoward happens, that little you have saved is better than having saved nothing.
If you want to open a business, small or big, that little you have saved is better than having saved nothing.
We highly endorse you saving some money, but we have other recommendations in regard to saving.
You can also save clothing. It cannot fit -save it. It has a tear on it – save it. Remember we already said they can be repurposed.
Regardless of what the thing is, save it because it can be sold or bartered for other needed items or repurposed into something else.
Always keep hopeful.
We know this one might be a hard one for you, given your current situation. This one might seem out of it, but it is actually very important.
Life can change at any time! That’s the beauty about it. Keeping hopeful will help you to push towards your goals and live a better life.
Still cannot see yourself doing this? Or don’t know how to keep hopeful? We can help out here!
Things one can do to improve one’s mental health that costs nothing or little is spending time with family, taking a walk, visiting a free beach, meditating, journaling, exercising at home, listening to music, growing a garden, etc.
These things can make you feel relaxed and lessen the burdens of life, ultimately giving you a better perspective on life. Making you motivated to continue fighting the good fight.
Final Comments:
Well, there you have it! We do hope that all of what we have said is of major help to you.
But if it’s not, it might be beneficial to someone you know, so make sure to share it with that friend or loved one.
They will thank you for it and we would greatly appreciate it.