Poverty? Join the club. In my experience, it means not having medical/dental/vision care, not being able to repair the roof (rain and snow melt comes through in spite of adding layers of tar over the leaking spot) wearing cheap shoes that hurt, shopping at thrift stores for second hand clothes, having windows that should be replaced but won't be for lack of funds, burning wood to keep warm because it is too expensive to use the natural gas furnace....
Hopefully, 2006 will turn the corner for me. Montana has a highly educated work force, high property taxes, and one of the lowest levels of earned income in the US. I will be starting a job in January that has the potential of digging me out of 15 years of poverty. Wish me luck.

Tips:
Because a loss of income is difficult to adjust to quickly, often it is hard to break spending habits. Don't go shopping "just to look". You may buy something you can't really afford. Take a list to the grocery store. Use coupons only if the item is something you need. Shop only once a week. Combine trips with the car doing errands to conserve gas. Stop using dry cleaners. Wear clothes that don't need to be dry cleaned. Avoid expenses like hair cuts, massages, restaurant or take out/delivery food, cable tv, magazine or newspaper subscriptions, donations, movies, concerts, workshops, or any hobby that has expenses involved. Get a free library card if you don't have one, stop buying books or music. Check it out from the library instead of buying, using inter-library loans if necessary.