Surviving Poverty: How to Survive when You're Poor

I do okay now, but I've been at the bottom of the bottom, poverty-wise: single mom, no job, no car, no child support, nothing but a lease I couldn't pay. It sucks. But you do get creative trying to make ends meet when you only have one end.In no way is this a complete list of your possible resources when you're really poor. These are primarily strategies I used when I was flat-broke and on the verge of real and total homelessness. But if you're stuck, it's a place to get started.

1. Government assistance. I will tell you, the hardest thing I ever did was apply for help at the welfare office. No one in my family that I know of has ever been on welfare. But I had kids to feed, and I was between jobs and unable to get another one right away because my car had thrown a rod. If you need it, though, it's there.

2. Go back to school. If you absolutely cannot find a job - but you do want to go to school and you're able to get there easily - go to your local employment office and ask them for help, then drop by your local community college and ask them for advice. Between the two, you should find training assistance money, grants, and loans that will help you get back on your feet, and maybe even wind up in a better position than you ever thought you could be in by yourself.

Warning: if you're trying to dig out of poverty, do not get a degree like mine (English), especially if you take out educational loans. You will one day have a family to support. Get your nursing certificate, go to school for car maintenance, get into an HVAC program. Ideally, you want to go to school for a short period of time, train in a field that needs people in your city or region, and get paid as well as possible in a job you at least won't hate. You can always get the fun or the advanced degree later.