I would love to know also! Saving money is not possible, because I battle to get through each month with the pension I get. I stopped buying lottery tickets, because I never win anything, and can rather buy food with that money. At least by doing God's will, I can build a treasure in heaven!

I"ve made it on amazingly little a month.

For me, rich is a mindset. I'm free to make my life what I want it to be....and that's pretty rich. I have enough money that I don't have to budget ketchup.....(line I did at one time)....so that's rich too.

More money doesn't equal happiness. One of my happiest Christmas's....our tree was lights in the shape of a tree taped to the wall......

I have money to blow that out of the water....but I still don't buy much more.

As for pulling yourself out of poverty....investing in education. And always saving something. And I know something about saving when there's almost nothing to save...

A good place to begin is to look at yourself, and then look at prosperous people. How do you dress and groom, and how do more prosperous people dress and groom? Begin to dress and groom yourself for success, and no longer surrender to the peer pressure you may experience from the people around you who are living in poverty. Poor people tend to drag each other down and keep each other down, but you can still rise above poverty if you don't give in to peer pressure from them.

How do you define wealth and poverty? These vary from person to person.

I know that one of the things hampering my work looking efforts is my fears based on passed jobs, trainings and experiences. So that's what gets in the way of my getting out of poverty. Maybe there's some fear in each of us that hampers this?

Save as much money as you can and put it somewhere safe. Or giive it to someone to hold for you. Someone who is trustworthy. I give mine to my sister.

I think prosperity is a mindset. What is your own unique interpretation of "prosperity"? Think about the things/goals that you feel would deem you "prosperous", and focus on it. Even if you have to do one thing at a time, or start at the bottom and slowly work your way up. If you work hard enough flipping burgers at McDonald's, you could eventually become a manager, a franchise owner, etc with the drive and determination. The same is true for anything.
Put in the effort to at least try, whether it fails or not - you gain experience and knowledge if nothing else.

Jeanne36roses is right. Getting into the habit of saving money is very important in rising out of poverty. It's easy to think you don't have the ability to save money when it seems to take every cent you have just to cover basic needs like rent and food. But if you really, really try, you can figure out ways to set aside a dollar or two at first and more money as you become more disciplined in saving money. Yes, you will likely save some money only to find yourself unable to resist spending it all anyway, but just accept that as part of the process of learning to become a saver. Start all over again and keep trying.

One of the traits of the poor is their propensity for arguing and disagreeing with everything that people tell them. If you want to rise out of poverty, you need to stop insisting that your present way of doing things is the only right way of doing them. If they really were, you wouldn't be stuck in the ditch you find yourself in. You need to start listening to people when they tell you how you can do better in life, and you need to start paying attention to how other people do things, particularly how successful people do things.

Don't argue with people about how to dress. If you have a job in construction, show up for work wearing a hardhat, steel-toe boots, and carrying your tools. Don't show up dressed in cowboy boots, ten-gallon cowboy hat, and wearing a big silver and turquoise belt buckle that says 'Tex' on it. Likewise, if you are going to an interview for an office job, don't show up dressed as a prostitute or a pimp. Dress in modest conservative business attire that is not flashy. If you are trying to get a job as a cashier or stock clerk, you don't want to show up dressed as a hippie or slacker, but instead wear nice clean pants, sensible shoes, and a suitable shirt and tie or blouse; you will want to dress up for the interview, even though, if you do succeed in getting the job, you may actually wear just a company uniform or casual attire on the job. A job interview is a special occasion; dress up for it.

If you want to wear a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, that's fine, as long as you do it on your own time. When you are on your employer's time, dress for work. When you are dressing for a job interview, dress as if you want the job.

One of the traits of the poor is their propensity for arguing and disagreeing with everything that people tell them. If you want to rise out of poverty, you need to stop insisting that your present way of doing things is the only right way of doing them. If they really were, you wouldn't be stuck in the ditch you find yourself in. You need to start listening to people when they tell you how you can do better in life, and you need to start paying attention to how other people do things, particularly how successful people do things.

Don't argue with people about how to dress. If you have a job in construction, show up for work wearing a hardhat, steel-toe boots, and carrying your tools. Don't show up dressed in snakeskin cowboy boots, a ten-gallon cowboy hat, and wearing a big silver and turquoise belt buckle that says 'Tex' on it. Likewise, if you are going to an interview for an office job, don't show up dressed as a prostitute or a pimp. Dress in modest conservative business attire that is not flashy. If you are trying to get a job as a cashier or stock clerk, you don't want to show up dressed as a hippie or slacker, but instead wear nice clean pants, sensible shoes, and a suitable shirt and tie or blouse; you will want to dress up for the interview, even though, if you do succeed in getting the job, you may actually wear just a company uniform or casual attire on the job. A job interview is a special occasion; dress up for it.

If you want to wear a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, that's fine, as long as you do it on your own time. When you are on your employer's time, dress for work. When you are dressing for a job interview, dress as if you want the job.

I have to reiterate what I'd said earlier. A person has to define her/his beliefs about poverty. What are your needs and responsibilities? What things do you enjoy that you'd need to save for? How present are you in your own life? Can you live with the decisions that you're making? If so, then what's the problem if any?

I knew some one who had very little but wanted to adopt a habit of saving; so she took a portion of cash assistance - I think $5.00 - and saved it no matter what. Never asked her what she did with her money, because the point of her story was that she wanted to control her mind set.

I guess if you want to get somewhere in life you have to map out from where you are. If you're in Antarctica and you want to get to Florida, getting directions that start in Germany won't do you any good. It's ok to expect directions that are applicable. Same with other helping you to rise up: These helpers have to meet others where they're at individually, without presupposing anything; if you do the work, they need to do the advocating and support.