How to Thrive Below the Real Poverty Line

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Michael Green’s Substack article claiming that $140,000 is the real poverty threshold (for a family of four) in America highlights a critical but often ignored truth: government-reported poverty metrics are systematically understated to obscure the devastating effects of inflation, debt slavery, and the collapse of the dollar’s purchasing power. The official poverty line, currently around $15,000 for an individual, is a political fabrication designed to downplay the suffering of working-class Americans who are being crushed by the hidden tax of monetary debasement.

The Illusion of Official Poverty Metrics

The U.S. government’s poverty calculations are based on outdated methodologies that ignore the true cost of living. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), for example, deliberately underweights housing, food, and energy costs—precisely the expenses that have skyrocketed due to inflationary policies. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s money-printing has devalued wages, forcing households to spend more just to maintain basic necessities. Real inflation—not the manipulated CPI—has eroded the dollar’s value by over 90% since 1913, meaning poverty is far more widespread than admitted.

Green’s $140,000 figure aligns with independent analyses showing that a family of four needs at least six figures to afford housing, healthcare, transportation, and food without relying on debt. For example:

• Housing: Median rent in many U.S. cities now exceeds $2,500/month, while mortgage payments have doubled since 2020 due to interest rate manipulation.
• Food: Grocery prices have surged 30%+ since 2020, with staple items like eggs and meat becoming unaffordable for many low-income families.
• Healthcare: Average annual premiums for employer-sponsored family plans now exceed $23,000, with out-of-pocket costs pushing many into medical bankruptcy.

These realities expose the fraud of fiat currency (the US Dollar), where central banks and politicians deliberately impoverish citizens through monetary inflation while pretending poverty is “declining”.

The Hidden Costs of Government-Induced Inflation

The true poverty crisis stems from central banking and reckless fiscal policies that have turned the dollar into a debt instrument rather than honest money. Key factors include:

1. Dollar Debasement: The Fed’s balance sheet exploded from $4 trillion in 2020 to over $8 trillion today, diluting purchasing power and punishing savers.
2. Regulatory Strangulation: Energy and food production costs are artificially inflated by climate mandates, green subsidies, and corporate monopolies (e.g., Big Ag, Big Pharma).
3. Taxation by Stealth: Inflation acts as a hidden tax, transferring wealth from the middle class to Wall Street and government contractors.

This systemic looting is why gold and silver remain the only honest money, as they cannot be counterfeited by central planners.

The Path Forward: Decentralization and Sound Money

To escape this engineered poverty trap, Americans must reject dependence on failing institutions and embrace:

• Self-Reliance: Growing food, securing alternative energy (solar, off-grid systems), and bartering locally.
• Decentralized Finance: Moving savings into privacy coins, precious metals, and tangible assets outside the banking system.
• Community Networks: Supporting parallel economies (e.g., farmer’s markets, local currencies) to bypass collapsing supply chains.

Here at Be Slightly Better, we’ve learned to survive on much less income than the poverty line described above, while still managing to live a quality life. The goal of this website is to share how you can do the same!

So sign up below and continue to learn with us:

In order to do this:

1. We must wake up to reality. We know you feel it just as much as we do.
2. Make a plan to decentralize and escape the exponentially failing fiat currency called the US dollar.
3. Trust and believe that you can accomplish defeating the poverty line in America. Your family is counting on you.

Ways that we thrive below the poverty line:

FOOD

• Learning to grow our own food and saving seeds from local produce we purchase regularly. Cooking and baking the majority of our meals, buying ingredients primarily rather than processed foods.
• Limiting eating at restaurants to special occasions (totaling no more than 4-5 times per month, but usually less).

MATERIALISM

• Prioritize spending quality time together over owning things. Seeking free activities seasonally, such as local city-run events, playing at parks, hiking, family walks in our neighborhood, etc.
• Purchasing high-quality, long-lasting items with more intentionality. This requires a long-term mindset, and purchasing fewer items based on a personally set priority list. A great hack is to ask for these higher-cost, higher-quality items as gifts or save up until peak discount times (such as Black Friday). Patience is key here!

HEALTH

• Learning and seeking natural remedies and proactive healthcare, rather than relying on doctors and pharmaceutical drugs.
• Switching to CrowdHealth, instead of using traditional health insurance plans. Read our review article about why we love them and how they can save you money too!

HOUSING

We are lucky enough to be renting from pastors who allow us to do home repairs in exchange for portions of our rent, in addition to charging a lower rent.

If you are not able to find a similar, unique situation, there are several things you can do –

• Be happy with less space. Having fewer things helps to live happily in a smaller home. We often do a sweep of our home to get rid of lesser used or lower quality items to declutter and make our small space feel larger.
• Move a little further out of the city and into the country, where housing prices can be more affordable.

CAREER

• Seek entrepreneurship and skill building. We prioritize self-employment, knowing that the most successful people simply don’t stop trying until they find success.
• In Ohio, income from self-employment is not taxed up to $250,000 (married filing jointly) or $125,000 (single or married filing separately).
• Working remotely is another way that we are able to save money and time, removing commutes and reducing vehicle costs.
• Prioritize learning from successful people – reading books, listening to podcasts, etc.

Overall, this news should be a wake-up call to seek a healthy lifestyle transformation. Costs are not going to lower anytime soon (if ever) and we can’t rely on the government. You have to take control of your future and as you can see, there is a lot you can do.

This doesn’t have to be a hopeless endeavor. Sign up for our email list, follow us on Pinterest or YouTube, or simply save our website to your favorites. Our mission is to equip you with the tools and information to thrive in hard times, so stay tuned!