The greater point here is that if you are poor you are one unexpected expense away from financial and/or personal ruin. The kinds of compromises this entails ar

The greater point here is that if you are poor you are one unexpected expense away from financial and/or personal ruin. The kinds of compromises this entails are either basic necessities or simple luxuries (so perhaps a necessity for one's mental health). They are compromises that accrue material, physiological, or psychological debt and snowball into further compromises. It's the "poverty trap", and the best case for many people is just a constant state of maintenance as they don't have the surplus capital, time, or mental energy to invest in a better future. You were able to build on your limited resources and improve your life, but hopefully you can appreciate that there are many others who don't realistically have this opportunity.