Poverty is described by experts as being in the bottom 20% or 40% of the spending distribution. People are poor "when they lack the means to obtain the form of diet, engage in the activities, and have the living conditions and facilities that are customary, or at least generally encouraged and accepted," according to Townsend's description, in the cultures they are a member of ".

They see absolute poverty as including a nutritionally insufficient diet, not one that is inadequate in terms of any socially accepted norm that may be conditioned by fashion and culture, but one that is inadequate to support life, leaving little in reserve for jobs, and clothing and shelter are often seen as necessities for the maintenance of life.