A household is defined as being in poverty when it has insufficient funds to cover its basic needs.
In other words, after subtracting fixed expenses for housing, energy and health care, the household does not have enough money left over for other basic needs. ‘Money’ here refers to income, savings and other assets that can be used directly. Additional indicators used in relation to poverty include how long a household has been below the poverty threshold, debt problems and people’s own perception of their financial position.