ABSTRACT
Sources of economic support for daily subsistence are varied: capital, income from enterprise, income from employment, support from family, social insurance, means-tested social assistance, private assistance and charity, self production, informal economy and crime. Access to capital almost by definition seems to rule out economic problems. Capital could, however, be tied up and substantial owning could therefore be associated with problems of a cash margin and subsistence. An alternative to social assistance is sometimes private support of various kinds outside of the family. Free meals, free or cheap hostels, and cash contributions from different charity organisations are all ways of obtaining subsistence. Having an income, even if small, from full time employment is, of course, the main source of subsistence for the large majority of the interviewees. Full time employment is also usually not reported as connected with an economic problem by interviewees from advanced welfare states like Germany and Sweden.
