r/povertyfinance rules, stats, and what to post

This is a support group for people who are struggling financially. The description says it plainly: financial advice, frugality tips, stories, opportunities, general guidance, and unconditional emotional support, with no judgment, just advice. The people posting here are folks who self identify as struggling financially or as financially insecure, and the “Gatekeeping” rule makes clear that nobody gets to question whether someone belongs. The rules also frame the scope: this is a place for advice on daily living and short-to-midterm financial planning, not politics, not debates about how people ended up here, and not a marketplace. The tone in the rules is unusually protective of members, which tells you the community values safety and dignity over everything else.

The rule that decides most marketing outcomes here is “Disclose Affiliations”, because referral links and links to your own content are allowed, but only with clear, accurate titles, a disclosed affiliation, and a non-referral version of the link, and referral links are not permitted during the holidays. “Bad, Dangerous, or Predatory Advice or Action” removes anything that looks like a scam or a get rich quick scheme, so any offer that smells like one is dead on arrival. “Soliciting/Offering Donations or Loans” bans asking for or offering money, loans, donations, or crowdsourcing in any form, public or private, which kills most charity-style marketing outright. “Value Judgment” requires that unsolicited advice respects people's right to determine their own values, and it completely bans advice on posts flaired as Vent/Rant. “Ableism/Bigotry/Classism (poor shaming)/Racism/Sexism” removes anything implying people are poor because of their own bad decisions, which is an easy line to cross without noticing. “Politics” keeps the space free of political advocacy or debate. “Judgment” and “Gatekeeping” set the tone, since nobody here wants to be told they do not belong or that their past caused their problems. Finally, “Bot” means automated posting gets removed at moderator discretion, so do not automate anything here.

The safest and most welcome thing you can post here is genuinely useful information with nothing attached. A plain guide to a frugal habit, a breakdown of a common money trap, or a practical answer to a question someone asked, all with no link, fits the spirit of the sub perfectly. If you do want to link your own content, the rules let you, but only if your title is clear and accurate, you disclose your affiliation, and you provide a non-referral version of the link alongside any referral link. Keep the focus on daily living and short-to-midterm planning, because that is the scope the rules set. Be warm and assume nothing about why someone is in their situation, because the “Judgment” rule protects people regardless of how they got here. If you see a post flaired as Vent/Rant, read it, empathize if you want, but do not give advice, because that is prohibited there. And never, under any circumstances, ask for or offer money, loans, or donations, even with good intentions, because that is banned in both directions.

Never ask for or offer money, loans, donations, or crowdsourcing, publicly or privately, because “Soliciting/Offering Donations or Loans” removes all of it and the only aid allowed is information or advice. Never post a referral link or a link to your own site without disclosing your affiliation and providing a non-referral version, and never use a URL shortener, because “Disclose Affiliations” has no exceptions and referral links are banned during the holidays. Never post anything that looks like a scam, a get rich quick scheme, or a DM offer to help, because “Bad, Dangerous, or Predatory Advice or Action” removes it. Never give advice on a post flaired as Vent/Rant, because “Value Judgment” prohibits all advice there. Never imply that people are poor because of their own decisions or that they deserve poverty, because “Ableism/Bigotry/Classism (poor shaming)/Racism/Sexism” removes it. Never bring politics in, because “Politics” removes advocacy, debate, and grandstanding. Never judge how someone got into their situation, because “Judgment” says the focus is the road forward, not the past. Never gatekeep who counts as struggling, because “Gatekeeping” protects anyone who self identifies that way. And do not run bots, because “Bot” says they get removed at moderator discretion.

What strikes me most is rule 6, which says no judgment on how people got here, and it even names working for LuLaRoe as an example, which tells you exactly how wide the welcome is. Rule 10 is the hard wall for any marketer, because no donations or loans means no clever workarounds either. And I respect that the disclosure rule has the words no exceptions in bold, so there is no gray area to sneak a referral link through. This is a community where being plainly useful is the only marketing that works.