How does it work financially? It doesn’t. Rejoice that you can’t imagine it.

I’ve been extremely poor a bunch of times in my life with less than a tenner left for weeks, but never starving. Luck and community saved me.

I have eaten salvaged out-of-date food from supermarket waste bins a looottt of times but even that’s difficult/prosecuted nowadays.

Behold, USA, the richest country on Earth!