This was very laudable in times passed. Many mussar giants lived this way. But does it really make sense in our times? For the effort to live this way, you can simply go to, say, law school, and then work several hours a week and have enough for modest living and learn, saven, or do chesed the rest of the time. I am sure baalei mussar spent more hours walking to pick up bread and water and wash their clothes than that. Chofetz Chaim surely spent more time selling his seforim and had enough time left to learn.
Or is there independent value in living in poverty even if it is so easy to avoid it? another way to ask same question – do we have many examples of Yidden who were rich and then gave it all away to live a life of poverty?