I see someone already mentioned Mr Money Mustache, which is great. But for really getting to "independently poor" you can't beat Early Retirement Extreme: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/

Similar idea, but he got his living expenses down to something under $10k/year (initially, I think they've risen a bit since) so that he could retire a lot earlier. At various points he talks a lot about how having the skills to support yourself is worth more than having money to buy things, a topic briefly touched on in the linked article.

I just wish his English was a little more grammatical and properly spellchecked, but I guess you can't have everything. :)