Poor living standards among indigenous residents have been cited as one of the main factors that motivated Africans to forcefully push for political independence from colonial rule during the first half of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, there has been limited evidence to back this assertion especially with personal welfare with reference often made to national level indicators. This article dwells on household budgets to provide empirical information about the living conditions of indigenous residents in Ghana prior to independence. In addition to a thorough analysis of the socio-economic conditions prevailing at the time, poverty measurements are made to estimate the incidence, depth and severity of poverty in the country in the 1950s.