My troupe and I recently had a discussion about the Indebted and Poverty Hooks from Covenants, both the major and the minor versions. At first glance, Poverty seems strictly harsher than Indebted: the minor version leaves you with a yearly income of 40 pounds (and the specific stipulation that you have essentially no surplus) vs. one of 75 pounds, and the major version leaves you with a yearly income of 0 pounds vs. one of 25 pounds. Sure, Indebted gives you a debt as well, but the only practical effect of that debt is to generate the aforementioned income reduction due to interest payments... Given that both Hooks generate essentially he same type of stories (about gaining wealth) save perhaps that Indebted allows a troupe more latitude (one could engineer stories in which the creditor agrees to cancel the debt due to circumstances other than a money payment), is there any reason why a troupe should take Poverty rather than Indebted except possibly the fact that it's sometimes easier to justify having no money, than having money AND simultaneously owing someone money?
Indebted gives you more money, but it also gives you a bigger hook. It means your covenant is over a barrel for someone powerful, who might ask you to do a little favor in exchange for not breaking your magi's kneecaps. Usually a highly illegal favor...
Mechanically speaking, consider that the covenant's income is variable. If you have a small or no income source, and your magi have bad luck on the year's income roll, then you cut back on your labs and spend vis to create grain to eat. If you're indebted and your income drops, you'll have negative income and you'll have to ask a banker to show mercy.
Or you have to resort to Certamen to get your debts offset for a year...
There is also a flavour aspect to these hooks.
Poor: the covenant should look poorly maintained, tools and items are of low quality, servants stay because they likes the magi or because outside it is worse. Basically, you have little to no income. You have to work on establishing an income source. There is nobody to ask you to do their biding, just Hunger & Necessity which can drive magi to do things that they might not like so they don't starve...
In debt: the covenant can look nice and neat, covenants folks are decently paid. The covenant can have a good source of income, but a large chunk is taken to reimburse a debt (probably contracted to establish or improve the covenant). The creditor can and will ask favour. The story is more about paying back these debt by doing favours. They might not have a say on what they need to do to slowly repay their debt (or fall back in the situation describe above, after being beaten and have their propertie seized or destroy). In debt requires the troupe to come up with a creditor (or several), who has the power to enforce their threat or retrieve their money by pillaging the covenant. Unless with protection against magic, mundane creditor can easily be manipulated with various Mentem, lowering their threat potential.