Diocesan priests receive a modest salary, which enables them to buy their necessities, to buy and maintain a car, to take a vacation, and to do normal recreational activities.  Also, priests receive room and board from the parish for which they work, so their expenses are minimal.

Diocesan priests do not take a vow of poverty like religious order priests. Nevertheless, they are encouraged to live a simple lifestyle and be generous to the poor. The black clerical clothes typically worn by a priest are an outward sign of the modest standard of living that is proper to priestly life and ministry.