Comment by saguntum

I understand where you're coming from. Some examples from people I know:

* Person making around $40K buying a $50K new vehicle

* Software engineer making $100K+ in a low cost of living area asking if $5K is a good enough down payment for a home (at least they questioned it!)

* Consultant complaining about money while taking Uber back and forth to work every day and getting all groceries delivered on Instacart

However, these examples are from people who have the means to make these poor decisions and access to credit to do so. I think you understand this from having grown up poor, but it's worth illustrating for readers who may seen your comment and blame most poorer people for their situation.

There's "poverty," and then there's poverty. The bottom 20% of households in the US make about $22K per year. People I've known working in construction get paid entirely in cash and have no credit, often having to choose between paying the water bill or the electric bill after an unforeseen emergency. At the level where you are paycheck to paycheck, assuming the paychecks are regular, you can't save for emergencies because every day is spent triaging the basics.