Dig a little deeper into those numbers, buddy. I can see that your assumption is that people making $100,000 a year and still living paycheck to paycheck must be trying to keep up with the Joneses or making other irresponsible choices. Check out how much rent costs in California. Check out how much gas costs in California. Check out what the average commute time & distance is. Check out the cost of childcare in California. Check out how much people are paying for their student loans. Check out the cost of health insurance. I imagine a single parent with two young children, and with an hour commute to their job that pays them $100,000 a year so that they can pay for a two-bedroom apartment And a decent enough car to get them to and from work reliably is probably going into credit card debt in order to pay for everything, and that’s not presuming that they are looking for an apartment in a nice neighborhood or even newer car. Check your privilege and run your numbers again.