> I've seen families just as big as theirs, getting by in San Francisco, with half their salary. It's hard for me to judge individual budgets out of context. S

> I've seen families just as big as theirs, getting by in San Francisco, with half their salary. It's hard for me to judge individual budgets out of context. Some people are in financial holes in various ways: healthcare debt, personal debt, usurious lones, bad credit, bad investment choices, support payments, victims of investment fraud, etc. Sometimes we can say it's their fault, but it's not fair to assume it is. It's also worth pointing out that "getting by" in the short term does not mean living a net-wealth-building lifestyle in the long term.