You are somehow thinking that a responsible worker has money left over. Savings doesn't matter much if you are already using used cars, living somewhere cheap,

You are somehow thinking that a responsible worker has money left over. Savings doesn't matter much if you are already using used cars, living somewhere cheap, eating cheaply, and yet still in the position where a flat tire is an emergency or getting sick and missing a day of work throws your finances in disarray. Saving $30 left over after paying for basic crap doesn't help and completely ignores mental health. Investing doesn't even come into the picture because there is never enough money to gamble (invest) with. To be able to get to the point you describe, you have to make extra money at some point. those things you describe are responsible for folks with leftover money. It also greatly assumes folks are lucky enough not to have things like an accident that disables them, a spouse that dies young and leaves you supporting children by yourself, a parent that needs taken care of instead of working, and so on.