Given how many people seem to find themselves with crippling debt, or unable to save enough of a buffer to handle unexpected (but not especially unusual) expens

Given how many people seem to find themselves with crippling debt, or unable to save enough of a buffer to handle unexpected (but not especially unusual) expenses, I'd be inclined to say "good". Much of the advertising industry isn't about getting you to choose Company A's product rather than Company B's, or to choose the deluxe version rather than the entry-level one; it's about getting you to buy things you would never even have considered otherwise, and certainly have no "need" for.