This insight is hard to beat for explaining power. I've found it pretty easy to save money almost on accident with a six figure income, even without keeping to

This insight is hard to beat for explaining power. I've found it pretty easy to save money almost on accident with a six figure income, even without keeping too close an eye on expenditures. Helps if you skip buying the luxury auto, don't pick the most expensive living quarters you can, keep eating out under $10-15/day, and if you can be lucky+conscientious enough not to have catastrophic healthcare expenses, but you don't even have to do all of that and you can save 20% and pay your taxes. It's certainly possible closer to the median, but the belt has to be tighter. Bottom third? Pinching pennies. Pick marginal housing. $25/week groceries. Turn down social invitations when your gas/transport budget's up. And saving for that $1000 emergency will still be slow. There's something in a part of some people's psychology that wants to imagine that if you're just disciplined enough you can make it all happen no matter what the constraints are. Discipline can make a difference, but not the same scale of difference that greater resource inflows do.