While I grant you minimum wage isn't livable almost anywhere in the US (in case that was your point), that's not really what I was talking about. So many peopl

While I grant you minimum wage isn't livable almost anywhere in the US (in case that was your point), that's not really what I was talking about. So many people living paycheck-to-paycheck are living well beyond the minimum. Multiple cars, huge house, private schools, college savings plans, vacation homes, expensive hobbies and so on. Part of this trap is people convincing themselves they need all these things. In my experience, this often springs from their own childhoods, remembering what they didn't have and over-correcting for that by making sure their kids do not "go without". In doing so, they often rob themselves and their kids of quality time together, which (IMHO) trumps a lot of material things.