To expand on this point a little bit: many of the things the game assumes a $15k/year worker has are more expensive than similar things we had when we were maki

To expand on this point a little bit: many of the things the game assumes a $15k/year worker has are more expensive than similar things we had when we were making 6 figures. Of course it's going to be hard to make ends meet if that's the lifestyle you're trying to maintain. Just the things mentioned above -- car payment, smartphone, and pet rent -- make up over 40% of the hypothetical person's monthly budget. If you're in that situation, make some cuts!