That’s true, but I see where the original poster is coming from. Having grown up in a low-income household where every dime mattered, we couldn’t afford cable

That’s true, but I see where the original poster is coming from. Having grown up in a low-income household where every dime mattered, we couldn’t afford cable TV, and we didn’t have cell phones until 2004. The costs of cable/satellite TV subscriptions and data plans can add up. I’m a single man who works in Silicon Valley as a researcher and make an upper-middle class salary by national standards. I spend $80 per month for my cable Internet connection, $95 per month on my cell phone plan, and roughly $20 total on subscriptions such as YouTube Premium and Crunchyroll. Yes, cutting these subscriptions won’t help me much with saving for the six-figure down payments needed to buy a home in Silicon Valley, which I’ve resigned myself to never being able to afford unless I win the “startup lottery” or become an executive. However, the ~$200/mo I spend on subscriptions could go a long way toward feeding and clothing kids, especially if money is tight after rent and utilities.