I would wager the few extra bucks I have that a majority of renters don't have $500 in monthly discretionary funds to cut back. Saving even a couple hundred is

I would wager the few extra bucks I have that a majority of renters don't have $500 in monthly discretionary funds to cut back. Saving even a couple hundred is a matter of eliminating non-pirated entertainment (if one hasn't already), significantly modifying one's diet (not simply switching to cheaper brands, but changing grocery stores, changing food, reducing meal sizes and counts, and (I've heard, in some extreme cases) limited shoplifting), and having no social life that more affluent family/friends aren't paying for. IME, you are also trying to pick up odd jobs or gig work, selling possessions, and picking non-rent bills to put off. All this to say: as bad as you think it is, it's worse. It's way worse