I'm tired of seeing "people who are in debt waste their money" or "people who are in debt live beyond their means" as the default explanation for indebtedness.

I'm tired of seeing "people who are in debt waste their money" or "people who are in debt live beyond their means" as the default explanation for indebtedness. I'm in debt. I have debt for a car, furniture, and medical expenses. (despite the fact that most of my furniture was acquired for little cost, and insurance covers most of my medical expenses) I also have a new MacBook Pro (I'm a developer), much to the chagrin of my baby boomer parents, who also think I should drink less Starbucks coffee. There's not a lot of understanding amongst the older generation that rent is high, food is expensive, and that's where most of the money goes, which makes it hard to pay off the debts. Starbucks represents about 1% of my income, the MacBook will be under 2% of my income over the 3 years I'll probably have it, and I'll make back probably 40% of that when I sell it.