[bluGill]

there are doctors making $500k/year living paycheck to paycheck. There are people working fast food who manage to save money. It is a spending problem.

The things you list do not help either group, but the fact is most people spend every penny.

[tmh79]

> there are doctors making $500k/year living paycheck to paycheck

This isn't true, at least in any sense of the word we would agree with. (Wife works in medicine, is a doctor at this level, we run in these circles). They are "living paycheck to paycheck" in the sense that they've set their stock brokerage to automagically deduct 10k usd/month from their bank account, and they pay 10k/month on a mortgage (which accumulate equity) and their checking account doesn't grow in size and their monthly float is the same. Some of them pay for private school which means they only save 3k/month instead of 10k/month, how oppressive. Their checking account "funny money they allow themselves to spend on anything" isn't growing and is the same, but their net worth is growing 15k/month.

[uoaei]

The assertions like GP are laughable every time they come up. Having no liquidity is not the same as living paycheck-to-paycheck. LP2P means not being able to scrounge up any money for vital necessities until the next pay period. Most doctors (and for that matter, most people who complain about high COL lifestyles while working in tech) can obviously pull a bit of cash from their investment accounts if need be. Yes there are fees attached but you can handle those. LP2P means you're living in your car if you can't get the money in the next 4 weeks.

[danans]

> there are doctors making $500k/year living paycheck to paycheck. There are people working fast food who manage to save money. It is a spending problem.

The existence of a statistically insignifcant number of counter-examples on either end does not negate the broader societal trend toward greater wealth/income disparity.

[sdnlafkjh34rw]

I don't believe it's purely a spending issue when things like childcare, education, and healthcare are growing at 2x the inflation rate. We have basic infrastructure costs in America that are spirally out of control that are really eating into wages.

[ativzzz]

A person making $500/k a year living paycheck to paycheck most likely needs therapy, not a financial advisor.

[gapo]

> there are doctors making $500k/year living paycheck to paycheck.

Can you provide a source for that please ? Also, it would be interesting to find how much of their expenses are paying back their insanely high tuition-fees.

[appleshore]

Except spending 60% of your income on rental housing is normal in major cities.