[nhangen]

It's easy to say that, but the reality is that many of these people probably blew through their savings while enduring job loss, medical bills, increased energy and food costs, etc.

Most people aren't programmers, and are at the mercy of the job market, which sucks right now.

There are many cases of irresponsible behavior, but I know of far too many responsible people that tried everything they could to right the ship and kept hanging on, hoping that things would change...with no luck.

It would be one thing if gas prices were going down, utilities were getting cheaper, and food prices were getting back to normal, but they aren't.

Most of us are fortunate enough to turn to freelancing when money runs out, but much of America is screwed.

[coffeeaddicted]

Funny you mention freelancing - this was what got me into the deepest trouble so far. One bad contract where I couldn't get out easily and had miscalculated milestones badly. And it is hard to concentrate on coding when you start wondering about stuff like "will I manage to pay rent once more next week or will the bank not accept that I go over the credit limit".