[Forgeties79]

$4500/mo for everything after the roof over your head is not enough.

Living alone? Probably, assuming you have no major debt and are in great health/have no emergencies.

2 of you? Maybe. Definitely not putting anything away for later that’s for sure. Better not have any emergencies.

Kids? No way.

$4500/mo after paying for your home basically leaves little room for error or, frankly, joy in your life. Can't take trips, can't have pets, can't donate to causes, can't go out to eat much or anywhere nice, etc. We aren't supposed to just work/eat/sleep, we need something to look forward to, we need to be able to weather financial emergencies, and we need to be able to save for later.

[gambiting]

>>$4500/mo after paying for your home basically leaves little room for error or, frankly, joy in your life. Can't take trips, can't have pets, can't donate to causes, can't go out to eat much or anywhere nice, etc

None of this is "struggling to make ends meet". I've seen this before though - people make good money, have a place to live, make payments for a nice car, have enough to put food on the table, to pay for their energy bills, to send their kids to school/childcare, and yet they will say they are barely hanging on because they can't save a lot every year or go on holidays.

Like, I really sympathise, but that's not barely making ends meet. 4.5k after rent is enough to live on almost anywhere in the world.

[Forgeties79]

We are talking about the United States. Not “anywhere in the world.” I find those arguments very frustrating because I don’t really feel like I should have to say that. We are not talking about somewhere where $10 can last you a week.