We've got the idea that consumerism is the way to go-
spend all of your money on stuff and you'll be happy. We've built a society where success is equal to the amount of luxuries you can buy (whether you can afford them or not).
It's also tough to be financially responsible when wages don't support it. I don't think anyone in lower socioeconomic classes choose to live paycheck to paycheck.
But I get what you're saying- plenty of upper middle class folks buy the BMW or the Lexus when they should just keep driving the Honda they already have.
How do you afford your Rock'n'Roll lifestyle?
I worked with someone like this, spent all her money on drinking, clothes and partying each weekend and didn't even bother contributing to a 401k. I shake my head.
It's all about keeping up with the Joneses even if the Joneses are up to their eyeballs in debt and can barely make their minimum monthly credit payment. But hey, we have 2 brand new cars, have the latest and greatest electronics, buy new clothes every weekend and eat dinner our 4 times a week and wonder why we can't save for retirement or handle a $400 unexpected emergency expense. My old neighbors were perfect examples of this. Wife didn't work, husband had his own failing contracting business. Between them they had 4 cars (Nissan GTR, claims he paid $100k for it (purchased new), 2018 Ford F250 quadcab platinum edition (purchased new) total bro truck, Ford Explorer for wife and kids, and he had an old Lexus IS250, still making payments on it and it wasn't even registered). That's easily $200k in auto debt. Not to mention he spent nearly every Friday and Saturday night at a casino. Did I mention his company is bankrupt? Fast forward to a few weeks ago, they got rid of all those vehicles and now he is driving a 2020 Jeep Gladiator (all decked out) and she has a 2020 Explorer. Still making those car payments and probably not a dime in savings.
When my wife and I were house shopping I didn't let the mortgage broker tell me what I could afford, I told him what I wanted to pay per month as a percentage of my pay. He and our real estate agent didn't understand why I didn't want to get the biggest most expensive house I could afford.
Back to the COVID discussion