Most people don't have great time management or great financial management: https://www.npr.org/2016/04/24/475432149/could-you-come-up-w...

Expecting people to suddenly improve and re-prioritize their lives accordingly is unrealistic, rather than working with people where they are on gradual improvements, encouraging them to take that big leap forward!

that article had me face-palming so many times. Maybe people should stop worrying about how much they need to spend to appear to be in a certain "class" and instead just stop spending money to keep up with the Joneses. If you can't responsibly support a (non-west-coast/NYC) family on $130k then you just suck with money. Christ if you can't even come up with an extra $400/month as someone with a middle class income wtf are you even doing? Your bank probably followed the 34% rule if you bought a house, meaning you just took on a ton more debt after securing the biggest mortgage you could...

I know lots of people who have monthly expenses that top their reasonable and well thought out mortgages. Education expenses, alimony, medical insurance/care & parental care are all major expenses for people.

While I agree with your sentiment that too many people spend money on dumb crap, making broad statements about what everyone should do is a step too far.