Paycheck to paycheck means that there is no savings. How much does it hurt to cut spending is a completely different variable, not measured at all.

It's normal that a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck even when they are well-off. Yes, the increase is probably all caused by worsening of the standard of life, yet it does not measure into what kind of bad it has descended.

(By the way, number of people living paycheck to paycheck is a very weird number. Confidence about the future increases it too.)