Take mattresses: My parents just bought a $700 mattress. My own mattress is a $200 IKEA model. Meanwhile a guy who does odd jobs for me sleeps on a hand-me-down I got him for free. We're all equally comfortable at night I'm guessing.
Another example: I tried to get rid of an old armoire from the 50s some time ago. Had to throw it in the garbage, couldn't give it away for free. I tried.
I'd much rather be wealthy than not, but you can definitely make a no-frills budget work if you get rid of the niceties as long as you have your health.
Well actually it is plastic plates for us in Tokyo. Good ones, not the dollar store kinds - but not ceramic. We use consumer grade items.
The biggest chunk goes into rent & insurance along with city taxes (separate from income taxes). It scales non-linearly with income.
There’s a whole market of cheap consumer goods produced for that income level. Household goods, electronics, clothing, etc.
As an example, if you are reading this your kitchen is probably stocked with ceramic plates. Why did you buy ceramic plates rather than plastic plates? Probably because at your income level, ceramic plates are an insignificant expense. However at $3000/year having a kitchen full of ceramic plates would be an extreme waste of money for insignificant benefit.
Multiply this by every purchasing decision. Why did you buy a $1000 phone instead of a $150 phone? Why do pay for eggs instead of keeping chickens? Why do you buy branded clothes instead of unbranded clothes that cost a fraction of the price?
I’m not saying that you should go out and buy plastic plates and a chicken. Just that not everybody on $3000 a year is living in poverty.
The biggest issue with earning that much is healthcare, which doesn’t scale well with income. Even if the doctor may be earning 5x less than they would in a rich country, the MRI machine certainly doesn’t cost 5x less.