It's not about the extremes. Some people are barely getting to the end of the month and some of those will be buying expensive toast on the way there and will be better off if they stop that. Lots of people get to the end of the month easily, however much they eat out, and still have zero chance at getting on the housing ladder.

If the cost of housing increases faster each year than your annual salary, it doesn't matter a damn what fraction of your salary you manage to hoard in a year, you still aren't buying a house. But that salary can handle vacations and coffee just fine.