5%? Really? There's a huge class of young entrepreneurs, who have limited financial requirements (notice, I'm not using the word desires), and slightly older hackers who have greater requirements (car/house/etc) but probably have worked long enough to supplement the YC income with their own stock options, savings, etc.

If you really want to build something new and interesting, you should be willing to make financial sacrifices to make it happen. If you're comfortable, you probably won't be as hungry.