But they have really nice houses and cars they’re making big payments on.
Our cars are old; so’s our house. Old and paid for. :o)
I refuse to carry one - its not a necessity for me
My mid 20 kids look at me like I'm a caveman that scratches his back hump on the fence post
Its about a budget and no one wants to live by one -
my daughter did not want an apartment because it was gross...I pointed out it was ok for me and my wife...our dining room furniture was my FIL's old lawn furniture...we had a folding table and folding chairs and a 12" B&W tv
she has an apartment now
they all want the nice stuff with no dues paying sacrifice.
But even now - my tv is 720 dpi 24" - tiny by todays standards - no cable - only Netflix and hulu.....I don't NEED anything more
I know one such person you described, he is retired and has a negative get worth of about 200 grand.
Our financial adviser told us when we retired that the typical baby boomer blows right through whatever they have for an IRA in 3 or 4 years, thinking they deserve whatever garbage they are buying. And then back to work because they cannot live on SS.