It sounds like you had a scary time as a kid
and have concentrated your efforts on never finding yourself in the same position again. But I think that scary time
may be clouding your feelings a little. Sure, there are a lot of people in financial trouble because they spend above their means. But I think there are
more who simply don't have those means in the first place.
So, 78% of people are living paycheck to paycheck, but the subset making decent money hardly sounds like the majority to me. Most of that 78% are in the "less than 50,000 range" and I know I would have a hard time saving on that income.
Internet connection / Mobile device - I do think many people could spend
less here, but it is becoming harder and harder to do things in today's world without an internet connection
at all. When my teen was trying to get a part-time job last summer,
one place actually had a paper application. Everywhere else required him to apply on line.
Driving - Again,
some places have great public transportation, but in others you really need to drive to have a job. (And the answer isn't just to simply "move" either.) Of course, I don't think everyone needs to buy the fanciest car available!
Pets - I can see why adopting
new pets when you can't afford it isn't a wise decision, but I certainly wouldn't turn the pets I have out on the street if I had a financial reversal. They're already part of my family.
Education - So now, if someone is poor, we don't want them to spend money on the very thing that may lift them
out of poverty?
Cable / Going out to eat / Traveling / Buying gifts for people / Alcohol - These, I'll give you...to a point, at least. I expect many people
do overspend on these items - but I believe in balance, too.
My mom died of cancer in her 50s. If she had spent her whole life giving up all these things to save for a retirement she never got to enjoy, she'd certainly have regretted it. I'm not saying we should all buy all these things all the time, but I think there's a point where it's OK to balance saving and living your life.
When do you feel a person has "enough" savings to start enjoying some of their income at the time they make it?
These parts of your post I do agree with quite a bit. My DS had
one budget project (in an elective, at that) and it scared the you-know-what out of him - because he doesn't really remember the time in our lives when were on a strict budget, and couldn't figure out how he'd have the things we do now starting out.
After laughing (just a little) I explained to him about what he missed, and that he'd survive. But it got me thinking: when we were in that place in our lives,
so were most of the people we looked to for comparison. It's not like that for young people today, who compare themselves to everyone on social media. I think that's one of the main reasons people who
do have enough to save, don't. They see the "baseline" as a lot higher, and not having things is way more "lonely" than it used to be.