My nephew works full time here in Florida. Let me break down his numbers. State minimum wage is $14/hour. He makes $15.50. 40 hours a week = $620/week That's roughly $2,680/month before anything gets taken out. Florida brags about having no state income tax. After federal taxes and FICA, he brings home close to $2,250. Average one-bedroom where he lives runs about $1,650. That's 73% of his paycheck gone to rent alone, before a single grocery run. Leaves him with roughly $600 a month to cover: - groceries - gas - car insurance - health insurance - phone - emergencies - any savings at all Car insurance alone takes a third of what's left in this state. He works 40 hours a week and ends every month at zero. Not because he's reckless. Because there's genuinely nothing left to be reckless with. I spent almost three decades paying off a house in this same state. He's working the same kind of job I worked at his age, and he can't afford a one-bedroom on his own. That's not a discipline issue. That's not lattes or avocado toast. The floor moved. Nobody moved the ceiling to match. A full-time job is supposed to cover a place to live. In Florida right now, it barely covers the rent.