I’m sorry, but the math just DOESN’T work anymore. A lot of jobs are still paying somewhere between $15 and $21 an hour. Work 40 hours a week and you’re making roughly $2,600 to $3,640 a month BEFORE taxes. Now go pay $1,500+ for rent. Throw in a car payment, utilities, gas, groceries and all the other random crap that somehow costs twice what you remember it costing. And that’s before childcare. Car insurance. Health insurance. Student loans. Credit cards. An emergency. A flat tire. A trip to the doctor. Or God forbid you actually want to save some money and enjoy your life once in a while. I’ve been a financial planner for almost 20 years, so I’m obviously a HUGE believer in budgeting and living below your means. But there comes a point where telling someone making $18 an hour to “just budget better” is ridiculous. You can’t Dave Ramsey your way out of $3,500 of monthly expenses when you’re bringing home $2,600. Sometimes the problem isn’t the budget. The income simply doesn’t cover the cost of being alive anymore.