Mikado,
You should realize that you are somewhat lucky to not be living paycheck to paycheck.
I'm pretty sure most of the US is!
To me, I would infer some combination of the following:
1) You inherited a fair amount of money (or had parents that were in a position to assist you through college, or starting as an adult, at a minimum). My parents paid for my first 1.5 years of college. Perhaps more importantly, your family was not a drain such that you need to get a full time job after HS graduation to help make ends meet or pay medical bills for a sick parent. My father was dying of cancer from my Jr. year of HS until half way through my sophomore year of college. The medical bills were atrocious (though not nearly so bad as today); however, my dad was in a place where he had good insurance and they allowed him to stay in his job even after his work performance was compromised. Others took up the slack for him so he continued to draw a full paycheck and insurance until about 6 months before his death. His survivor benefits along with my income as a cooperative education student paid my way through the rest of college.
2) You have the skill set to command a better than average salary. For example, I happen to have the skill set to excel at engineering. I can't claim that I ever worked harder than the guys who worked in the manufacturing plants I have worked in. Yes, I put in more hours (during the years I did not have a young child at home),but I could work those extra hours comfortably without the repetitive physical stresses of a production job. I did my best to redesign work stations to improve the physical toll on the workers, but I was still making much more money for less effort. You see, I was in a position that attuned me to the blue collar worker. They are not dumb, they are not lazy, they just did not have the opportunity to secondary education, and consequently, don't take as much home, and they are physically tired at the end of the shift.
3) You have been in a career path that allowed steady employment.
4) Your own family either does not exist or has been blessed with good health (including avoiding any addictions). Again, a protracted health issue such as cancer or a special needs child can destroy the best of financial plans. I am lucky, my wife (now my ex) and my daughter were healthy. The divorce was a big financial hit, and if I did not make a better than average wage, that might have tipped the balance.
If I look at my own financial success
1) A family that is financially supportive rather than a financial load (usually this has more to do with their net worth and health than value decisions)
2) Friends in a position to assist me - by the time I graduated from college in engineering, I made enough friends at Georgia Power (where I co-op'ed) who could vouch for my ability/work ethic (and wanted me for a co-worker),that I was hired as a permanent employee into one of the best paying jobs offered to my graduating class. A friend of my (deceased) dad fixed cars on the side and he kept me in a car until I was a professional. He did not give them to me, but looking back, he could have made twice as much money selling them through the classified instead of offering them to me on the cheap!
3) I would be dishonest if I said I made good decisions. I did not choose engineering, it chose me. My brain just happened to align well with the desired attributes of an engineer. I guess I can take credit for choosing engineering over music (people like me well enough, but I'm not the kind of schmoozer to work connections and make it big in music with only good talent ... not Stevie Ray Vaughn phenom talent). Honestly, at 18, I was no way able to make an informed decision aside from going where my SAT scores sent me.
Certainly there are some people who manage to become financially successful without the assistance I have mentioned above. However I see so many people who are doing well and take credit for being exclusively a self-made success. It is human nature to claim your victories and blame others for your losses. But if they are honest, the vast majority of successful people have more to be thankful of than they want to admit.
It is personal a point of pride that my daughter appears to be in a position to be more successful than I was. She works hard, and I will never claim her success as mine. However, I always gave her an environment and encouragement to support her as best I know how, paid for her college, and thus far have a little over $10,000 in a 529 account for her kids so she won't have the burden of paying for her kids education. I am paying forward the good fortune/hands-up I was given.
Also so much of my good fortune had to do with the financial environment I was in. If my dad's coworkers were not making good money (health physics department at Savannah River Project... where they made the hemisphere of Plutonium that went into nuclear bombs),they could not have covered for him when he fell ill from cancer. My dad's friend who gave me deals on cars could not have afforded to lose that income if he was not in a comfortable financial position.
Sure, I know some people who are just lazy and feel the world owes them, and I don't send much sympathy in that direction. I'm not sure I can claim they are living paycheck to paycheck. The ones I know are in a downward spiral
.
But for each of them, there are lots of hardworking people who are proud that they have maintained the ability to live paycheck to paycheck after the mortgage default BS. I know plenty who were doing fine until they lost their job during the recession, and had to work odd jobs at $15/hour for over a year while being forced to make withdrawals from their 401k to keep their mortgage and family afloat. Replacing 401k funds this late in life is not easy.
Sorry for the ramble, but take a moment to count your blessings before passing judgement on those who are not so fortunate.
