The No. 1 Reason Redditors Say They're Broke (Spoiler Alert: It Isn't Their Spending)
From social media influencers to your in-laws, everyone has very strong opinions about why so many people these days call themselves broke. They don’t work hard enough. They spend too much money on frivolous things (remember the great avocado toast debate of the 2010s?).
But everyday people — especially those on platforms like Reddit — would beg to differ.
In subreddit after subreddit, users share stories of “doing everything right” by working hard and living frugally — and still coming up short. According to many Redditors, the real reason they’re broke isn’t daily spending — it’s that their wages can’t keep up with the financial obligations locked into their lives.
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Wages Have Been Eaten Alive by Fixed Costs
Frustrated by hot takes that Americans struggling to make ends meet are simply spendthrifts, Redditor kyro_5589 took to the r/povertyfinance subreddit to spell out their actual expenses. When they broke it all down, they found something surprising — and distressing.
This Redditor did everything most financial experts would advise: They drove an old car to avoid a monthly payment, cut unnecessary subscriptions and cooked at home. Yet it still wasn’t enough to get out from under the financial Sword of Damocles hanging over their head.
“I am not living beyond my means. And I still end every single month with almost nothing left over and one unexpected expense away from a real problem,” they wrote. “I am doing everything the personal finance world tells you to do, and the margin is still basically zero.”
After taking inventory of their situation, this Redditor came to a conclusion that resonated deeply with others in the thread: Sometimes, the job, market or life situation you’re in means that the math simply doesn’t work, no matter how careful you are.
“It’s not a discipline problem. It’s an income problem, and those are different things,” they wrote. “I wish more people understood that distinction without needing you to prove your frugality first before they’ll take your situation seriously.”
Opportunity Hasn’t Caught Up With Debt
Redditors who felt seen by kyro_5589’s story shared their own experiences and frustrations. Unsurprisingly, the burdens of student loan debt factored into many a tale of financial woe.
Redditor Avid_Reader87 lamented that their wife holds a biology degree that hasn’t translated into sufficient earning power to justify the $55,000 in student debt she incurred. Not only is she managing that loan alongside other family expenses, but the debt also prevented her from taking the next educational step required to become a veterinarian.
Another Redditor, who had once hoped to become an archaeologist, said they faced a similar dead end.
“That’s the problem with a lot of degrees. They’re stepping stones to the real one further up,” they wrote. “But if you can’t afford the next step after all, or don’t have the grades, that path closes and the degree winds up not being very helpful.”
For Redditor Lucky_Louch, a degree in business and economics was supposed to unlock higher pay. Instead, they graduated into the Great Recession of 2008, still carrying student debt and only able to find work through temp agencies and call centers earning $7.50 an hour.
To describe the financial and emotional toll of repaying that debt while covering basic living expenses, they used a word we can’t print in a family publication — but one that involves a bull and a very basic excretory function.
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Income Doesn’t Change as Your Life Circumstances Do
As Redditors bonded over the lived impact of wage stagnation, one theme kept surfacing: Income often stays flat even as life becomes more expensive.
One Redditor described the exhausting cycle of feeling almost ahead, only to be pulled back under by ordinary, predictable expenses.
“It just scales up as you go ... I have three kids and a house that needs work sometimes and two paid-off cars that need tires and work every so often,” they wrote. “Get ahead, refrigerator breaks. Get ahead, kid needs Invisalign. Get ahead, cars need tires. Get ahead, roof repair.”
This disconnect between wages and rising costs isn’t something only Redditors have noticed. Many financial commentators have pointed out that wage growth has failed to keep pace with the costs that matter most to households, including housing, child care, health care and education.
In one Facebook post, the team behind Good Financial Cents noted that earning $24 an hour in 2009 does not stretch nearly as far today, pointing to the faster growth of essential living costs compared with overall inflation.
To drive the point home, one Redditor likened keeping up with rising costs of living and fixed expenses to a game most people can’t win — not on their current salaries.
“It’s like a never-ending game of financial whack-a-mole, right?” they said. “Just when you think you’re ahead, bam! Another expense pops up.”
The Bottom Line
Despite what some of the loudest people on the internet — or in your own living room — might tell you, many people aren’t broke because they splurged on lattes or avocado toast.
According to Redditors, the real issue is structural: Flat wages colliding with fixed expenses, student debt and the rising costs that come with simply living a normal life. For many households, no amount of budgeting can solve a math problem that no longer adds up.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.
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