Just want to offer the unpopular counterpoint.

My gf and I moved into a house with her 3 kids moving in with us.

I had zero debt, decent savings - combined income ~$90k a year.

She had medical issues, the kids had medical issues, she ended up needing surgery, had it literally the day before Christmas. Her business went under and she was laid off (after literally being one of the last 3 people at her job let go).

Someone ran a red light and T-Boned me (in her car - totaled).

I ended up charged with PI and Unlawful Carry a block from my house.

All of this shit happened in one year.

Life can come at you hard and fast and it's not always easy to deal with.

I could ditch her and the kids and be fine on my own, but I can't do that in good conscience so here I am - in debt and living paycheck to paycheck now, with lots of debt despite financial planning.

Life doesn't just happen - I accept the role I played in all of this, but it's impossible to catch up when your income is halved mid lease and a bunch of shit happens at once.

Fortunately, when our lease is up in a few months, I have a rent free home we can move into and I have a plan to pay down debts while she gets back to work - this is thanks to a safety net that I was born into.

Most people don't have that.