I agree with Andy, PS, and others — the consumption hamster wheel is spinning faster and faster and Joe Sixpack’s little legs are working harder and harder to keep up. I followed that link PS posted, which is interesting and informative, but check out the author’s blog which has posts from many CPAs and CFPs from around the country.
My guess is that birds of a feather flock together – most of the folks on this board are financially responsible and thus have financially responsible friends so we don’t see the real situation like the CFPs and CPAs would. My mom worked at a bank in the 90s processing loan apps and she always told me that I would be shocked if I could see how bad most people’s financial situations really were.