this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2025
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Yes, but many people could downsize but they don't want it. I see it every day, in Germany. People want second cars and what not and come to the conclusion that they have to work this much.
I’m in NZ, we are 2 working adults with 2 kids in daycare, living in a tiny 2 bedroom place. We cook everything from scratch, rice/beans/lentils/potatoes/etc. We scrape by, but we’re one accident away from destitute. We can’t downsize any more, it’s a lot harder out there for some than many realise
I'm in a situation now. For a decade I got by on "just a little bit more than the bare minimum" - cue a regime change from social to conservative, and I struggle. That's all it takes.
Yes, you're not alone, so many people are experiencing this and it's awful. But there's also a large chunk of the population in the first world that doesn't. Absurd amounts of German parents stay in their large houses once the kids move out, only to just not use a couple of rooms. Stuff like that.
This sounds an awful lot like avocado toast
Because it is. Downsizing doesn't work if your next downsize is living on the streets.
Avocado toast is cheap. What isn't is how much money my coworkers spend on vacations multiple times per year etc. Like multi thousand euro vacations. Just like with 2 cars, it's a choice that makes you work so much and mostly makes you more dependent and pliable in your current workplace.
I can confirm from my own family and general observation - poverty for them means "below a certain threshold of wealth", not being able to maintain a certain status quo. And they fear it like actual hunger.
That's largely propaganda. Consumerism is rampant.