Ok, now this is ONE of the reasons that the poor remain poor. Not the ONLY reason. And you'll see why this affects you... I'll loosely classify people's networth in groups. So a homeless person/poor has no place to stay, maybe living in subsidized rental flats. They don't earn much per month, maybe $800-$1,200 household income, they have trouble making ends meet. They don't have much AUM. And I'd classify a low income person or family is staying in a 2-3 room HDB. They earn around $2,000-$4,000 per month household income. They are comfortable but don't have much to save, or don't bother saving every month due to simple pleasures. At this income level, it's easy to spend on simple pleasures like cigarettes and not have much left to save. A middle income person/family is classified as staying in a 4-5 room HDB. Earning around $4,000-$8,000 household income per month. They are comfortable, they can save if they want to, or ......