If I lived in some city with a functioning socialist or democratic socialist government, with good public infrastructure, education, and health care, I swear like half my expenses would be gone. I spend more than $400 a month on a car payment (and that was after buying a used one many years old), a similar amount on a student loan, and about $300 a month on my auto insurance (which feels like it tripled recently this last year. Happening all over the west coast I’ve heard from others for some reason?). Plus there’s gas for my long commute, because I can’t afford to live near my work. Buying a hybrid car helped with that, but now I’ve got that car payment. Add in how much I pay for health insurance plus my HSA, and that’s basically a whole paycheck gone every month. It’s ridiculous when you think about it - that it doesn’t have to be that way.