It may be different where you're from, but I'm from NS Canada in GDP/capita the second lowest in Canada with the lowest PEI. Alcohol aside, people spend their money on luxuries rather than saving it. Which is just fine as a personal choice, but when it's a societal trend that the lower class are going in to debt or not saving in order to buy luxuries I would say there are some gaps in education. I lived on minimum wage for years and saved large amounts in little time while watching people making more than me living paycheck to paycheck struggling simply because they didn't know how to manage their expenses.