Lots of good reasons why someone might end up in debt. I got divorced and laid off. Dog needed $2k surgery to not have a terrible quality of life. Got a terrible staph infection on my chest after losing health insurance. This all happened in a four month period. I moved to a cheaper apartment, cut off any subscription aside from internet, which I need for two of my four jobs, got a cheaper phone plan, and mostly ate rice and beans every day. Still, it's taken a year just to get back to zero.