It's a direct time and money trade-off. People are spending time to obtain a standard of living that they do not have enough money to purchase with dollars.

You can light your money on fire by renting or you can be paying off a house at the same rate at the time cost of whatever your commute is.

If you want to eat healthy the options for fast meals get expensive. If you prepare everything from close to scratch you can eat just as health at the cost of time.