Since 1970, the average American house has almost doubled in size despite an overall decrease in family size. Why? Well, since women have entered the workforce and their mates haven't started doing anywhere near 50% of the housework, a lot of women have made the understandable choice of letting the housework and cooking go. A messy house will seem more cramped than an orderly house so there is more of a need to upgrade. Plus, if you can't find anything, you end up buying the same thing over and over which means having more stuff. These bigger houses cost more than small houses, making it harder to save. Cooking from scratch will keep you off the couch and is less expensive and healthier than eating processed food.

I have bad allergies and am hypoglycemic, so living in filth and eating processed junk would result land me in the hospital. But I still managed to keep body and soul together on a $20/week grocery budget when I was working and studying 60-80 hours a week in grad school in the late 1990's--so don't tell me that being poor forces you to eat junk.