If you’re a renter earning less than $30,000 a year — and tens of millions of Americans are — after you pay rent, you have $250 left.

Two hundred and fifty dollars. Per month. For everything else. Food. Transportation. Medicine. A car repair. A birthday present for your kid. An emergency. A future. How many months would it take with no emergency spending to save up for any one of those? How do you build a life on that?