Let's not forget about some folks who, through circumstances out of their control, have to deal with taking care of family members' welfare...and now have 5 phucking mortgages they are trying to cover by working their asses off by working 60+ hours/week.
So the household income may look really great, but the $$ going out is pretty damn painful.
The Credit card balances could be paid off by what is in liquid funds, but having an awesome credit score make the interest negligible. My wife will get 0% on transfers and shift balances around, and pay nada in interest while the liquid funds gain interest.
Everyone has a different set of priorities, so everyone's finances will be different.
