I see your point about housing but as someone with a house that is paid off I have to say I think healthcare is a bigger problem--at least for a lot of us. If you have a job--the right job--it's hard to see the healthcare issue. I paid $700/month for the last two years and thank God ACA was there. I had COBRA for awhile and it was worse. I am beyond thrilled that our monthly costs for ACA ("Obamacare") might go down. The difference between $600/month (my current bill) and $300 is huge! Even though both cars and my house are paid off, the bills for "living" are still barely sustainable --these include a host of other housing related costs like taxes, utilities & insurance. Although for most people I do agree, the biggest single monthly bill that is impossible to reduce is everything associated with housing: rent/mtg + the ones I noted above.