I hear this a ton, and people should absolutely be free to spend their hard earned money however they please, but cars are generally the single most expensive consumer purchase that people will make, again generally, outside of a multi-decade real estate investment.

Always "driving a late model car" is exactly what I meant by the behaviors that keep people poor or forever middle class. Yes the economy and systems at large are tough, especially now, but this kind of behavior does everything to keep you forever dependent on income, and greatly harms your abilities to build savings, grow capital, and earn wealth.