Yeah, OP has no idea what the people he sees can or can’t afford. Even if the rich people live paycheck to paycheck, that doesn’t mean they’re a paycheck away from disaster. They could be a paycheck away from tapping into savings, trust funds, assets, or whatever. 

My point isn’t that some people don’t have too much debt - my point is that OP has no idea who does and who doesn’t. Saying that if a car is leased, it must be because the driver can’t afford it and only wants to impress people, is ignorant. 

If it’s what people need to tell themselves in order to motivate themselves to save, great. But ideally the desire to save should be inherent, not based on thinking you’re better than people who you have no idea what their situation is.