You've been lucky. I have lived on the edge, and not that long ago following the housing market collapse and an ugly divorce. The system is rigged to keep poor people poor. If you have the time and inclination, check out this article I wrote: https://medium.com/politically-speaking/the-rigged-economy-keeping-the-poor-in-poverty-f6c3b47ff433?sk=2c6c736e2a50c5618a2e3d4666e8c602