This sounds horrifying. How can people be that stressed? I would say, it is a clear sign to down-size: cut expenses in half, get an easier and lower paying job...

I find that for a lot of folks esp. in the first world downsizing sounds super hard. It isn't actually. The basic trick is sharing a roof, like teaming up with a grandparent who lives in a paid and empty house alone. The next step is more social kinds of free entertainment, playing cards (using beans, not money) instead of cinema, and turning alcohol and similar habits into exercise obsessions. Also, learning to cook turkey well, in Central Europe at least a turkey high has about half the price of chicken or pork, not sure why.