I work with a lovely man in his 50s, who is a constant reminder to me of the benefits of both self-care and mustachianism. He is overweight and having some costly health issues as a result (diabetes, sleep apnea, kidney back and knee problems), resulting in running out of sick pay and no savings. He also has two early twenty-something kids who don't work and have no plans to leave home, a wife that works part time only, so he has to stay at a job he hates (the stress is killing him) to support his family. They've recently remodelled the kitchen and bought a fancy puppy, so they had to add in fences, all costing huge $$$$ and stress.
Though he dreams of leaving work, his expenses are so high that he can only look at jobs in different fields grossing over $100k (hard to do when transitioning to a new field at 50). At the moment his heart is set on a new field that pays well, but is notoriously competitive and had a 12-phase employment process- costing him time and money for a small chance of bagging a job.
He's decided to get in shape recently (he tries this once a year or so, hopefully it'll stick this time)- he's signed himself and wife up for a food delivery system, all meals - I asked the cost- $159aud, per person, per week!! For comparison, I spend about $125per week total for 3 adults. On top of this, he still needs to feed his two adult kids. He's also joined a fancy gym near his place, $40 a week for each he and his wife. While I want him to succeed (he badly needs to get fit, his office is next to mine, I'm worried that I'll hear a thump and find him dead on the floor one day), I just feel so bad for him, he seems so 'trapped' in his life, and just unhappy.
While I don't love my job either, I've got a clear plan (out in 8 years with a paid off mortgage and a decent investment portfolio) and low expenses/enough savings that if the stress got bad enough, I could quit and sustain my lifestyle with a much lower wage.