The author is convinced that the couple’s life sucks. He/she is writing from a point of view of superiority - “look, this is what they’re lacking, they can’t afford a Rs.8000 dinner”. To a billionaire, my software engineer life will look miserable - “They have to go eat at Panera and Olive Garden. For their employer, a nice dineout costs $5000.” Can we stop looking down on people because they cannot afford what’s nor…
Some anecdotal evidence I've observed when visiting the homes of the lower wage workers in Delhi:-
1.) If they have a proper brick and mortar house, even on rent, they consider themselves successful. They do a very good job of maintaining their local colonies, even better than some of the upper class areas.
2.) The people in the above situation were often adamant about sending their kids to school, and in some cases, even private schools.
3.) They use most of the electronics we use, just cheaper versions. TVs, fridges, even a laptop in one household.
4.) The biggest differentiator between a happy lower income household and a dysfunctional one was alcohol and drug abuse.
5.) The "bad" ones are usually counseled by neighbors and members of the community, and if that was to no avail, later ostracized. There was always a support mechanism in place for the (nearly always female) victim so that she could continue living in the community.
In all of the above cases, we see that their lives mirror ours, or in some cases, they've had to adapt unique social systems despite the challenges, which ultimately seem to be better than the ones we upper class folks seem to have.