Do you think you could deliberately become poorer if you wanted to? If you do, why do you think you couldn't deliberately become richer?
This is the experience of many. The speed of the conveyor belt is why people can easily imagine falling behind (thats the diffult state!) while moving ahead is almost impossible. (It doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. From time to time someone finds a jetpack and propels themselves onto places where the conveyor belt is working slightly differently, but thats not going to be the experience of everyone.)
> To stay in one place one must do the right things at all times and also be lucky enough that no bad things happen to you.
"do the right things" is really not that hard. It mostly involves not doing things like getting arrested, getting addicted to drugs, or otherwise making bad choices. It's not some crazy delicate balancing act that you're making it out to be.
Which means that for many it's not a financial problem, it's a self-control problem.
I can't afford to save, but I can afford to pay 10-20% extra on everything through credit cards.