They only seem like that because they are
If you have a decent routine going (wake up, take a shower, breakfast - I don't bother with the one point with Sasha/Bree I can get there except for the initial rise, enough ways to max it later - work a four hour shift, drink coffee, go to the mall to grab a burger, work another four hours, back home, dinner, TV/ZBox, go to bed, something like that. The schedule is pretty much set by the morning restriction of when the shower is free) it isn't that hard. Every once in a while (as often as possible) raise your stats (charisma is the most difficult, don't bother with machines or books ot home training too much, go to university and the gym). Then money will come in at a decent enough pace and after a while you can also afford all the books (and order a room service to skip the chores) while with the raised stats your need max goes up far enough that it isn't a bother anymore if you switch off the routine for a while. If things don't work out, you can always have a "need day". Saving up for something bigger can be annoying (especially the sports car while avoiding to go to practice with Sasha to avoid triggering Kleio too early) though.
But yeah, I like "building the machine", so in many games I focus on getting my stats up and my rhythm going before I get to the "good stuff". If you ask whether any of the girls would go for a coffee with this first weeks square nerd - the answer would be "no"
This way of playing might not be for everybody though.
