To add to CA R’s post – society simply changed. You can’t turn the clock back. We are not going to live like our (grand)parents. It’s just that simple. Like color TV. Or High speed internet and computers and cell phones. They are needed, and you are expected to have the latter in many jobs. You are expected to drive (or be chauffeured) to a lot of places, beside work. Sure, you can save some by not buying the latest models, or buy used, or cheaper, generic brands and such.
I am talking macroscopic, as a group, about the average middle class person. I am sure there are middle class families who have to, or really want to pinch pennies, that can squeeze by without having those, or buying expired food, shop only at Goodwill, etc. but let’s face it, they are in a small minority. In the generation past, our parents (again, in general, on average) did not have to go to extreme measure to live happily on one income just the same as their friends and neighbors were doing. It’s not about keeping up with Joneses. The buying power of the”median” was just very different.
