the standard of living now to just 30 years ago is really like comparing apples to oranges. From the size and amenities in our homes to the "basic" necessities of life we have ballooned our cost of living until we can't afford anything.

Think back to when you were a kid. How many telephones were in the home? How many TVs and what kind of satellite? How many computers with what kind of internet service did your parents have?

In my home in the 80's-90's we had one telephone land line one TV with an antenna on the roof and zero cellular telephones and no internet.

Think about how much money the average couple spends on cellular phone service, satellite TV, and high speed internet. On top of those services how much is being spent on subscriptions to other services over the internet like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and the like?

If you look at homes built in the 1930-40s you'll be stunned to see that they are about 3 feet deep and just a little wider than the door. Why? People only had a few pairs of clothes at most and one or two pairs of shoes. Now we all have massive walk in closets. We have special shoes for running, cycling, work, leisure, basketball, dress and more shirts and clothes than can ever be worn. Two generations ago a person might have had one suit that they wore for years.

Sure our budgets seems tight, but people would find they had a lot more money if they got rid of satellite TV service, turned off their home internet, ditched their smart phone, and learned to get by just two pairs of shoes.