I was making $30K and my wife was making $27K. Interest rates were 10 1/2%. Inflation was nuts, so rents increased significantly every single year. We weren't in the ghetto. We lived in the Bay Area. I can promise you that eating out wasn't in our vocabulary. Whomever arrived home first cooked, and we weren't eating prepared stuff from Costco. Seeing Netflix and Spotify on there makes it also lose credibility. But similar to what people are saying in this example, it left very little for anything extra.

I remember thinking that I made the same amount coming out of college in 1987 that my dad made in 1960 (he was a pharmacist, I was working for a Big 8 accounting firm). It was $10.50 an hour. I also lived within my means going to college, got very little support from my parents, so I left school with no debt. What was huge for me was I was able to live at home for two years coming out of college. If you think that was enjoyable, you are weird. I paid my parents close to market rent (they needed the money) but I was still way ahead with no utilities and almost no food cost. Saved for a down payment. Some people don't have that opportunity, so I understand that it would set them back a bit.

It has been economically tough for a long, long time. We have two generations that have never lived through inflation. It was more difficult for me than my dad, and it is more difficult for my kids than for me, but not as much as people like to think. I can't remember when the labor market was so one sided on the workers side. We live in America. If there is something that someone wants, they can get it.

When I was 20 something, my standard of living was way worse than my parents at age 20. At 60 years old, my standard of living is significantly better than my parents was at that age. People who select majors that are almost worthless economically and run up college debt because, "they are fun" need to focus on that same fun part when they become adults and wish their standard of living was better.