I'm still on the border of millenial and gen x. Our average home size has almost tripled since the 1920s. Expectations have skyrocketed but people still think they are just looking for what their parents had. It isn't true. People aren't willing to deal with any less. Back in 2005 I was just graduating from BYU. I had 2 kids and was earning 40k a year. We had cheap vehicles that were paid off, ate a lot of pasta roni and eggs and toast, and rented crappy apartments in Provo, one of which I got the battery stolen out of my car while it was parked in our stall (yep, the battery). I even got to the point at one time where I was asking my brother if we could borrow some money for just one month. Looking at articles like that just makes me think that people don't understand that they have to live with their choices. Getting married is a choice, having kids is a choice, choosing certain jobs is a choice. And if you don't have the money, don't spend it. Yes housing has skyrocketed, but not everyone gets to be in a home, not everyone gets to live in the best neighborhoods.