To this very day, I have never had a pair of $200 sneakers, and rarely go to Starbucks.
I'm amening Old Woman's post. I had already done a tour in Japan and shipped out to Europe before I had a car, which I paid for myself. Without the GI Bill, I would have never gone to college (too poor). A black and white tv was a luxury. We even got into the kids' piggy bank to buy bread and milk in the mid-60s.
Is there anybody on this forum who had to stand in line begging for food (an apple) or work as they did during the depression? Anybody jump out of a building cause the market went down?
Enough of this I'm poorer then you are/were. The point is to LBYM which is a central precept of this forum. We are SO LUCKY to have been born in the USA (on 3rd base, heading for home). I'm sure we got a break with WWII aftermath, but it could be argued that Europe got one too, as they rebuilt their infrastructure thus ours is much older now. I believe it is virtually impossible to not have a middle-class lifestyle in the USA if you (a) at least finish high school, (b) get married or into a stable relationship, (c) Work (d) save 10% or more, and (e) Live Below Your Means.
And, as Dennis Miller used to rant, "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong."