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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
It’s not hard today if you live the way people used to. Live in a 1950s Wheaton rambler, No dinners out, no air travel, no cable, no air condition, heat set at 60, flip phone only mint mobile, no eating out, minimal Walmart clothing, used Nissan Sentra, use McDonald’s parking lot Wi-Fi, Walmart / Aldi groceries no name brands.

The money piles up and invest it.

Have some discipline like the boomers grew up in.[/quote]

Is your advice to live the decades of your life in poverty, pinching pennies and dealing with the discomfort of extreme weather while earning well and putting away cash and hope to enjoy it in old age hopefully if you don't drop dead before you get there?  :lol:  [/quote]

DP: It should be a balance of the two.  Sure you need to "enjoy" life.  But also need to plan to pay for your own retirement, etc.  DOnt expect others to provide it for you.  You don't get to complain that you cannot afford college for your kids when you have been making $300K+ since the oldest was 5.  Had you planned you can still live a very nice live with extras and afford 85% of colleges.  If you want those that cost 90K as an option, then you had to make choices and save more and spend less on extras.  But you had those options.  You could have lived in a smaller, not as modern home, etc. and chose to save more for college or retirement or anything else.  If you choose not to, then you have to live with the consequences.

But the fact remains majority of Americans do not understand how to live within their means. They also do not fully understand the differences between "needs" and "wants".  You don't need a smartphone, you do need a basic phone for texting and calls. You don't need a new smart phone every 1-2 years.  I've had my last 3 last for 3 years before they have issues (and then man, it's a quick demise).  You don't need to eat out 2+ times per week.  Most of us growing up in the 70/80s went out to eat 1-2times a month and then it was Pizza/Some restaurant like Sizzler (all you can eat for $6, so now maybe $15-18 per person).  My family never went to a restaurant and spent $100+ for 4.  My parents didn't order drinks when at a restaurant (you can make a cocktail or have a beer or wine at home for so much less).  Most 20 somethings I know go out 1-2 times a week with friends, at a minimum.  They don't pack lunches for work, they get food, they think nothing of grabbing Starbucks every day.  Those little things do add up (despite what you want to think).  And it's the mentality of back then, people were a bit more frugal and didn't spend money if it wasn't in their budget.  And most budgets included saving for retirement and college if they could.  
My Poor parents paid 10% of what they earned each year I was in college to match the same amount I came up with (I worked 50-60hours in summers and 10-12 during the school year/WS job).  The issue was my parents were lower income---I had 3 years where I got free lunch at school.  So it's not as if they were paying $50K on $500K income.  They were paying $4-5K on a $40K income.  And also paying additional $4-5K for 3 of those years when a sibling was also in college 
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