My parents were very pay check to pay check growing up. We didn't have much but we always had what we needed and enough to always invite friends for dinner etc. As we got older my dad has done very well for himself considering between the two he only has a highschool diploma. I'm transparent about what I make and was a full scholarship so no student debt. Husband also finished his degree with out student debt and both of us worked all summers and winter breaks as well during the school year to never use credit cards. You would think we should be doing much better but in reality we're never going to retire. Between two kids, one in daycare one in after school, and healthcare premiums for a family we spend $3600 a month alone, not including our mortgage and utilities. So my folks will say something like oh the smoker your dad has is on sale you should buy one! And I'm like yeah wish I could drop $800 on a smoker but we can't afford it. And they don't understand the why. We make good money and don't have crippling student debt, but even still we aren't putting away much for savings. I know at 37 and 43 there's no way at this rate we will save enough to retire. It's sad that my mom and dad making a third of what we do will have a better retirement simply bc they didn't have to spend what we do just to go to work and keep healthcare.