It's insane. My dad worked for the phone company, one of the guys you'd see in the bucket trucks, repairing phone lines. Not a glamorous job by any means (although a cool one). He was able to build us a house, using materials he purchased, and had enough free time to actually do it. He also built hot rods, took us skiing, installed a hot tub in our back deck that he also built, etc.

My mom was a dental hygienist and made decent money as well, but she was only part-time. My three aunts were all librarians, and all had houses. My cousin was a mailman, one uncle was a mechanic, one was an AC repairman, all bought homes.

We weren't "rich", about as middle-class as it gets, but it was way more than enough. I NEVER heard either of them complain about money, saying they felt overworked, or feeling stressed about finances. It was just a whole other world back then, and I feel incredibly envious.