You are both absolutely right. It's just hard to keep perspective with all of scare stories floating around: there will be no social security left, with people living longer and health care costs going up...1 million in retirement will be nothing, college costs will go through the roof, etc.
Panick, panick, panick.
I know we have low expectation in some areas (compared to the American mainstream) and high in others (still compared to the same mainstream).
For example, I cannot conceive of having more than 1 car in the family (and that one, NOT new) but I also cannot conceive living in a far away, ghostly suburb either. I would never desire a big house with lots of space (Europeans are somehow used to squeeze the whole Home Depot in a 2 bedroom condo
) but I would never conceive to live in an area that has no cultural opportunities either. That means close in to the big city, hence pricey, regardless how small or modest the house is.
I hate "shopping as leisurely pursuit" and I hate techy gadgets - but at the same time I could never make myself skip the yearly trips to Europe (and not just going to see family but also visiting around some).
Most American families do not do yearly trips to Europe, this is seen as major luxury here.
Also, we buy much fewer toys and clothes for our son than many (maybe even most) people here do, but we are instead obssessed with saving for college so he can go to DHS (to be read "darn hot school"
).
So I guess it all evens out. My husband says that the only thing that allows him to sleep at night (considering his meager retirement account) is the thought that we will retire in a place with a lower cost of living.
But like I said...it may not be so 20-25 years from now.
I guess you just have to be as frugal as you can by cutting costs in those areas not important to you - and live life to the fullest in those that matter to you, personally.
But then again, I feel like I go around in circles: who's to say that having the latest gadget and shopping doesn't give some people the kicks of their life? It just makes them happy - just like traveling makes me happy.
Maybe for some people, having material possessions enhances their quality of life?...I don't know. It is not usually an accepted wisdom, but it seems to me that some people just thrive on this lifestyle, it gives them purpose, so they choose to live their lives like that. After all, what's the use in being secure in old age when you have lived your entire life in abstinence?
Such people (I mean the ones into spending on material possessions) live their lives to the fullest, in their own way. Would it be correct to assume that?