I agree with you on major life costs increasing. However, you didn't explain why. There are, IMO, two reasons: - maintaining demand by incessant, aspirational

I agree with you on major life costs increasing. However, you didn't explain why. There are, IMO, two reasons: - maintaining demand by incessant, aspirational media pressure e.g. if you don't have a Cinderella-like wedding costing $100K+, you are a failure (it is the most important day of your life, right? right?) - easy availability of credit to finance these wants (not needs) A lot of people believe that a $100K wedding must be better than a $10K one, or a $75K/year college must be better than a state university. I'd exclude taxes and health care, though. These are a bit different, because you don't really have much of a choice here.