To address your comment about the situation not being scary... I think it would feel very scary to find yourself in a situation where you don't have an emergenc

To address your comment about the situation not being scary... I think it would feel very scary to find yourself in a situation where you don't have an emergency fund. No one ever thinks that they will be hit with an emergency situation but I've found that 8/10 people within a 10 year period will be hit with an unexpected event where they need to use emergency funds (disclaimer: this is based on anecdotal evidence as observed over my life). If you or your friends couldn't spare 500 € to help a friend out I really wonder what savings you or your friends have. The most powerful tool anyone has to build wealth (and help others) is: * The discipline to live below your means (and avoid debt), and * Your income. If you are unencumbered with debt, and live as far below your means as you feel comfortable with, you can build a substantial amount of wealth if you have enough time. As to affording children, and I can only speak from personal experience, but I've found that a dedicated parent will always find a way. You're right that previous generations had things differently, but only with regards to globalisation... current economic disparity started to occur post 23 December 1913 with the Federal Reserve Act and post 15 August 1971 when Nixon unilaterally terminated the convertibility of the US dollar to gold. If you really want to know why you will need to learn how money is created and the economic ramifications of a fiat currency (and inflation) combined with a fractional reserve system.