I think it's just hard to compare between the generations due to changes in how lifestyles are financed. My parents came out of school with no debt and were abl

I think it's just hard to compare between the generations due to changes in how lifestyles are financed. My parents came out of school with no debt and were able to buy a house way before me. I came out of school with considerable debt and wasn't able to buy a house for a while. On the flip side, my parents talk about when I was first born and they had to choose between two toys because they couldn't afford both (a mirror and a little bird - maybe $20 each). I have never had an issue with access to money, even when I had nearly nothing in the bank and was paying down my student loans as fast as possible and something came up - a quick call to the bank was all that stood between me and enough to finance a full repair across the next 3 months instead of a bandaid. My parents didn't have that type of access to credit. Me and my dad worked in a similar role (software development - him for a bank, me for defense) out of college. Granted, even inflation adjusted I made a lot more than him right out of school. Also, even though my parents had a house way younger than me I wouldn't want a credit card with the interest rate my parents were paying on their house. It was insane.