I think you are reading too much into what is supposed to be an intrinsically silly example. For instance, I pay $1.25 for a large coffee nearly every day from

I think you are reading too much into what is supposed to be an intrinsically silly example. For instance, I pay $1.25 for a large coffee nearly every day from my favorite hipster coffee place for a good organic coffee every lunch. Yet I still am barely scraping by with a very high salary for the area that I live in, and I'm still barely able to actually save. If I didn't buy the coffee at all or if I liked sugary confection-coffees that cost $10 a day, it makes literally no significant difference in my coming any closer to owning a home.