> sharing a studio apartment with a spouse That reminds me, I forgot the other big item. Housing costs have risen tremendously. (Yes, even in places that are n

> sharing a studio apartment with a spouse That reminds me, I forgot the other big item. Housing costs have risen tremendously. (Yes, even in places that are not the biggest cities and/or on a coast.) Basically: all the financial factors that changed, changed against new graduates. I'm struggling to think of a meaningful expense that is relatively lower now than it was in 1996, and I can't think of any. I'm not saying it's not doable at all. I'm just saying that 20 years ago that $28k in debt might have been $14k instead, the $400 might have been $200, housing + other expenses would have been lower, and the graduate's relatively higher salary would have made the arithmetic easier. Put another way: if one had to share a studio apartment with a spouse to make the math work in 1996, consider how much worse the picture would be today for e.g a person unfortunate enough to graduate college single and unable to share a studio with a spouse. As you point out: there's less room for error now, which aligns with more people speaking and writing about the topic.