If everyone took this advice, then the status games would change, because everyone would be more frugal and it wouldn't be about eating lunch with the popular k

If everyone took this advice, then the status games would change, because everyone would be more frugal and it wouldn't be about eating lunch with the popular kids. But because society as a collective has decided on these games, and decided that you need credit cards, and need lattes that cost about $0.10 in raw materials at home, then everyone has to play these games. Most importantly, if everyone refused getting mortgages, house prices would crash. But because mortgages (and low interested by the fed) have made housing more affordable to everyone, they've pushed up prices to where you're back to square one, except you have to pay interest as well as the house's price, rather than waiting until you've saved up the price. This goes back 50-100 years though. Here's an another option: start your own business, so you don't have to play these career games. There are a million options, it's just that they are harder, especially on a personal discipline level, which is not very popular these days.