Also, hearing people talk about spending is wild. Especially when it comes to things like toast, Netflix subs, smart phones, and televisions.

1. Avocado toast. Okay, discretionary spending is something everyone needs to keep an eye on, sure. But I don't think toast is why people are finding things unaffordable for things like housing, health care, transportation, etc...
2. Netflix subscription is as low as something like $108/ year. Not even worth talking about.
3. Smart phones are not really optional in today's society. People that pretend that they are cannot even be serious. Also, you'll see boomers glued to their fucking phones, too, so it's not like "constantly scrolling" is some exclusive trait of {generation younger than mine}.
4. Televisions. This is the one that seems to unhinged to me. Adjusted for inflation, TVs have never been cheaper, especially per square inch. Consider that the first color TVs were 12 inches in size and apparently $12,000+ in 2026 dollars. I think people that have their mind frozen on those kinds of economics are the ones talking about it. Suppose you had the room for it and splurged just a bit, and got a mid-range 85 inch television. That's still $1000-$1600, and a one-time cost (well, not counting the electricity). That is not going to be the difference between a down payment on a house or not.

https://www.cablecompare.com/blog/the-average-cost-of-a-tv-how-has-it-changed-over-time