I can relate to your talk with your daughter in regards to starting out in the field of education.
My first teaching job was in the Catholic schools. I think my starting salary was $13,000 in 1984. My wife and I lived in a small apartment after we were married. A hodge podge of furniture was the best we could muster; but we were always happy.
You make do... I see colleagues today, who are just getting married, and start in a nicer home that we have now. They still complain about finances, and have never gone through the apartment, duplexes, and starter home phases.
It is very important to relate to your children, continually, how important for them to realize that all the “stuff” you have was NOT there when you first married... that it was ACCUMULATED over time - as your stability and wealth increased.
I think that lack of understanding that is what has gotten so much of our economy into credit trouble, and possibly (quite likely) into marital trouble. The process of giving dollars that SHOULD be put into saving for the future goodies which will accumulate, instead going into the pockets of the banks, condemns people to never being able to accumulate wealth, and to a life of stagnation.
We have to continually preach this truth to the children who have respect for us (and even those who don’t).