The late 60’s and early 70’s was when wages vs. cost of living were highest. A man could easily make enough money for his entire family. Most families must have two incomes now. Hate to say it there were things the GOP was against (unions) and for (”free” trade) that killed that lifestyle off.
When I was a boy (50s-60s) our fathers worked and our mothers stayed home. It was a neighborhood of 1000 sq ft houses with no AC. Each family had one car. A restaurant meal was a once-a-month treat. Everybody mowed their own yard. One TV per household (or none). No gym membership fees. Of course, no cell phone bill, no cable bill. Vacations were spent tent camping - no excursions to Hawaii, Cancun, Europe.
I'm not saying that our currency hasn't been debased and that taxation hasn't become onerously excessive but anyone who chose to live that way now could probably rely on one breadwinner.