I did without a lot of stuff through the years, living off things others throw away, going to the second hand store. I still lived high on the hog in my opinion and have a fair amount saved for a rainy day(is it raining now?) I can fix anything(almost) so I hope to get my family through this. No luck involved. Just lived within my means just like you said.
Yeah, I know what you mean. You sound like you're far more prepared than most. My newest vehicle is a '97 pickup truck with 330,000 miles on it. I keep it in top notch condition and because it's a diesel, it'll probably go a million miles or more. My wife gets mad at me because I'm such a pack rat. I blame my Depression era parents for that habit. Over the years, though, I usually find a use for almost everything I save.
One thing is for sure, I firmly believe that there are a lot of folks in this country that are about to find out what "hard times" are really like. In the coming years, those of us who have prepared will fare far better than those who haven't.....