My thoughts exactly.
My niece graduated from State University at Albany with a liberal arts degree and the intention to go on to grad school and eventually become a teacher. During the summer after graduation she took a part-time job with the NYC office of an Italian bank. Her boyfriend at the time worked there fulltime. Young and smart with discipline and good attitude, within three weeks she was being recruited by every department within the bank. She’s been there now for seven years, working her way up in the industrial finance department. She married the young man who recommended her for the summer job (he had to leave because of anti-nepotism rules and she was making more by then), they just bought their first home, and they’re expecting their first child.
Oh yeah... they not only saved enough money while they were making two salaries for a substantial down payment, she’s also planning to stay home with her baby because they’ve saved enough money to handle the new home with one salary. He’s an IT professional with a local cable network.
No big cars...
No fancy million dollar home in Chappaqua...
No regular trips three times a day to Starbucks...
Just good old-fashioned American common sense.
The American dream is alive and well here in Oceanside, NY.