Savings

You must be joking. It is not so much the extras that you buy. It is the health costs, that are high and getting higher. The need to save for retirement . they are almost no pensions and SS funding looks shaky. The costs for college are enormous with top ranked schools coming in at $50k! I have been working since I was 17, except for a few years when my daughter was little. Worked my way through college. We bought a modest house, paid back student loans, have 10+ year old cars and are trying desperately to save enough for retirement. It would be impossible with one income besides the stress it would put on my husband as the single earner. We already cook at home most nights, have lots of board game and dvd/cable nights.
Sorry for the diatribe, but your article sounds as though you live in a dream world, not the reality for most of us.