I'd like some empathy for all the taxes I pay, but I'm not going to get any.
I'm not saying its easy. I am saying its do-able with planning.
And for a LOT of people, it still isn't doable, with planning the way you're simplifying it.
You're setting up the scenario of having all your ducks in a row in just the right way. Not everyone has the opportunity and tools to do that. Backing it up with anecdotal experiences of a handful of people you know doesn't really help or prove anything other than you know people that bootstrapped just as much as you did. And I'm assuming some level of privilege you're not acknowledging while also sounding like you're pretty jaded from younger relatives or people you know who aren't willing to work as hard as you did, have more privilege they aren't taking advantage of. Your posts come off as if someone didn't do things the way you did, then they just didn't try hard enough. That's just not the case in many situations.
I graduated with student debt. But part of it was I made a conscious decision some of those years I wanted to just enjoy the college experience without having to punch the clock somewhere. I never bitched about my debt, I knew what I was doing and also cleared that debt about a year ago after making consistent payments of 500-700 dollars a month to the balance. Being able to contribute that much of my income to my debt on top of rent, groceries, and all other associated living expenses in California is not really possible for many.
It took me 8 years to get a 4 year degree for various reasons including major change. Part of it community college, part of it University, part working full time, part working part time, part not working at all. Part living with my parents, part living on campus. Part of it was grants and scholarships that cut down the tuition total by quite a bit. Part of it was parents paying for a percentage of tuition. And in this I acknowledge a ton of privilege of being able to just say, "nah, I'm not gonna work this semester and just focus on my classes and everything the university experience has to offer." Not everyone can do that or even have that thought in their head as an option. Even working full time, they HAVE to take on student debt still.
The newest and most expensive car I've ever owned was a 2006 Toyota Corolla (in 2008) that I sold after only 1 year. Most I've paid for a phone is about 40 bucks when the iphone 4s was a few models old and I ran that thing into the ground between 2014-2019 before it gave up the ghost. Current phone is free from work (privilege). Sure, I've bought 2 bikes brand new, both were under 10k. But the attack on people that have student debt, live with roommates, etc etc, because they buy a new 1000 dollar phone every year and need to drive a fancy car is lazy.
