The old boomer formula that you talk about works. You left out location, location, location. Elon Musk lives in a $50,000 prefab in Boga Chita. It has gotten harder for each generation because expected life styles have improved. You can still get a BS without borrowing a lot of money. You have to pick the right school, not MIT or Cal Poly. Unless you live in Calif. You can buy a house with only a $20,000 deposit in a lot of zip codes, even some in Calif. It won't be close to Silicon Valley.

Expenses have gone up, cell phone, computer, internet, wifi, Netflix, Pandora, Prime, seems nothing is optional, you have to have it all. I could not afford to live in the dorm. I rented a room. I did not even have a TV. Even with my BS, I could not afford to own a home in NYC or Miami or the Bay Area. 40 years ago.

If you don't come from wealth, you should not try to live that life. I have always lived in less expensive zip codes. Yes, my pay was less but I think my quality of life is better. If I have to drive and hour to go to the city, Orlando, Daytona, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, in my case, that has been fine with me. I did not/don't do it that often.

TEK