Add to that, there is less up side in simple saving than there used to be. It used to be that if you delayed gratification/sacrificed to save for something you wanted to buy in the near-/medium-term, the interest rate on a straightforward savings account would help you get ahead (i.e. closer to your goal) and your sacrifice would be rewarded. Nowadays, you fall behind as prices escalate beyond what your savings can generate. 

I don't condone over-buying, I wish more of my young friends and neighbors were more careful with debt (particularly for non-essentials), but I'm also not blind to the fact that our present circumstances have created large disincentives to saving as compared with the past.