To wonder what people actually expect and why they can’t just be happy to live simply?

First of all - we should work to live not live to work. SO many people can no longer do that as 2 average full time jobs do not provide a roof over the head and enough to live on in some areas of the UK unless the state steps in to top them up. State benefits should, quite rightly, not be paying for luxuries and fun.However, full time work should reward people for working and part of that reward should be to be able to afford something over the basics. I'm starting to see a bit of a trend to young people saying they'll take a job that they think is fun, albeit low paying, so that they can get topped up on the grounds that there is no point going for the grind if the grind doesn't pay.

People in the 'middle' are waking up to the fact that they have to lower their lifestyle expectations. It's particularly difficult as they see those only just above them pulling away quickly in terms of accumulating wealth whilst also having significant amounts of disposable income.

Because the desire for something better fuels creativity, invention and progress of both the technological and social kind.

Because life is to be lived not endured? TV

Just as someone’s mind boggles about why not just put the lamp on?

Problem is: a lot of people don't have enough money to pay a mortgage or cloth their kids.

The entire point of communism (in theory, though sadly not when distorted in practice) is to give people scope for self-fulfilment and creativity! OP's miserable picture is more a capitalist ideal.

Yeah I bet the billionaires say this all the time

Fecking plebs and their stupid dreams

Because people work hard. Make sacrifices either for their jobs or to help others and a healthy life involves more than just work,pay your bills and clothe your children. And not everyone likes the Sam things. Weird post imo.

my mind is blown but the sheer existence of this "gadget", nothing to do with cost, but why.. just why 😂

Because life is for living not to work like a dog for nothing. I can’t even believe your miserable outlook for life.

Keep checking....

IYKYK

Because, unless you really love your work, working just to be able to survive is a pretty miserable existence.

Interesting thread. I was thinking about 'lifestyle creep' earlier, and how much social media feeds into it. I saw an advert for a 'candle warmer' which is an electric contraption that melts the wax of your candle without you having to light it, so that you can get the scent. It even provides a simulated candle-like glow around your not-lit candle. My mind was blown by the idea that people might buy such a thing (plus the candle), instead of, say, buy a room spray and put a side lamp on.

Why would anyone actively want to live this miserably. Don't you have hobbies and interests?

Because I want my kids to be raised in the knowledge that it IS normal, and the question they need to ask to decide how they live their life, choose their education, their career is "HOW" they can have a decent life, not "if".

People ALWAYS had expectations, always had "luxuries". A part of the population might have be content to just about survive (even if it's more because they had no choice and were too preoccupied to just have enough to eat) but no one would have gone anywhere if the bare minimum of food and a shelter was enough.

Holidays, days out, a decent property, decent schools, and just enjoying life is my kids right and I want them to consider that to be normal. They just have to be aware that they need to fund it. Other people do, so why not them.

Not everyone can be a Hollywood mega star or a World Football champion, but anyone can get a job that pays more than the bills.

Because people don't want to work 40 hours a week to barely cover bills. It's not like the resources aren't there - they're just concentrated at the top as another poster pointed out. Plus prices rose so quickly there wasn't enough time for everyone to acclimatise. I don't live an extravagant lifestyle and have never been abroad or owned a car but everything is so so expensive now. Some foods have risen by 150% in price in my local shops.

Doing the same thing every day of the year would be boring. I like to have bigger things to look forward to. It helps me remain focused and work harder to achieve those things.

Because it’s very easy to spend time gardening, going on walks, watching films, playing board games etc. when it’s two adults in the house.

My toddler NEEDS entertaining and getting out the house, and with two full time earners we should be able to buy a coffee and cake without worrying about it! Or taking her to a soft play when it’s pouring with rain

Years ago, people were fine with less. Expectations were low.

But life has moved on and people want and feel entitled to more luxuries/fun stuff now. 🤷‍♀️

Unless you are very young, you must remember when it was possible to have a normal job, afford food and somewhere to live plus some fun stuff.
All this nonsense about being satisfied is just a way to keep us in our place and gloss over the fact that this country is hugely wealthy but the wealth is concentrated at the top and those at the bottom are struggling more with food and housing than they have for the last few decades, but of course we should blame immigrants and people on benefits - it's all a diversion - don't be sucked in op.

Are you one of those people who tried fun once and didn't like it, so you expect everyone else to be the same?

This is really interesting and is what DH and I were discussing this morning. I have a child in his mid-30s, I had another who will be graduating next year. I get that life is hard for younger people and families.
But I do think what is forgotten in the many, many threads on MN about how greedy boomers are having 14989 cruises a year while young families struggle is that expectations are SO much higher these days.
We passed a nursery at drop-off time today in an ordinary wc area and my goodness, the cars were all massive and no more than two years old. When did it become the norm to drive a huge SUV around? When I was a teen, an average family car was something like a Ford Escort or similar, and most (not all) families only had one car.
The amount of activities families seem to consider normal has ramped up massively too - all costing money from the family budget. Holidays and takeaways seem to be expected too.
So while I would not ever say young families can't afford to buy a house because they buy a takeaway coffee every day (although that's another relatively-new thing), the incremental increased cost of all these things that people seem to feel they are entitled to because both parents work, or we are a rich economy, or whatever.
Because what a pp described upthread as a miserable existence is pretty much they way life was up until about 25 years ago.

Who has ever said that it is their 'right' to have fun stuff like a takeaway or a holiday? What people are saying is that if they work bloody hard all week there should be something left in the pot for fun. People want to live, not exist. The fact is that hard work does not pay for millions of people in this country. It is ridiculous the state has to top up wages because salaries do not meet the cost of living. THAT is a scandal, I wish people like you would get irate about that instead of grumbling that people should be happy with less and less. Even when I was a kid in the 70s, working people expected to have some fun with their money. Pub at the weekend, a trip to the seaside, an outing to the cinema, that sort of thing. And by and large, they could afford it and pay their rent, without benefits.