Most Americans do not aspire to become rich and they certainly do not want to be poor.  Most of the U.S. population just wants to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle just like their parents did. Unfortunately, there is a huge problem. Since the beginning of this decade, virtually everything has been getting a lot more expensive. So even if your income has been going up, if it hasn't been going up as fast as the cost of living has you are still falling behind. Chasing "the American Dream" has essentially become like playing a really twisted game of musical chairs. Every single month most Americans are just barely scraping by, and every single month more chairs are being removed from the game. If you still have your seat, you should be very thankful, but I wouldn't get too comfortable because another major economic downturn is rapidly approaching.

If you are going to live a middle class lifestyle, you have got to have a home.

But homes are now more unaffordable than they have ever been before.

According to  the U.S. Census Bureau, the average sales price for a new home in the U.S. was $502,700 as of the second quarter of 2026.

And the national average for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage is now way over 7 percent.

Who can afford that?

The top 10 percent of all income earners can still afford that, but that is about it.

If you purchased a home prior to the beginning of this current decade, you are in good shape.

But if you are a young adult that is just starting out, you are out of luck.

That is one of the reasons why more than 25 million U.S. adults under the age of 35 are still living with their parents…

A record number of adult children under 35 in the U.S. are moving back in with their parents, either because they can't afford homes of their own or because they want to save money amid the rising cost of living, according to a recent study.

In 2025, 25.2 million adults under 35 lived at home, according to Realtor.com, which found that the share of adults living with their moms and dads was higher than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of these adults moving back in with their parents are employed, but their wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Among the 25- to 34-year-olds living at home, roughly 7 in 10 have jobs, the online real estate firm found.