Great idea.
But your average American does not have the financial discipline to do without.
They want “it” (“it” being that shiny plastic pumpkin) and they want it now!
They replace the word “want” with “need.” Like, “I need that big screen TV in my bathroom!”
And they do some amazing mental gymnastics to justify their purchases.
The idea of paying your self first (i.e. savings), then paying the necessities (house payment, car payment, insurance, utilities, etc.), then what is left over is for entertainment has done a 180.
I hear about people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and they are in the middle class. Most, but not all, put themselves in that position by buying the McMansion, the flashy car, the newest iPhone, and all the gadgets they fill their houses with.
And yet they complain.
I know one guy, has a 3000sqft house, and a 1700sqft summer cabin in the mountains. He thinks the summer cabin is cramped! And it is just him!