That is only looking at the saving side of the equation.

Now look at the income side. Suppose you take home $20,000 a year (or month if you are one of those). After 10 years of inflation, assuming you did not get a significant raise, you are now taking home half of the purchasing power.

Now look at this from a tax perspective. If you were lucky enough to find a way to double your take-home to $40,000, then you only stayed flat in terms of your purchasing power. However, that is now getting taxed at a much higher rate.

This is the hidden ceiling that stops most people from maintaining a reasonable quality of life. Just look around you and see how many people are driving worse cars, living in lesser homes, and they are working they asses off.