What life exactly can people not afford anymore? The kind people had in 1900? 1950? 2000? What kind of trend are you indicating here, the last two years only or something broader? Because I don't know of a country not actively at war whose chance on a good life didn't improve over the last generation.
Things are ever getting better. Very few people would be willing to go back even to the level of life in 2000 where the internet was not commonplace (Wikipedia hadn't even started, let alone have some volume to it) and smartphones wouldn't exist for years to come either. Health and education also got better since then, though it was already very good in the rich countries that you and I are both likely from. Gas prices were lower, but you can choose to live in a place where you don't need to drive anywhere ever (i.e., most cities in most rich countries). I have a colleague in his 30s who doesn't have a driver's license because he's got no interest in it. It also saves a ton of money not to own a vehicle and just pay for the subsidized public transport. It's all choices you can make to live a very good life, affordably.
People conflate affordability of a certain lifestyle and affordability of a certain level of social status but they are separate things and people really care about both of them.
Define: life
What life exactly can people not afford anymore? The kind people had in 1900? 1950? 2000? What kind of trend are you indicating here, the last two years only or something broader? Because I don't know of a country not actively at war whose chance on a good life didn't improve over the last generation.
Things are ever getting better. Very few people would be willing to go back even to the level of life in 2000 where the internet was not commonplace (Wikipedia hadn't even started, let alone have some volume to it) and smartphones wouldn't exist for years to come either. Health and education also got better since then, though it was already very good in the rich countries that you and I are both likely from. Gas prices were lower, but you can choose to live in a place where you don't need to drive anywhere ever (i.e., most cities in most rich countries). I have a colleague in his 30s who doesn't have a driver's license because he's got no interest in it. It also saves a ton of money not to own a vehicle and just pay for the subsidized public transport. It's all choices you can make to live a very good life, affordably.