I wonder how much different the story reception would have been if the last paragraph was something like:
"I hope other's can learn from our mistakes and learn to live below their means, because circumstances can change on a dime. Savings is critical, and looking back on things, we spent too much on frivolous consumer items like luxury vehicles."
It would have helped in my perception of these people a lot. But then, we do not know if they actually said something very much like this, and it was just omitted.
"I hope other's can learn from our mistakes and learn to live below their means, because circumstances can change on a dime. Savings is critical, and looking back on things, we spent too much on frivolous consumer items like luxury vehicles."