I think the ease of getting a home equity loan and the ease of refinancing (see Rocket Mortgage, etc.) has reduced this forced saving dramatically. If you don't have the saving mentality, it is easy to get in the habit running up credit cards, paying high interest, getting a home equity or refi offer in them mail, deciding "save money" by cashing out any home equity built up to pay off the higher interest credit cards, repeat as necessary. This cycle is even more tempting in places where the price of homes have rapidly appreciated and the cost of living is going up much faster than wages or the official inflation rate.