My wife and I, over the course of those same few years, ended up buying many of those same items, staying debt-free, building a comfortable savings account and starting a retirement fund. We live in a society addicted to credit. Advertisers know this well and are masters at convincing us we need to keep up with the Joneses by buying now and paying later. I often see ads for expensive items, like cars, with no payments for 12 months. What a temptation to a young person wanting his or her dream car.
Many people fall for it.
They buy the car and 12 months later it turns into a nightmare. They find themselves paying incredibly high interest payments. They're working all day for the bank, not for themselves. Very few of us have had formal training in managing personal finances, so many of us have to learn our financial lessons the hard way. Commanders and first sergeants know that people make mistakes.