Fairly common in our well to do suburb - leasing a new high-end car or SUV every 3 years or so. Also, high end vacations at peak travel times. Around here, college stress is mostly about how to pay for a second tier, expensive, name-brand university, rather than about getting in.
Our Windstar was 14 years old before we bought a new car. Saving up for college did mean paring back on a lot of high end spending that folks in our income bracket are accustomed to. But both children are grateful that they don’t have to worry about college tuition. Also, grateful that when DH lost his job a couple of years ago, we were still able to continue our lifestyle and stay in our house because of our savings and the fact that our house was paid off. We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to save up.