I don't think it's usually a matter of discipline in today's economy. More and more people keep having 0 money to save or invest after their basic expenses for the month.
Yes, it is. If we have a discipline, we will conserve energy, water, etc... and that can make our spending less as well. That makes us to have extra money that we can now use to invest. You still got a point that the economy can affect how we are living. It sucks to adjust according to them. The problem in the economy is still caused by a bad government. The only thing that we can do to fix or reduce the problem is by voting wisely during the election period.
It's like the economy wants us to remain alive only for working.
I think this doesn't have to do with the economy anymore. There are rich people but they can as well experience it. This is still our choice. Maybe if we will try to go outside of our comfort zone, then we can have a better life too?