It was exaggerating. Most of the middle class people had horses for transportation and all of the higher classes did too. We usually had to walk or not go anywhere. Half of the people couldnt afford the food on their tables-more or less- the clothes on their backs. Almost everyone made their own clothes. But it still was a cost. You had to pay for the needles, yarn, thread, and in the later days some people bought sewing machines.
