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Sure it's not the eighties anymore but people who were working age then were just living the life they had at that time. It was normal, they weren't expecting things to go south and thought their kids could have the same life or better. Wages were in line with prices, no one saw that as being spoiled, but as being normal.
But the Boomers WERE spoiled in many ways. And incredibly unrealistic. Heck, I'm GenX and I remember thinking that when I was in College. At the time I didn't recognize it as a generational thing, but it is. Boomers had/have this attitude that nothing would ever go wrong. They'd never get old, never be unemployed, never be disabled. They thought they could just live life day to day and not think about the future and everything would magically work out. NOT.
What started to pass for "normal" financial behavior (bigger mortgages, more credit card debt, home equity loans, etc.) starting in about 1980 is what sowed the seeds of the financial crisis in 2008.
I have NO idea how families are doing it. I see all these huge trucks / SUVs (I see at over 30k at the dealerships) on the road (no doubt they are gas hogs as well). I with my great job am looking at some 2001 vehicle so I can pay cash and not dig another $15k or so of debt to my tally. I could get into food, utilities, cable, internet, Iphones, etc.. I have a little used phone I got off Amazon with just about the cheapest plan available (no smart phone). Eating out? forget that.. can barely afford to eat in.
We are a family of 5. Our regular "bills", such as rent, utilities, TV, internet, phones, insurance, etc., equal $1500/mo. We bring home 4X that.
We own our cars. We have smartphones. We eat. There's money left over.
Me personally, I afford to live comfortably and save half my income because:
- I did not have kids
- I got a career in a sector that pays well and is secure
- I live with a roommate
- I never financed a new car
- I have zero debt
- I don't buy useless extravagance
- I don't eat out all the time
- I don't go out all the time
- etc...
I'm perfectly fine being a homebody now in order to be financially secure later.
I would wager a guess that there are a lot of people out there making far more than me but with far less in the bank, because they put themselves in the position of too much expense versus income and savings. Just because people have new cars and a big house doesn't necessarily mean they're better off financially. In many cases, it can mean that they're just incurring more expenses and liabilities, and are struggling just as much as a 32K salaried single person in an apartment that isn't financially savvy.
It's all about your choices and how you can leverage those choices to your benefit, or be a victim of them.
I think it's funny actually.. I did a salary assessment of some of the folks that work for me.. One after I calculate the hourly, makes as much if not more than I do. And she gets a mandated half hour break. I work through any perceived break.
The bottom line is this type of job with this type of responsibility should be getting paid more. What's allotted in the budget for this job is an absolute joke. Oh well you get what you pay for. This is just a stepping stone to get elsewhere. I would not feel comfortable trying to raise children on this salary, and this is suppose to be a "professional" job. Well they don't mind working you, but they do not want to pay you. I've actually considered stepping down to take a cook's job and getting a second job waiting tables.
I'd make more money. It might just happen. There's somethings backwards and twisted about our little society. Reward laziness and penalize hard work. I can barely even fire people at work if would need to for coming to work stoned or being a no call no show, and employees get rewarded for taking sick pay leaving the manager in the rut to cover the shift working seven days a week. Better use it up or you'll lose it.
All fun fun.
There's always hope.. China could invade the country to collect their debt..
No car is needed in Chicago and rent can be as low as $500-$600/month with a roommate.
You even can have a car, the trick is to keep depreciation below $150/month by buying used and paying cash, then paying yourself a "depreciation bill" for its eventual replacement.
Getting by on less than $20,000 a year is not living, that is barely surviving. Living is being able to own your own home.
Unless you have no mortgage, the bank owns it, not you. Just try skipping a few months' payments and see what happens...
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
Living is being able to take a trip now and then to some fun destination. Living is being able to go out to eat at a nice place every so often. Living is having a dinner party or back yard BarBQ at your home with family and friends. Living is being able to spend time with your family at the beach, mountains, park or where ever you go for fun and enjoyment.
So, there was no air travel and no automobile as recently as 150 years ago, and no barbecue grill. No fast food as we know it either. So most of what's on your list was impossible, so by your argument whatever people did back then, it wasn't living.
And in 2200, people with the mentality that you have will be saying that if you do not own a jet pack and a space elevator, you're not living.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
Living is being able to walk into a store and say I want that and you take it home with you.
You can do that on $20,000 a year as well, provided it's a thrift shop or a grocery store and you don't set foot in the aisles of anything other than the staples
You can even buy an expensive, luxury thing like a nice computer, a suit, or a refridgerator on that income, just not more than once or twice a year
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
Years ago I worked 3 jobs to get my start in life. I was able to move into my current position because of the hard work that I did in my 20's. Now I don't have to work 2 or 3 jobs. In just over 10 years our home will be paid off. In 18 to 20 years our retirement will be where we need it to be. Still I don't plan on ending my career for many years to come. We have started a business and plan on that helping out financial growth. The truth is that I would rather have a six figure income and be able to live than to just survive on $20,000.
Congratulations - most of the world's population is nowhere near that...
But the Boomers WERE spoiled in many ways. And incredibly unrealistic. Heck, I'm GenX and I remember thinking that when I was in College. At the time I didn't recognize it as a generational thing, but it is. Boomers had/have this attitude that nothing would ever go wrong. They'd never get old, never be unemployed, never be disabled. They thought they could just live life day to day and not think about the future and everything would magically work out. NOT.
What started to pass for "normal" financial behavior (bigger mortgages, more credit card debt, home equity loans, etc.) starting in about 1980 is what sowed the seeds of the financial crisis in 2008.
I've read a number of your posts here and I can't believe that you actually believe that. Plenty of boomers have been made redundant, outsourced and kicked to the curb. They had retirement plans, 401k plans, emergency funds. In many cases, it was not enough. It's quite sad to see people who were quite cautious be stuck between that rock and the hard place.
I've read a number of your posts here and I can't believe that you actually believe that. Plenty of boomers have been made redundant, outsourced and kicked to the curb. They had retirement plans, 401k plans, emergency funds. In many cases, it was not enough. It's quite sad to see people who were quite cautious be stuck between that rock and the hard place.
We all cherry pick evidence to support our point of view. I know plenty of Boomers with the "tomorrow will take care of itself mentality". Now that tomorrow is so close, things aren't looking so good.
Certainly there are boomers who were financially conservative who were kicked to the curb. But the evidence is widespread that the Boomers did not save as their parents' generation did. Anyone who says otherwise is in denial or has been living under a rock for the last 30 years.
I've read a number of your posts here and I can't believe that you actually believe that. Plenty of boomers have been made redundant, outsourced and kicked to the curb. They had retirement plans, 401k plans, emergency funds. In many cases, it was not enough. It's quite sad to see people who were quite cautious be stuck between that rock and the hard place.
The few cases I'm aware of (unemployment lasting > 6 months) were cases in which someone lost their job and failed to cut their expenses appropriately. Like one guy who ended up losing 60% of his income but refused to give up the big house with its huge mortgage, thinking it would sort itself out. If his family had downsized to a 1-2 bedroom apartment or condo or mobile home, he would have had have enough money to last at least 10 more years. I do realize that 4 people living in a 1 bedroom is very difficult and requires some tough decisions about which "stuff" is really necessary, but you have to do what you have to do.
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I work through any perceived break.
