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re: Today’s cost of living
Posted on 9/24/26 at 1:23 pm to lsufball19
Posted on 9/24/26 at 1:23 pm to lsufball19
quote:
I'm just guessing, but I'd bet no one here was talking about twenty-five 100mile commutes per month.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 1:26 pm to AUVet21
quote:
I know it’s a first world problem and we do have 2 young kids that everything is expensive for but we are both pretty frugal in general and take maybe 1 beach vacation a year.
What do you both drive?
Posted on 9/24/26 at 1:32 pm to NC_Tigah
quote:
So you've never lived in a 1970's constructed home?
My parents' home -- which is now mine --was built in 1969-70.
It has ponderosa pine panelling completely throughout the home as well as oak floors.
Heavy oak front and side doors.
Custom pine cabinets and the type formica and linoleum in the kitchen that would cost more than most materials today if you wanted to replicate it.
Sliding full glass panel 6'x8' doors to patio
Wood studs, old Chicago brick
This home was built by a 28yo mill worker and his wife that wasn't working And on a government home loan with tons of quality/ cost restrictions.
Not saying there weren't cheaper materials used in many homes of this era but, if you are in a business where you see a lot of them, it's all the currently extravagantly expensive materials that really stand out. Unless they've been renovated.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 1:42 pm to AUVet21
I lucked out and inherited a portion of my house. By that, I mean that it was my grandfather’s, and when he passed it was willed to my mom and my uncle. I bought him out of his portion. It’s small by OT standards, but my mortgage is currently just under 1K for a 2000 sq ft houses that’s not in the ghetto. I’d say firmly middle to lower middle class. Without that, I’d be up a creek.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 2:57 pm to wm72
quote:
formica and linoleum in the kitchen that would cost more than most materials today if you wanted to replicate it.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 3:34 pm to heypaul
Trump should have been able to stop the WEF / Klaus Schwab phuckery going on in Amerika 2.0 
Posted on 9/24/26 at 3:48 pm to theliontamer
quote:
I do believe wage stagnation is a real problem, but we can thank the global economy for that. Companies have consolidated and gotten larger, these corporations outsource more work overseas than you think. Even in the early 2000s, this wasn't even considered, but now it is widespread, and not only are these workers willing to work slave hours, they are willing to do it for less pay. This has had a big effect on the country that people don't talk about enough.
quote:
This point gets talked about a lot here, but most women work professional jobs now, we transitioned into a dual income household world. However, the equilibrium is skewed. High earning women still seek out high earning men. This has exacerbated the wealth gap tremendously. 2 middle class earners will live a great life together, but 1 middle class earner who grew up and went to school with the others, and maybe even got better grades, but he married a part time teacher and they can barely make ends meet. These are the people struggling immensely.
quote:
My last point, on the other hand, everybody wants to own a home, but nobody wants to the do the required maintenance that comes along with owning a home. So they hire the dwindling population of trade workers to do it. Trade workers charge more money now, supply and demand. Part time teacher Karen thinks she is better off than plumber Jim, but then she receives the bill and thinks she's getting ripped off. How do people afford this, she wonders.
quote:
There are a lot of things working against the average American employee now, things that didn't exist when their parents were growing up. There is also more pressure to be wealthy and keep up with the Joneses. I think colleges and universities have failed us. They sold out for profit, and left our young people unprepared for the new economy. Going to school and getting a job at a big company is no longer a guaranteed path to success. I'd like to see more young people being prepared to go into business on their own. Technical degrees need to be pushed way more than liberal arts degrees. Trade schools need to be more respected.
Absolutely, 100% nailed it! If more people understood that good plumbers in a mid-sized city are making over $200K/annually the trade schools would get a lot more respect.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 3:59 pm to NC_Tigah
I'm not sure you've paid close attention to or priced a lot of common 60s-70s materials.
I've tried to restore my parents' home to it's mid-century design instead of an updated renovation
So, I replaced the kitchen floor with linoleum.
There were cheap choices that seemed cheap and like they'd last a year or two.
The linoleum flooring that had the same hard crisp quality of the 70s was actually more than most of the tile choices including the extra tile installation
I've tried to restore my parents' home to it's mid-century design instead of an updated renovation
So, I replaced the kitchen floor with linoleum.
There were cheap choices that seemed cheap and like they'd last a year or two.
The linoleum flooring that had the same hard crisp quality of the 70s was actually more than most of the tile choices including the extra tile installation
Posted on 9/24/26 at 4:07 pm to AUVet21
My first house was 75,000 in 1997 and I used the VA loan which was 7.75% at the time and I made $24,000 a year.
30-Year Fixed VA Purchase: ~6.625% to 6.87% (APR around 6.97%–7.09%) Is what the VA loan is now plus nothing down and no PMI.
Not sure if you are a military “vet” or a dog and cat “vet” though
Inflation, shrinkflation, stagflation, fact is we are just borrowing so much money that it is unsustainable. I see hyperinflation in our future, so really may not matter what your loan looks like.
30-Year Fixed VA Purchase: ~6.625% to 6.87% (APR around 6.97%–7.09%) Is what the VA loan is now plus nothing down and no PMI.
Not sure if you are a military “vet” or a dog and cat “vet” though
Inflation, shrinkflation, stagflation, fact is we are just borrowing so much money that it is unsustainable. I see hyperinflation in our future, so really may not matter what your loan looks like.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 4:16 pm to LSU Neil
I bought my first home in 95 for 80k. We had a 9% interest rate and a $1000 payment, including escrow. My wife and I made 50k a year combined. Now that same house is worth 270k. With an interest rate of 7% thats a payment of around $2000 including escrow. Today, we would need to earn around 60k a year to qualify for this loan, assuming no other debt. Obviously this isnt a particularly high number these days as the jobs we had then making 50k would be earning double, or more of that now.
This post was edited on 9/24/26 at 4:18 pm
Posted on 9/24/26 at 4:17 pm to lsufball19
quote:
I have no idea how first time home buyers with middle class salaries can afford a home right now.
Here's an idea that has always worked for me:
1. Find an up-and-coming area that you want to live and instead of buying a house, purchase a lot.
2. Pay cash for the lot. If you can't pay cash, finance it on a 2-3 loan.
3. During that 2-3 year period, you should have the house plans completed, and a general idea of the builders to consider and the cost.
The paid for lot now becomes the 20% down payment required when it comes time to do the construction loan to build the house.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to take into consideration:
For budgeting purposes, the value of the home should be 5x the cost of the lot.
If the subdivision has lots selling for 100K, then that is a good indicator that homes in that subdivision should have values of 100K x 5 = $500K homes.
Probably not the subdivision for a 1st time home buyer.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 4:27 pm to LSUfan4444
The most common reason people are broke these days. $900 car note that they always have
Posted on 9/24/26 at 5:10 pm to wm72
quote:Check out the price of a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing. ~$5M+. But it gets 10-18 miles per gallon, is a 4-speed manual, and runs 0 to 60 in about 8 secs. Today that Mercedes-Benz 300 SL sells at ~50x real 1955 retail value, not because it could not be manufactured identically today, but rather because it isn't.
The linoleum flooring that had the same hard crisp quality of the 70s was actually more than most of the tile choices including the extra tile installation
The same is true of linoleum, naugahyde, and formica.
Your parents' home sound wonderful. But it was neither "builder grade" at the time, nor is your refurb (which sounds marvelous) indicative of "better" materials.
The simple fact is, there is no comparison between natural stone and formica or linoleum. Just as there is no comparison between a gas guzzling, slow acceleration 1955 sportscar vs today's offerings.
However, your effort was not to move to superior materials, it was to move to the best available materials true to form for that home. That is great. But it is not relevant to the discussion here.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 5:18 pm to Tigersforthee
quote:Which is not to say anyone "has/had it easy." The attitude has seemingly shifted from "can do," to "can't do." Exceptionalism is increasingly languishing, which, given American opportunity, is just sad.
I bought my first home in 95 for 80k. We had a 9% interest rate and a $1000 payment, including escrow. My wife and I made 50k a year combined. Now that same house is worth 270k. With an interest rate of 7% thats a payment of around $2000 including escrow.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 5:22 pm to Tigersforthee
I really can’t figure out how people are doing it. 100,000 bass boats, 100,000 trucks, $500,000-700,000 houses etc
I could buy any of those things I want. Stop- I could finance any of those things I want…but refuse to do so. Just unrealistic
I could buy any of those things I want. Stop- I could finance any of those things I want…but refuse to do so. Just unrealistic
Posted on 9/24/26 at 5:57 pm to LSU Neil
Unrealistic for some
Posted on 9/24/26 at 6:09 pm to SulphursFinest
quote:
$900 car note that they always have
Most have 2 of them, and then complain they can't afford a house
Posted on 9/24/26 at 6:22 pm to kywildcatfanone
And I know its a cliche but they also both have new phones they bought on a payment plan so they've got a 500 a month phones bill as well that they absolutely dont need. But life's so unfair that they can't afford a house and they hope rhe boomers die in a fire because they ruined the world for them and their horrible spending choices.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 6:40 pm to AUVet21
Posted on 9/24/26 at 6:48 pm to LSUfan4444
quote:
What do you both drive?
If he's like 80% of the parents at my kid's school, at least one Suburban.
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