re: Is the economy really that bad?

I’m in a weirdly similar situation to you, haha. But I regularly hear rumblings about the struggle from friends and family, so I definitely believe it’s rough out there.

The economy is in the absolute tank!

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We bought a house last year.

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Look at how much you paid for it vs what it would have cost 10 years ago

No, it isn't. In a "down" year, I am still pulling 12% on my investments at "medium to low" risk. And I am still maxing out my investments and living comfortably. On track for retirement in somewhere between 7-10 years.

Gas has gone up. Groceries have gone up - maybe people will learn how to cook more? Still work hard, see the granddaughter every couple of weeks, and have my evenings and weekends free. Cannot complain.

BTW, for people that complain. Over a ten year period the average rate of return in the stock market has always hovered around 10%. Play the long game.

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nflation is still running over 3% and THAT is a problem. You don't feel it as much because as you said, you got raises. However, for most people, inflation rising faster than wages, so they feel like they can't get caught up.

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I make a similar salary to what I made 5 years ago (different job, lower work hours, better benefits, more pto, lower stress). 5 years ago I could afford to live without roommates while eating out most of the time. My bills were on autopay, and I didn’t worry about them.

Today, I cannot afford to live in my home without roommates. I have to budget my food strictly. In fact, I lost a LOT of weight a couple years ago because I couldn’t afford to purchase nearly as much food as I used to/wanted. I am constantly worrying about bills, and frequently working side hustles just to pay for unexpected bills and home maintenance.

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Over a ten year period the average rate of return in the stock market has always hovered around 10%. Play the long game.

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You can’t play the stock market without money leftover after covering basic expenses. If you don’t have money leftover after bills, you can’t build an emergency fund, let alone invest. I really wanted to buy bitcoin in 2011. I would be a multi millionaire today if I did. However, to buy that bitcoin would have resulted in me starving to death or being homeless at the time.

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Im fortunate to live and work overseas where I do pretty well.. but from what I can see (outside looking in), as well as insight from family/friends back home and just keeping up a varied news diet from different sources- there's not much of a middle class anymore in America .. It's the upper middle class & wealthy.. and much lower middle class & working poor & broke/poor/struggling to stay housed..... used to be the majority were somewhere in the middle, now way way more extremes .

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That is due to the tax system. This has been coming for awhile. The middle class have always held the tax burden in this country, and has shrunk as a result. A flat tax system would solve many of these issues. But the lower end don't want to or feel they cannot pay their share. So the lower incomes pay nothing, the rich pay very little percentage wise because they pay very little. They know the system. And the burden increases on the middle, shrinking it further.

Socialism most assuredly will not fix that

The economy as a whole just sucks. I tent to watch a bunch of YouTube 'aggregate channels' (social media posts from various platforms), and the things that are mentioned over and over and over and over ad nauseam is that things are too expensive, the job market sucks, nearly impossible to afford a house, etc.

I would say many of those issues are directly caused by Democrat policies, but its just the mere fact that for the last 2 years Republicans did nothing to solve anything is why they are in the position they are in today..

Wake the frick up. Just because you aren't living paycheck to paycheck and have zero debt doesn't mean that you're the average american.

“But the under 45 crowd,especially the 35 and under crowd,is absolutely struggling big time in this economy.”

Do you ever notice all the tats on the under 35 crowd ,they aren’t cheap.
Saw an under 35 couple a few weeks ago,both had full sleeve tattoos both arms and both legs,knees down.Google search-cost of full sleeve tats 4-8k.
Split the difference-6k x 8 extremities is right at 50,000k.

Saw another couple Friday at Sam’s,both had full sleeve tats both arms-again 6k x 4,right at 25,000 k.Had 3 cute kids,I suspect they had better things to spend their money on than getting all tatted up.

In my experience,more under 35’s have tats than don’t.

Nail salons,WalMart in Pineville has a nail salon,there are 4 more within 300 acre radius.Riding around Alex-Pineville can’t hardly go more than 2 miles without passing a nail salon.See young women everywhere with $60-$70 nail jobs.

Vape shops are everywhere.Fast food places packed everyday around noon and evening.

Coffee Shops popping up everywhere,$6-$7 dollar coffees.I was getting on my grandson’s arse about that,he’s in college poor as a church mouse but he likes those expensive coffees.

Cell phones-young people wouldn’t be caught dead with a Trac Fone,that’s what I had for years.

Shits more expensive I guess but it’s relative.I remember paying .35c/gallon. making 1.25/hr(before taxes)in a car that maybe got 12-15 mpg.

My take is majority of under 35 don’t have their spending priorities right.

I remember things being tight when the wife and I were under 35 and we didn’t spend money on all the things I mentioned.
It was all available except cell phones,we just didn’t do it.Wife painted her own nails,she cooked most everyday and we ate leftovers.Tattoo shops were few and far between but we certainly didn’t get any.

You don’t have to invest thousands. Not realistic unless you have a combined income above $100K before taxes. However, do you know that if you start at a young age and invest just a little bit, regularly over a twenty year period you will have a LOT more? $100/mo is $1200 a year. Which is $24K before any growth - tax free in a Roth. As I made more, I invested more. Don’t tell me it cannot be done. And I am not a boomer

Stop trying to get rich quick. Very few can do that