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Older people didn't have it better they bought less **** than we buy today. People today think they need every gadget that comes out. And that is great if you can afford it but don't go buying a laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart refrigerator, cable TV, etc... if you don't have the means to comfortably do so.
You may be thinking of your grandparents. That's actually incorrect for the boomer generation. They were and still are huge consumers. Purchasing trends for those 18-34 are much lower than those 45 and up, which is a cause of utmost concern for retailers.
I didn't have much luck in the 5-10 min of searching, but I wonder if anyone else might have some better luck finding this out from a reliable source.
1950s - average household income
1950s - average higher education cost
1950s - average house cost
1950s - average new car cost
vs.
2010s - average household income
2010s - average higher education cost
2010s - average house cost
2010s - average new car cost
my hypothesis is that the percentage difference between household income and the cost of an education, house, and car will be significantly greater in the 2010s than in the 1950s.
I believe these causes would be due to inflation mixed with stagnant wages as well as soaring costs of education, real estate and vehicle pricing.
the student loan bubble is just the nail in the coffin I guess. now, young people go to school, go $50,000-$100,000 in debt only to end up working at starbucks after graduation. the boomers have the holier-than-thou attitude only because they rode the coattails of the biggest era of American prosperity in history.
I am so sick of the level of complainypants coming from the boomers about the millenials when it is actually their fault for putting their own self-gratifications before raising their kids.
What's all this student loan stuff? It's not a necessary qualification to finding a job...that's just a myth perpetuated by the institutions to assure their own financial security. College isn't going to create jobs that aren't there to begin with, as most are aware there are plenty of graduates with no jobs. My generation went straight to work at 16 and were also going to high school...we didn't have the luxury of kicking it at the folks house until we could go out and get our first condo. We didn't ride anyone's coat tails,if anything we had it harder because there was no pc police preventing our parents from kicking our butts out the door!
You may be thinking of your grandparents. That's actually incorrect for the boomer generation. They were and still are huge consumers. Purchasing trends for those 18-34 are much lower than those 45 and up, which is a cause of utmost concern for retailers.
In that Elizabeth Warren video linked upthread, she points out that consumers are spending less and less in inflation-adjusted dollars on just about everything that isn't a mortgage, second (and third) cars, health insurance, child care and interest on debt. That's where the money is going, compared to previous generations. Sure, both parents are probably working -- but they're saving less and taking on more debt than single-wage-earner households did in 1970.
And this fits my experience -- clothes and shoes were once made in America and cost more (in 2014 dollars) than purchasing cheap, foreign-made clothes and shoes at a mega retailer. Food is less expensive at the big box stores. What costs more? Houses and the expense of needing two cars because my wife and I both work. We're both fortunate in that we don't pay out of pocket for health insurance. But if we did, it would be like taking a 30% pay cut.
Purchasing trends for those 18-34 are much lower than those 45 and up, which is a cause of utmost concern for retailers.
So what exactly are those 45 and up spending their money on? It's certainly not on anything most retailers have geared towards the current generation. I'm 43 and can barely find anyone my age and up who aren't even on Facebook much less purchasing the latest gadgets...
Not surprising. Although I like where I live, it feels like the quintessential low-wage service sector economy. Luckily it's cheap. I think a lot of the country is like that- jobs pay terrible but it's cheap so you can survive. Millenials need to move out of the high cost cities to relieve some of financial pressure. Or at least be less "poor"
No, not everyone can afford to live in NYC/SF/Boston etc, but many rural areas and small towns have virtually no jobs base. I use to work in southwest VA, coal country that is absolutely devastated. There is almost no work there, and what work there is often pays <$10/hr, and is crap work.
Let's say you're a Millenial from Buchanan County, VA, one of the most depressed counties in the country. At 18, you go to Virginia Tech and major in software engineering. You move back to Buchanan County and want to be a software engineer, but you can't because none of that type of work is available, so you settle for <$10/hr at a gas station/store/warehouse/etc, because the only jobs that are available are junk jobs.
Meanwhile, if you'd have moved to Richmond, VA or NoVA, Boston, SF you'd probably be starting at $50k+ with lots of room to grow.
So what exactly are those 45 and up spending their money on?
Health insurance. Prescriptions and long-term health expenses (diabetes management, etc.) Interest on revolving debt. Expense of having multiple vehicles.
No, not everyone can afford to live in NYC/SF/Boston etc, but many rural areas and small towns have virtually no jobs base. I use to work in southwest VA, coal country that is absolutely devastated. There is almost no work there, and what work there is often pays <$10/hr, and is crap work.
Let's say you're a Millenial from Buchanan County, VA, one of the most depressed counties in the country. At 18, you go to Virginia Tech and major in software engineering. You move back to Buchanan County and want to be a software engineer, but you can't because none of that type of work is available, so you settle for <$10/hr at a gas station/store/warehouse/etc, because the only jobs that are available are junk jobs.
Meanwhile, if you'd have moved to Richmond, VA or NoVA, Boston, SF you'd probably be starting at $50k+ with lots of room to grow.
In that Elizabeth Warren video linked upthread, she points out that consumers are spending less and less in inflation-adjusted dollars on just about everything that isn't a mortgage, second (and third) cars, health insurance, child care and interest on debt. That's where the money is going, compared to previous generations. Sure, both parents are probably working -- but they're saving less and taking on more debt than single-wage-earner households did in 1970.
And this fits my experience -- clothes and shoes were once made in America and cost more (in 2014 dollars) than purchasing cheap, foreign-made clothes and shoes at a mega retailer. Food is less expensive at the big box stores. What costs more? Houses and the expense of needing two cars because my wife and I both work. We're both fortunate in that we don't pay out of pocket for health insurance. But if we did, it would be like taking a 30% pay cut.
Housing isn't more expensive compared to 2006 though. Housing decreased drastically from 2006 to 2009, did things get better?
Housing is too expensive though in general and one way that we are absolutely worse off, because NIMBYism prohibits new development.
Health insurance. Prescriptions and long-term health expenses (diabetes management, etc.) Interest on revolving debt. Expense of having multiple vehicles.
This was answered quite precisely in this thread.
Yes,necessary things to life...not some trendy gadgets to impress others.
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