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People don't need cars. I have walked, biked, or used a high mpg motorcycle for the last few years to get around in your typical urban sprawl area. When the reality of peak cheap oil sets in, people will have to give up their cars in favor of the things I have been doing.
Not everyone can do that, though, or at least not without moving. That's why I said if you can live somewhere without a car before kids, then you can live there without a car after kids. (I have a child and no car) I'm not in my 20s, but we definitely factor in transportation when we choose where to live, and place a priority on the ability to get around on foot and by public transportation. Many people do not live where that is feasible, however, although that is increasingly what many people -- and perhaps especially young people -- want in a neighborhood.
Risk cannot be repealed or eliminated, it can only be masked or transferred to others. Stockton Cali. is an excellent microcosm of the domino effect and this economy.
I'm 29. I bought a shiny new car. I've owned four homes. Ive sold one and lease out two. I run my own business (in home sales) and did all of this more or less on my own or with a partner during the recession with money earned working 80+ hours a week for several years.
Since I graduated college in 2005, I've seen the market at its worst (2005-2007) and at its best (2009-2011), just depends on what your perspective is.
The Fed in 1982 changed the definition of core CPI to exclude the categories which were rising the fastest: food and fuel. And then they gave housing a disproportionate weight in determining the consumer price index: forty percent. The Fed has been using these statistics ever since, which have drastically understated the rise in essentials such as... oh, food and fuel because the housing market is still in the ninth circle of hell compared to a few years ago. And this is masking the true inflation which is crimping everyone, not just homeowners.
Just head to your friendly neighborhood grocery and compare the price of beef or corn to five years ago if you don't believe me.
It's amazing how much our government lies to us, isn't it?
I'm a forty something with a lot of kids. I'm not complaining, but my income has not increased in over 3 years, but I can guarantee you everything costs more.
Mine (Dec 2011) left me with $0/debt, same as many others.
Don't most parents still pay for their kids' college educations? From what I've been hearing lately many of those with a lot of debt are often Gen-Xers who went back later. They're also the biggest defaulters.
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