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You really can't deny that wages have not risen with inflation. That is the key. A decade ago I was making $10/hr in high school stocking groceries, there were people there making $12-$13/hr as full time adults able to afford a used car, apartment, etc. on their income. Now their income is still the same but hosing costs have almost doubled in the same time period, same with car insurance, food, etc.
Same goes for when I worked at Pizza Hut, a lot of the drivers lived on their own and did that as their primary job. The Shift Managers made decent money ($12-$14/hr) and also lived on their own. Now you need a second job above and beyond. No wonder our unemployment rate is still high!
You are correct. Wages have not risen with inflation. Also, the actual buying power of the Dollar has decreased as well. A double whammy, as they say......
I remember when $10 per hour was a half way decent wage for a young adult. One couldn't raise a family on that, but a single guy could afford a decent apartment and cover his expenses.
Speaking from my own experience, I don't have any "official" statistics to back this up, but the $50 Dollar bill of 2011 is the $20 Dollar bill of 1995. They have about the same purchasing power....
In 1978 my older brother graduated high school. Three months later he went to work for a utility company and started out at $8.50 an hour.
I had other friends making close to that amount starting off in other unskilled jobs. Now, that was almost 35 years ago and you could go out and buy a really nice home for $50,000 or less, and a new car for around 7 or 8 thousand. For those old enough to remember, the 70s wasn't exactly a decade of prosperity either.
However, back then private unions were still pretty strong and helped to keep wages in a livable range. Today, that's no longer true.
There's a direct correlation between the demise of private unions and the demise of anything resembling a livable wage. Granted, that's not the only factor involved, but its a big one.
If you are single you just need a roommate or two.
Where I live, tiny bedrooms in a house with multiple roommates start out at around $600, and thats without any utilities included. My sister recently looked at a 'master suite' that was renting for $1000 a month. I'm having a friend move in to share my tiny one bedroom because rents have gotten so ridiculous and she can't even afford a room anymore.
My husband was unemployed for 2 years. For the first year of that, I made $10 per hour. We have a child who needed all of the normal things like clothes, shoes, day care (if we gave up our spot, we wouldn't have affordable day care when my hubby started working again), school supplies, food, health insurance, etc. We own our house. Our air conditioner broke (in FL in Summer). We had a million things happen. I was able to support us on $10 per hour, handle situations like AC breaking, cars needing repair, etc., and put a tiny bit in savings. We do not have credit cards, so we didn't run those up.
It was hard. It was scary at times. I can say though that it is doable. We cut out as many expenses as we could. We never ate out (unless we got gift cards), I haven't seen a movie in a couple of years, we never ran our AC any more than was needed to keep the inside temp at or a tiny below 85. I can't tell you all of the little things we did to make expenses go down. We try to live within our means. We have a tiny house. It is just big enough for us. There was no need for a bigger house. It is also in a cheaper neighborhood.
Too many people think that they have the right to drive a brand new car, they have to have a 3 bedroom house if they have a child (spare room for computer), must have the latest smartphone, and of course they deserve to go out to eat since they work so hard. People need to adjust their thinking. Once they do that, they will be amazed at how little they need to make.
My husband was unemployed for 2 years. For the first year of that, I made $10 per hour. We have a child who needed all of the normal things like clothes, shoes, day care (if we gave up our spot, we wouldn't have affordable day care when my hubby started working again), school supplies, food, health insurance, etc. We own our house. Our air conditioner broke (in FL in Summer). We had a million things happen. I was able to support us on $10 per hour, handle situations like AC breaking, cars needing repair, etc., and put a tiny bit in savings. We do not have credit cards, so we didn't run those up.
It was hard. It was scary at times. I can say though that it is doable. We cut out as many expenses as we could. We never ate out (unless we got gift cards), I haven't seen a movie in a couple of years, we never ran our AC any more than was needed to keep the inside temp at or a tiny below 85. I can't tell you all of the little things we did to make expenses go down. We try to live within our means. We have a tiny house. It is just big enough for us. There was no need for a bigger house. It is also in a cheaper neighborhood.
Too many people think that they have the right to drive a brand new car, they have to have a 3 bedroom house if they have a child (spare room for computer), must have the latest smartphone, and of course they deserve to go out to eat since they work so hard. People need to adjust their thinking. Once they do that, they will be amazed at how little they need to make.
People with children get alot of assistance than those without children. I am not saying you received any assistance but I know those who have and currently do but like to omit that when they talk about how they "survive". I am sure you qualified for day care assistance programs, food stamps, financial aid should you decide to learn a trade or get a degree,energy assistance, etc. A single person making $10 an hr gets nothing but a kick in the back from the government.
Some people might think roommates are cool when they're young. But how many people want roommates when they're middle aged? Very few.
How true. But most of us who have been forced to start over didn't think we would ever be in this position again either.
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