Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No, not more and more roommates, just a sensible number. If an apartment costs $500k, then the easy solution is to not buy one, but to shack with 2-3 others and split the rent.
(Summary of the link: The housing affordability index was at its lowest, i.e. worst, in 1981 when interest rates peaked around 15%. The index was also at the peak of the housing bubble, but not as low as in the early 1980's. After the housing crash, housing affordability reached its all-time high, and has since fallen a bit.)
Basically we all need lower expectations! All jokes aside. I totally agree. If you can afford it, then great go for it. But if you can not, or you could but would not save as much as you would like then start cutting and downsize.
And, this is nothing new. Living within or below your means has always been a sure fire path to success.
And my personal experience says that is absolutely wrong. Where I earned my degree is actually more important than the degree itself. I'm not currently using my degree professionally. But it still opens doors any time I need to do so.
Not one peep from the anti-education crowd about the fact that a degree like mine is simply unattainable for everyone except the children of the wealthy. (Short of racking up six figures of debt, of course.) And it wasn't unattainable a generation ago. A meaningful discussion about that might cause people to reexamine their political outlook.
Plenty of stereotyping about how millennials aren't capable of putting down the XBox long enough to find a job to pay for school, though. No lack of sanctimony or indignance (particularly about trades). That's for sure.
This is not true. I gave you an answer, you just don't like it.
Activism to change it or don't buy into the racket.
Not to mention, that I doubt the degree you purchased was available to any other than the wealthy a generation or two before you purchased it.
Its no different than anything else. If for example, bacon is 10.00 a lb I don't buy it. Lettuce $5 a head, I don't buy it. I eat something else. Even if I could pay those prices or put them on a credit card, I will not because its not worth it to me. The value is not there. I could go on and on. I wont pay $500 for a pair of shoes or a $1000 for a handbag. Lots will. Lots of millenials I know do.
Don't pay 500,000 for a house where the average wages only support a price of 300,000 unless you are willing to take the risk that should you need to sell it may take you a very long time to get your money back.
Don't buy it if there is no value in it. Don't expect other taxpayers to prop up your desire to buy things that are not worth what you are paying for them.
I would be curious to know if what is required for the degree you purchased would have a significant ROI even today if someone went into six figure debt.
I would be curious to know if what is required for the degree you purchased would have a significant ROI even today if someone went into six figure debt.
After trying to parse your post, the answer is yes. The degree has a decent ROI, even today. And it's the sort of degree where there is a career waiting at the end of the educational journey.
People are still totally missing the point that education is not just about ROI. I didn't just obtain a degree at school. I met my wife and some of my best friends there, too. The degree has made finding and securing employment a snap. I won't even try to put a price on that.
And for the umpteenth time, someone like me could once upon a time attend school full time, while working part time during the school year and full time over the summer and graduate debt free. I actually had a small surplus when I graduated and used that to travel the world before settling down for a career.
Kids today simply do not have this kind of opportunity. They either have to settle for a cheaper school, or take on a load of debt, or attend school part time (with all the difficulty that entails). All of these make for a less-optimal start to life.
People are still totally missing the point that education is not just about ROI. I didn't just obtain a degree at school. I met my wife and some of my best friends there, too. The degree has made finding and securing employment a snap. I won't even try to put a price on that.
^This.
My degree has also put me in a profession where I love my work and would do it for free if I didn't need money. I *definitely* won't put a price on that.
I mean, using that line of reasoning, I should go on a fabulous international vacation every year and put it all on credit cards...surely "the experience" would be worth it, right?
You have finally written something I agree with. As long as the cards are paid off immediately, what's the problem? And yes, I think the experience is more than worth it. Travel is one of the things that makes life worth living. Travel isn't a throwaway expense -- it's investing in yourself.
My wife and I do this twice each year. (One of the reasons I ditched the professional world for my trade is that vacation time is much easier to finagle.) This is why I busted my butt in my youth for that sheepskin -- so I wouldn't have to worry about vacations, retirement, bills, and similar.
I find it amusing that so many people verbally trash good colleges as a waste of money. Most of the people I know who attended such schools enjoy a better quality of life. It's more than just an investment, it's an insurance policy against a boring life.
You have finally written something I agree with. As long as the cards are paid off immediately, what's the problem? And yes, I think the experience is more than worth it. Travel is one of the things that makes life worth living. Travel isn't a throwaway expense -- it's investing in yourself.
My wife and I do this twice each year. (One of the reasons I ditched the professional world for my trade is that vacation time is much easier to finagle.) This is why I busted my butt in my youth for that sheepskin -- so I wouldn't have to worry about vacations, retirement, bills, and similar.
I find it amusing that so many people verbally trash good colleges as a waste of money. Most of the people I know who attended such schools enjoy a better quality of life. It's more than just an investment, it's an insurance policy against a boring life.
It seems like the media is trying to do this because the fact is that the vast majority can't attend a good college. Demand far exceeds supply. They are either too expensive, or you have to be smart enough to get in and graduate. I think they're just trying to keep people satisfied by pretending that lesser colleges or even community college is equivalent.
The gap between rich and poor is scary and it is getting bigger. The available educational opportunities are just one other thing that is vastly different, and not probably going to get any better.
I know alot of millennial waiting for their parents to die so they can inherit the $$. Than life will be better for them. The thing is for the people starting out now, the game is stack against the vast majority. Imagine just renting/buying in a major metro area. The amount it cost now is that it is a 2 person affair (husband/wife/roomate) rather than what a single person would be able to manage on their own.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
