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.
I don't know how long ago this was for you, but making 100k even say as recently as the early 2000's went a lot further than making 100k in 2016. I know that goes without saying, but I think older generations kind of downplay that fact. Us millennials have it pretty tough.
I crossed into six figures in 2008, right before everything crashed. I'd gotten a promotion that came with a chunky raise, which was nice, because it would be five years before the next raise.
My daughter is a millennial, I think (I'm not up on these terms.) She will be 25 in August. She and many of her friends are eschewing what they call the corporate slave track and the pursuit of big bucks. She worked in Asia for awhile, teaching English, and now--with 2 degrees, in Mandarin and in Linguistics--she is working part-time at an ice cream store, part-time at a Japanese sushi and steakhouse restaurant where she gets to use her Mandarin because apparently most Japanese restaurants are owned by Chinese people, lol, teaches English to Beijing kids via Skype a few hours a week, and is reviewing some papers for her old professor, who is paying her to do so. She'll return to school in the fall to pursue her Ph.D. she shares an apartment with two other girls and can pay her bills and student loans, and she's happy with that.
most Japanese restaurants are owned by Chinese people
My Chinese friends have been...let's just say...amused...when they hear the staff in almost every NJ "Japanese" restaurant speaking either Cantonese or Mandarin amongst themselves.
Yes i'm a millennial and i'm feeling the pain. with a family of 3 where you are paying about $7000 towards property taxes and close to $5000 just for the commute. And including the car payments, day care and other bills, there isn't any disposable income
Buy a used car and get rid of the car payment. You'd be amazed at how life changes without two car payments. That new car smell doesn't last forever and buying a new car every three or four years is a waste, IMO.
Buy a used car and get rid of the car payment. You'd be amazed at how life changes without two car payments. That new car smell doesn't last forever and buying a new car every three or four years is a waste, IMO.
I have never in my life owned a new car. The one I have now is a 2010, which I bought in 2012. That's the closest to new I ever had.
If you are a commuter, it doesn't make sense to make payments on a car that sits in a train station lot all day, especially when the cost of going to the city is $400 a month or more.
In some periods, I really drove beater cars, and if I needed something more reliable for a vacation or a long weekend, I rented a car.
Yes i'm a millennial and i'm feeling the pain. with a family of 3 where you are paying about $7000 towards property taxes and close to $5000 just for the commute. And including the car payments, day care and other bills, there isn't any disposable income
On the other hand, in the eyes of some people you've got it all. A family, a home of your own, vehicles. You can afford things that other people can't, but you're upset that you don't have more. Maybe for now be content with what you have.
I have never in my life owned a new car. The one I have now is a 2010, which I bought in 2012. That's the closest to new I ever had.
If you are a commuter, it doesn't make sense to make payments on a car that sits in a train station lot all day, especially when the cost of going to the city is $400 a month or more.
In some periods, I really drove beater cars, and if I needed something more reliable for a vacation or a long weekend, I rented a car.
So true. I drive a 2007 Honda Accord. My son fits into this category of making close to 100K and doesn't have enough money. He bought a new 37K SUV with all the bells and whistles about 6 months ago. I offered him my car for free but I think he didn't want to be seen in it and didn't take it. Guess who's complaining about paying his bills. Not me!!!!
Yes i'm a millennial and i'm feeling the pain. with a family of 3 where you are paying about $7000 towards property taxes and close to $5000 just for the commute. And including the car payments, day care and other bills, there isn't any disposable income
This is how liberals become conservatives. Everyone is progressive until the sheet gets real.
Buy a used car and get rid of the car payment. You'd be amazed at how life changes without two car payments. That new car smell doesn't last forever and buying a new car every three or four years is a waste, IMO.
One car payment, maybe. I'd never want two at the same time. I bought a new car in 1998, and while the payments were a bit overwhelming at the time, I had a good, reliable car for fifteen years. I would have driven it longer, but it was totaled in an accident.
My parents NEVER bought a new car. They were Depression kids, and they were of Dutch descent, people known to be frugal. Some say cheap, lol.
But it was always considered a bad idea to buy a brand new car that depreciates when you drive it off the lot. My parents and other relatives always bought a car that was at least a year old or so because they felt it was a better deal.
Back in the 1990s, when my dad was still alive, I remember him telling me that when their church's pastor was away, they had an African-American minister from a sort of "sister church" in Paterson cover for him on Sunday. Because my parents' church was in Midland Park in NW Bergen County, it was assumed, I guess, that the people were wealthy, and this Paterson pastor would always give a plug about how his congregation was fairly poor and his church could use financial help.
But...some of the people in the congregation were totally turned off by this because the Paterson pastor drove a Lexus. To these frugal people of Dutch descent, you would never waste good money on an expensive car like that, so how was he complaining about his church not having enough money when he was obviously wasteful himself?
I have never in my life owned a new car. The one I have now is a 2010, which I bought in 2012. That's the closest to new I ever had.
If you are a commuter, it doesn't make sense to make payments on a car that sits in a train station lot all day, especially when the cost of going to the city is $400 a month or more.
In some periods, I really drove beater cars, and if I needed something more reliable for a vacation or a long weekend, I rented a car.
This. For the cost of a month or two of car payments, a more comfortable car can be rented for long road trips. I drove an old Caravan until the wheels fell off, figuratively. Now I'm doing the same with my Outback.
The poster mentioned car 'payments' (plural). That's $500 - $1000 a month ($6000 - $12000 a year) on a depreciating asset. For what?
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.
