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And a lot of times they didn't even have a phone. Going to a movie once in a while was a splurge.
Things weren't quite that easy for my parents; it took a while to get that house, lot of unemployment and a housing shortage after WWII.
Not long after they'd paid off the mortgage, HUD decided that was just where the new elementary school should be built. They were given a deadline to get out, a rent check and an insultingly small amount of cash with which to find something else. Not much on the market in their price range, so they ended up with a money pit which bled them dry for years.
No happy endings there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobKovacs
Here's a few things that may be making the difference:
- Did Mom and Dad have a car loan? Do you?
- Did Mom and Dad have student loans? Do you?
- Did Mom and Dad have credit card debt? Do you?
- Did Mom and Dad take lavish vacations, go out partying every weekend, etc? Do you?
- Did Mom and Dad have a $100/month cable bill, $40/mo hi-speed internet access, and $100/month phone/voicemail/texting/email bill? Do you?
These things aren't meant as digs against you, but rather to show the differences between then and now that make it harder for young folks to buy a home. Add in the disparity in the affordability index between then and now, and you see the problem.
my parents didn't buy their first home until they were in their mid 40's - paid $12K and wondered if they'd have enough for the mortgage each month.
i'd say we have it better. and I agree with most here about perception.
My parents bought a block of land, and my father built the house largely on his own. They were in a modest apartment until they had their second child (late 20s), then we all lived together in a 1 room building (later became a workshop) for a few years while dad was building the house. They never bought new cars when I was growing up, and in the early years they would drive hand-me-downs from other relatives.
In terms of access to great technology, we obviously have it better. In terms of housing, it was OK pre-bubble.
I think any recent college graduate who is looking at the housing market is wondering how anyone comes to have the kind of money that places sell for today. For the most part, it's because they locked in a price before the market went crazy.
My parents bought a block of land, and my father built the house largely on his own. They were in a modest apartment until they had their second child (late 20s), then we all lived together in a 1 room building (later became a workshop) for a few years while dad was building the house. They never bought new cars when I was growing up, and in the early years they would drive hand-me-downs from other relatives.
In terms of access to great technology, we obviously have it better. In terms of housing, it was OK pre-bubble.
I think any recent college graduate who is looking at the housing market is wondering how anyone comes to have the kind of money that places sell for today. For the most part, it's because they locked in a price before the market went crazy.
good point about cars...my parents bought their first *new* car when mom was 54 and my dad was 48. chevy impala - what a boat, LOL.
housing is returning to norms, and soon enough first time buyers will have more to choose from. of course, expectations have to be adjusted. you're not going to get your 3500 sq ft CHC with home theatre and 1000 ft trex deck.
I feel your pain. I'm 30 and I just purchased my first home. I've been saving since I was 21 to buy a house. While my friends bought expensive cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats I squirreled my money away in an online savings account and drove a Hyundai. When times were good I was making a 5% return on my money. I've had enough money for a down payment for a while now but prices and interest rates were too high for me to buy anything that wouldn't need an insane amount of work done. Now that the bubble is bursting I was able to get a brand new construction house for less than most used homes on the market, a low interest rate, and the monthly income to more than support the mortgage payment.
My parents bought a brand new house in 1975 that was bigger and had more land than mine... for around $30k.
My parent's bought their first house when they were about 40. It was a $49k handyman special. It also was a 3 family house. They would have never been able to make the mortgage without the rental income.
It seems, however, that salaries (in the private sector, at least) have not kept up with the modern cost of living. I have some friends who graduated college in the past couple of years and they can't find a job anywhere that pays above $40K. My mother, without a college degree, was making that at AT&T in 1985! Yes, we might spend a couple hundred more per month on cell phones and cable, but in the grand scheme of things it just seems that people are swamped because their jobs simply don't cover the cost of living adequately.
Personally, I think this has to do with a "glut" of college graduates, making the supply far higher than the demand and causing an overall drop in what companies have to pay people. Even armed with a college degree today, many people just can't make ends meet.
Some of the point here are great, though. There really isn't a need for a new car every two years, nor is there a need for a lavish vacation twice per year like so many people do. For example, my single, 29-year-old cousin has one of those few high-paying jobs left and between her rented luxury 3BR flat in Hoboken (which she doesn't need), a new Infiniti and probably four or five vacations per year, she doesn't have a penny to her name saved up. Meanwhile, I've made less than her for some time and have a very sizable savings account balance. Do I skimp? No, I drive a nice Audi A4 (bought it used for half the price as a new one) a boat (again, bought it used from a guy going through a divorce and wanting to get rid of it) and have gone on vacation (just once per year and searched high and low for great deals).
I think "society" as a whole is more difficult because salaries haven't kept up with increases in the cost of living but people have, in some cases, artificially inflated their cost of living beyond what is reasonable.
It comes back to two things: income taxes and medical expenses. They are both much higher now, on your paystub, as a %, relative to 40 years ago. Many mention the medical, however, hardly anyone has a problem with the insatiable appetites of federal and state governments to take more money from you.
My parents bought a house when they were 23. Not a bad house either. it sold a couple years ago for over 1/2 million
my mom was 1 year out of college when they bought, and she worked at a bank. my dad didnt go to college and his job was fixing electric poles... neither of them had any help at all (my grandpa's were a trucker and a railroad worker, and each had 4 children, so obviously neither were rich)
I am in my mid 20's now and i have no hope of being able to afford a house within 3-4 years. its messed up. Things are getting worse for the American public, not better. yet people have no problem with getting taxed more and more, and allowing illegal immigrants to take american jobs.
New Jersey needs big changes.
It's NOT only NJ, my friend...it's the US in general. 20-25 years ago - even before, you could make a decent living in the US w/o being a CEO, MD or corporate raider.... I often think back to some members of my family. We had a family member who bought a gorgeous home in Westchester County (was even featured in Better Homes & Gardens once for it's beautiful garden...) and the Mom did not work, the Dad (my great Uncle) was an ELEVATOR OPERATOR in NYC before he went into the Sheet Metal Workers Union. Their son enjoyed a great lifestyle as a member of the same union. My grandfather was a carpenter and eventually he and my grandmother bought a candy store. They did quite well too.
One thing is that there has been SUCH a huge displacement of jobs that were formerly in the US. Automation has increased bottom line for those at the top, but has taken jobs away from many. Don't even get me started on offshoring..... There is a huge glut of jobs that have left the US and they are not coming back. IMO, that's what makes THIS recession so hard too.... people have to be able to obtain work with REAL living wages in order for the country to prosper. That's getting harder and harder to do not only in NJ.
Altough I agree that things are much harder (or so it seems) compared to our parents or grandparents, reality is that they didn't have to HAVE 4 TV's w/ Cable/Satellite, 4 cars in the drive way, cell phones, 2 PC's or 2 Laptops w/ wifi, XBOX or PS2 or 3 or 4. Or they didn't need to go on vacation to Europe or Mexico or some exotic places (the jersey shore did just fine). What they had was patience & sacrifice and oh yes, smarts. JMO.
This is true too...we need more "toys" now. Not for anything, the homes of yesteryear were pretty simple too. 2 BR and one bath was considered just fine for a family of 4, and no family room - a living room did fine. If you wantetd to go all out a 3 BR 2 Bath was fine. Now you don't consider a home spectacular unless it's a little mini-mansion w/ all the fixings. IMO - WHO NEEDS ALL THE CRAP!
Who needs a home theater system and flat screens in each room?
I think my family seemed much happier cooking Jiffy Pop on the stove and watching the Sitcoms around the regular old 27" (GASP) in my grandparents living room.
As for the vacations.... Jersey Shore prices are higher than going to a lot of more luxurious places.... but honestly, my grandparents/parents didn't feel they HAD to take a vacation or two each year. I remember my mom taking off and our vacation was DAY trips accented by time playing in the yard... not bad actually.
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