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I love it when old people whine about how little they used to make and get by on

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Re: I love it when old people whine about how little they used to make and get by on

  • My daughter bought her townhouse in 2003.  She was caught in the housing bubble for several years, but she held on until it started to turn around. 
    I know people who lost fortunes in the housing investment market, believing that you ALWAYS made money when you bought a house.  If they had looked at economic history, they would see that this was not true.  My parents owned two houses in the 1960s.  Both were sold for the same price they paid originially, and this was not unusual.  During the Great Depression, prices of homes plummeted, and people were unable to pay.  We all know the huge numbers of homeless that resulted from foreclosures of homes and farms in the 1930s.
    Greed and crooked lending institutions caused the housing bubble.
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  • @cmgragain, my parents are very similar as well. They both worked their way through college, saved, and put their kids through college (another Hawkeye here!).

    Growing up, my parents drove modest cars that were paid for, we lived in the smallest house in a neighborhood known for great schools, and my parents lived carefully. While we did go on big vacations every few years, they were planned carefully for budget-- for instance, the trip to London while we were in HS was with tickets paid with miles, travel during off season for cheaper hotels, etc. When my mom would get laid off, they would live even more frugally and continue to save money rather than dip into savings.

    My dad was laid off at 59.5 and couldn't find more work. My mom decided to stop working a year after that. Both had good jobs but have never made large amounts of money. While they have made the decision to dip into their savings from time to time, it has always been for good cause-- to help my gramma with a downpayment into a senior home, to upgrade things on the house that will help with resale, etc. Their only debt is the house and they have made it a point to owe money on the house because they like the tax benefits.

    As adults, my parents have been able to be generous with assistance on downpayments and weddings.

    My parents have long made it clear to us that their financial goal was to be able to enjoy retirement without becoming financial burdens to their children. They're amazing role models.
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited August 2014
    DH comes from a different world from me.  His Dad was a lawyer, and owned a large real estate company as well as an insurance company.  His mother owned a farm.  He was raised to believe that he would inherit wealth.
    Fortunately, he is independent, stubborn and terribly careful with money.  We never received money from his family.  Now, there isn't much left.  We never counted on it.
    As I posted earlier, success means different things to different people.  DH has relatives who judge people by their income, their social status, and their fame.  It is very hard for me to be around them.
    When we visit, we are regaled with tales of how much money they give to high profile charity events, how much money their friends make, how famous and successful their children are.  I personally know that they were given many gifts of money to pay for education and their first house by the family, which we were not.  I also know that none of their children is self supporting (ages 24 to 30) - Mommy and Daddy are paying them an "allowance".  One has been in jail, but this is never mentioned.  Mommy and Daddy are still working full time to pay for their extravagant lifestyle.  They were all at daughter's wedding, and behaved rudely.  We have little in common, other than the family.
    Success?  I think it is independance.  Others think it is financial aquisition.  Others think it is education.  (I do value that!)
    It is difficult for every generation to struggle and find success.  As your generation ages, you will be surprised that it is difficult for your own children to achieve what you will have done.  Some will succeed.  Some will not.  I have several relatives on welfare, mostly because they were not able to make good choices.
    Good luck to all of you in the times you find yourselves.
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  • My parents are Gen-X themselves, so I don't hear much about "back in my day coke cost a nickle!" because it probably did not cost a nickle. Though my mom once told me about paying $10 for a dime bag and I was like "Oh, that's why they call it a dime bag, I paid $40...I mean what's a dime bag mom?" but that was about the only time.
  • When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

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    ha, I remember that!  Sometimes I'd just tell the attendant to give me $5 of regular.  The good ol' days!
  • JoanE2012 said:
    When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

    image
    ha, I remember that!  Sometimes I'd just tell the attendant to give me $5 of regular.  The good ol' days!
    No, it wasn't!  My old car got 12 mpg.  My six year old Honda Civic gets 30!
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  • CMGragain said:
    JoanE2012 said:
    When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

    image
    ha, I remember that!  Sometimes I'd just tell the attendant to give me $5 of regular.  The good ol' days!
    No, it wasn't!  My old car got 12 mpg.  My six year old Honda Civic gets 30!
    Another annoying thing. "They don't make cars like the used to!" 

    No they don't! Thank god. I like living after getting in a car crash. Thank you very much!
    Anniversary

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  • beetherybeethery member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited August 2014
    When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

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    I am fucking living and breathing for this Yetta gif. SO GOOD.
    --

    I'm the fuck
    out.

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  • penguin44 said:
    CMGragain said:
    JoanE2012 said:
    When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

    image
    ha, I remember that!  Sometimes I'd just tell the attendant to give me $5 of regular.  The good ol' days!
    No, it wasn't!  My old car got 12 mpg.  My six year old Honda Civic gets 30!
    Another annoying thing. "They don't make cars like the used to!" 

    No they don't! Thank god. I like living after getting in a car crash. Thank you very much!
    Ever hear of RUST?  The old cars were good for about four years.  We had a 17 year old Ford Maverick with no upholstery left and rust holes like skin cancer was dissolving the body.  It still ran!
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  • CMGragain said:
    larrygaga said:
    And how little things used to cost.

    Have they never heard in their very long, and clearly very wise life, of money inflation? 
    Ah-hem!  63 years old, here.

    I have never complained about this.  I am an educated lady.  I know how the economy works.  I also know that you have to make damn careful choices with your money to survive out there.  This was always true.

    My background is working class.  My father drove a truck when I was young, and was a road salesman later.  He died young.  I was the "smart girl" in class, and had a scholarship to attend an upper-class old south private school in Memphis.  I learned about class differences and choices.  I married a man from a professional family background.

    Everyone in my family thinks we are rich.  I agree.  We have more than enough money to meet our needs, and at this age, no debt.  That is my definition of "rich".
    The rest of my family has a different definition of that word.  It has more to do with "things" and less to do with managing a budget and money.  We chose to live simply.  My sister has a boat, a HUGE fifth wheeler travel trailer, new cars, $100,000+ mortgage, and more than $25,000 credit card debt.  She loves shopping.  She is 61, in failing health, but must work to support her debt structure.  She is jealous.
    We drive older cars (paid for), and just bought our first "toys", now that we have saved money for them.  We have plenty of money put away for future retirement costs, which is why we lived simply in earlier years.  We paid for both our children's bachelor degrees, and for daughter's wedding with no problems.  DH retired at age 55.  I retired at age 62.  Since we have no debts, it is easy for us to live within our means.
    As Baby Boomers, we competed with our peers for jobs, housing, schools - everything!  We paid about 9% interest mortgage for our first two houses, a far cry from what you younger folks do.  We also saw inflation explode the price of housing.  We grabbed the brass ring and bought an ugly house in a good neighborhood as soon as possible, and rode the elevator to 2008.  Since we had always been conservative with our requirements, including housing, we did not get burned.  We didn't pull out of the stock market in 2008, and that was a good decision.  We have yet to actually use any of the money we put away for retirement.

    My two kids have followed our pattern.  Both are debt free.  The fact that we could pay for their college was a big plus, though we did require in-state public universities as a condition.  Daughter got a major scholarship.  Both kids are home owners in suburban Maryland (Columbia).  They are living the same simple lifestyle their parents did.  We can help them out financially from time to time, and that makes us proud and happy.

    I see the biggest challenge to your generation as education costs.  The price of a college education can be astronomical!  My own college education was partially paid for by my father's death benefits.  There was money to help with it, too, but I only recently discovered this.  My crazy mother lied about her finances for years, and told everybody she was "poor", which enraged her relatives.  There are ways to get around the high costs of education.  Community colleges can get you started if you have the self discipline.  You can then transfer to an in-state public university.  No, it isn't like going to Harvard, but it is a good education.  Choice of study field will make a huge difference.  An art history major might be spiritually fullfilled, but simply won't make as much as an engineer, CPA, or medical professional. (Watch out, lawyers!  There are an awful lot of your competing for those jobs!)

    When I was at the University of Iowa in 1969, my tuition was about 10% of my mother's teacher's salary.  Today's tuition would be twice that.  I have seen students go into terrible debt to get the precious education.  This is a real burden, especially if you are marrying relatively young.  My daughter married at age 31.  My son is not married, but he is a computer software engineer, and makes plenty of money for his needs.
    Financial times have always changed.  In the 1930's, everyone's financial world was rocked by the Great Depression, and this scarred an entire generation.  Our government had to revamp itself and reform into a government that was responsible for the welfare of its citizens.  I live near a street called "South Camp Road".  It was names for the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp that housed young men who worked on the government sponsored projects to keep them from starving.  Most of them didn't even get a high school education, but worked from the camp.

    Your generation will adapt, as ours did, and as my parents' did.  It is equally hard for us to understand why your generation is sometimes unwilling to make the sacrifices ours made to get what you want, though.  It is not just inflation that has outpaced cost of living - it is also expectations and lifestyle.  I still don't own a smart phone.

    Both kids are mortgage-free? Man, I am jealous.
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  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited August 2014
    @steph11840 said "Both kids are mortgage-free? Man, I am jealous."

    No, not mortgage free.  No credit card debt or consumer loans (cars)!  It will take them most of their lifetime to be mortgage free, just as it did for us.
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  • steph861steph861 member
    First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited August 2014
    bostonbride2015 said: CMGragain said: I used to teach in an inner city school.  I wasn't objecting to cell phones, which many people use as their only form of electronic communication.  I have a basic flip phone in my purse for emergencies only. 
    I have been to many low income housing projects with huge big screen TVs, expensive gaming systems, Cadillacs in the front of the house, but no food in the fridge.
    Ahhh, got it.  Yes.  Big screen TV = unnecessary.  Big shiny car = unnecessary.  Gaming system = unnecessary.  None of those things should be purchased before basic necessities have been fulfilled.  And I also happen to think that not all educational debt is smart debt (taking out $100,000 loans for an art history degree probably isn't the smarted decision, nor is taking out $20,000 to go to a massage therapy school that you drop out of halfway through).  But I question the ethics of companies that make those types of loans to naive 18 year olds.  And I also grumble at older generations who criticize the work ethic of millenials who are trying their darndest to find a job but can't, and who are saddled with serious educational debt that was NEVER experienced by older generations.  It doesn't sound like that's you though.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total sidenote: Just before FI and I entered grad school (but while we were applying), FMIL asked us if we'd ever considered massage therapy. We said no, assuming she just meant had we ever considered getting message therapy (she was going to an RMT at the time). I thought for a second, because knowing his mom, she might have actually meant had we ever considered massage therapy
    as a career. So I asked. Yep, she meant as a career. 

    We were both in the final year of our social science degree programs and were very open about our plans to attend grad school and get government jobs. Nothing could be further from our personalities or career goals. That will always be my biggest FMIL "WTF?!" moment. 

    As you were.

    ETA: Fucking text boxes
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  • CMGragain said: @steph11840 said "Both kids are mortgage-free? Man, I am jealous."

    No, not mortgage free.  No credit card debt or consumer loans (cars)!  It will take them most of their lifetime to be mortgage free, just as it did for us.
    Ah, okay. Being consumer debt-free is still
    very admirable.
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  • My frustration also lies with the treatment of middle class. My FI (37 y/o) and I (23y/o) both make a decent chunk of change above min wage here. However, shopping for apartments to rent is RIDICULOUS. And lately there are so many nice "low income" apts going in that are in our price point, however, we make "too much" to qualify, so the only apartments that are in our price point that we dont have to qualify for are trash....Its frustrating to say the least. 
    Anniversary
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  • I'm the oldest of the millennials (born in 1982) and  I think I lucked out, because when I graduated college, the interest rates for student loans were very low. Even for people who are only a year or two younger have much higher interest rates than I do. I got a job right out of college.

    I have been in Boston for the last 10 years (since graduating college) and there never was as much a recession as in other parts of the country. Rents and housing prices are out of control, things are expensive, but there are jobs. 

    My parents would always say that my rent was more than their mortgage. My husband and I bought a house this year, but buying a house (in a suburb of Boston) is only a little more expensive than our rent in Boston. A lot of people I know recently are trying to buy houses over continuing to rent. And due to this the Boston area has been a sellers market. 

    My friend just bought the condo she was renting, and her mortgage is cheaper than her rent.
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  • CMGragain said:
    JoanE2012 said:
    When I started driving, gas was $0.96 a gallon. And cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. 

    image
    ha, I remember that!  Sometimes I'd just tell the attendant to give me $5 of regular.  The good ol' days!
    No, it wasn't!  My old car got 12 mpg.  My six year old Honda Civic gets 30!
    Sorry CMGr, my "good ol' days" are different than yours.  ;)
  • CMGragain said:
    In the 1960's parents who wanted their children to have a good education shelled out big bucks for a printed Encyclopedia - the closest thing to a modern computer.  It was a major sacrifice for my parents.  We couldn't dispose of it until after Mother died.  The public library was my best friend during the 1960s.

    PS.  Our two new "toys" are our first big screen TV, and the hot tub.  I feel guilty for the hot tub.  I could really do without it.


    I have a full set of Britanicas  in my basement. My father made payments on them and it was a huge expense. I take them out once in a while to see how much the world has changed.

    A child today, without a computer, is at a serious academic disadvantage. I consider my computer a necessity. I need my cell phone, at my expense, for work. The cost of medical insurance is disproportionate to what it was when we were starting out. A couple, back then, could pay for pregnancy, childbirth and aftercare by making payments to the doctor and hospital if they were very frugal. I wouldn't chance that today. When we took second jobs back then it was to pay for extras, like vacations, Christmas clubs and dance lessons for the kids. One full time, working class income was usually enough to take care of basic needs. There are more demands, now, than when we were young and starting out.

    I couldn't agree with this more. The world has changed, and there are a lot of things that would have been considered frivolities years ago that are now necessities just to keep up, and others that people didn't realize were such necessities, like replacing baby items to keep up with the latest safety discoveries. I'm sure my grandparents thought car seats were a frivolous expense when my mom bought them for her babies, just as my mom may think it's silly to put bigger kids in booster car seats. There are lots of areas where we need more/newer/different/more expensive stuff as time, technology and our own knowledge progresses.
    I wish I could "love" this more than once.
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  • About child care supplies - I just bought grandson supplies at Walmart for their visit in October.  I'm sorry, but except for the very necessary car seats, you people are lucky!  Garage sales were where I bought our baby furniture 34 years ago.  I can get things almost cheaper at Walmart, and new!  I'm going to keep this stuff for a few years, and when I'm done, I'll sell it at MY garage sale.  Things fold flat, are portable, made of plastic and vinyl!  Wow!  I remember the clunky high chair and huge play pen from 1980.  What a difference!  Sleep n' Play?  Who'd have thought!
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