Still possible - manage your expectations, be willing to move where the jobs are. Avoid debt
Not really.
We are being manipulated by the monied interests.
Exactly.
Would this guy be willing to live without air conditioning, $8 lattes, no dish washer, a 1800 sq ft house with no garage, not 76 types of cheese at the grocery store, 3 or 4 TV channels, oh and a TV would cost $2700 in todays dollars and probably only be 19 inches ....
Many live rather extravagantly compared to those in the past, but complain things are unaffordable.
That's the whole thing, 11th_VA. Ben Franklin warned us about debt. It sounds SO simple, but it truly is the thing that makes you free.
My parents followed that credo in the '70s and '80s. They bought an old house they could afford and we all had fun and learned a lot fixing it up together. We had dependable cars, and if one went south, there was usually a family friend who wanted to unload his ride at a reasonable price, and would even come over to the house to help fix anything that went wrong with it. My folks cooked and barbecued A LOT with good food that fit into the budget. We even had enough left over for Summer vacations into the American Heartland which all of us now-adult kids remember as some of our most cherished memories.
What's happening now is people spending FAR beyond their means for things they don't really need, who try to keep up with the "Joneses" they see on reality TV. It's a shame. Real life is a lot more fun, and -- amazingly! -- actually so much easier to do!
Exactly. It’s hard but it can be done. My son is getting married soon, I assume that when the first kid comes along in a year or two, his wife will become a full-time mom. He makes a very healthy income and moved across the country for the job.
Our daughter will have her first kid this fall. They have a much more modest income but she works as a nanny, so for quite a while she’ll just be adding another kid to the mix. The girl she nannies is looking forward to helping.
We pulled it off on a single and very modest income. Small houses, DIY repairs, always used cars, no debt etc.