” I won’t bore you with details, but think about the huge differences in the size of their starter home, the car they drove, etc.”
I know what you’re talking about here.
Hubby and I took the traditional approach as advised to us by our parents...start out with a small inexpensive apartment.
Save up for a down payment on a small starter home.
If you outgrow that home, you can add on to that home or sell and put the money to a new home.
Now we see these early-twenty something couples buying McMansions right out of college that is fully furnished via credit from the furniture store. 2 beautiful brand new vehicles.
I have been wondering how they all managed to swing it because the math just doesn’t add up.
We have a twenty-year-old grandson living with us. When I write down what he needs to earn, actually bring home, just to live a minimal independent life I realize he simply can't do it with his education and experience. It's appalling.
He works for a chain electronics store in a very depressed part of town. My wife or I frequently drive him to work and every street corner near the store has several young men just standing around usually talking on a cell phone. They are there any time of the day. You have to wonder how they support themselves. Or maybe you don't.
Until we get back to the basics things are not going to get any better. Deep down inside I really fear we've passed the point of no return. There are simply too many of us that are totally dependent on government at various levels for all of our needs from housing to health care, etc. The “Womb-to-Tomb”, Nanny-State. And the number of them is increasing much faster than the number of producers in society.