The American Dream Now Costs $3.4 Million

investopedia.com ^ | 12/5/2023 | By HIRANMAYI SRINIVASAN

[bitt]

The classic "American Dream" including two kids, a house, and car costs more than most make in a lifetime.

The American Dream now costs $3,455,305—that's the estimated lifetime cost of common milestones including marriage, two children, homes, healthcare, cars, and education.

The cost of raising two children to the age of 18 is now estimated at over half a million dollars ($576,896). The average lifetime cost of a home including a mortgage with a 10% down payment and a 30-year fixed rate of 7.2% is now about $796,998, according to Investopedia's analysis.

The American Dream now costs $3,455,305—that's the estimated lifetime cost of common milestones including marriage, two children, homes, healthcare, cars, and education. The American Dream was one of Investopedia's top searched terms of the year, and is typically used to refer to major aspirational events and purchases like buying a home and car, getting married, having kids, and economically prospering. But rising costs have made the typical "American Dream" out of reach for many. In fact, the average lifetime earnings of Americans across all education levels is approximately $2.3 million 1 —that's over one million short of the estimated cost of the American Dream.

[Fuzz]

Everyone?

Since when do the posters here think everyone should make a lot of money or get advanced degrees?

Learn to code was a mantra here for a long while.

What happened to pull up your bootstraps or quit buying expensive coffee or get a better job?

Earn it.

[Sicon]

And did your daughter and her boyfriend pay the tuition for all of those degrees?

[Fuzz]

Not all of it yet.

[dragnet2]

I understand Bob, I spend most of my life at invasion ground zero...LA area...Saw it go from the crown jewel of the U.S. to a s**t bucket. During the Bush years, they ramped the invasion up dramatically, aiding and abetting millions of criminals, and basically destroyed the state.

[clearcarbon]

"The American Dream Now Costs $3.4 Million"

[Sequoyah101]

That is an incredible number. Almost a million dollars for health insurance!

There is also no retirement in this.

[Angelino97]

My 27 year old daughter has 2 homes. One has two apartments she rents out.

Dangerous to be a landlord these days. Rent control, tenents' rights and squatters' rights are expanding. Plus governments, state or federal, can now declare years-long moratoriums on rent payments as they did with Covid.

[Fuzz]

The defeatists here are exhausting. Can’t make money if all you do is complain.

She has created a company for the real estate since she plans on purchasing more properties. I guess she could declare bankruptcy if necessary ,like Trump has several times.

Squatters don’t have rights in NJ unless they’ve been in the property for 30 years.

[Angelino97]

Not that expensive at all to own a pet. Maybe $500 a year.

How did they come up with $68,000?

Vet bills?

Plus perks like god grooming, dog hotels (of which there are a lot), dog walkers, dog sitters, dog therapists, dog strollers, etc. It adds up.

[Bob Ireland]

***Saw it go from the crown jewel of the U.S. to a s**t bucket***

You have my sincere sympathies. We all saw it but from a distance; I don't know how to live through it - although now we are all experiencing the same thing. My country is now on target to become a s**t bucket. Nikki Haley wants to allow a million Palestinian refugees to come to the U.S. If this current massive invasion doesn't finish us as a country, a million angry radical Islamists should finish us swiftly.

Europe has already faced this. European culture is disappearing. The globalists have done a masterful job. Donald Trump represented a regeneration of populism; that final chapter is being written now. 😕