I was making $1.75/hr and renting a 2 bedroom home for $65/mo.
In 8 years I was able to save $7,000 for a down on a $34k home, in 1966, in a wealthy neighborhood, ( wages had risen to $$3.50)
Wow - you had one of those high paying jobs. My first one was typing collection letters on a manual typewriter at $.76 an hour. Worked a whole lot harder then than I do now! Still managed to put myself through college with no debt. Eventually got a job for $260 a month. Bought our first house in the early 60’s - brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $28,000 - also bought a new Ford Mustang for $3,000. Life was good.
“I was making $1.75/hr and renting a 2 bedroom home for $65/mo.”
That’s 37 hours of work to pay for a house - not a room.
You were getting paid the equivalent of what would be 14.84 dollars an hour, for what I’m paying for a room. Presumably full time?
How many 14.85 an hour/full time jobs do you see today?
Most of the jobs out there - if they pay that much, are going to pay you part time - say 20 hours a week, or sometimes less.
Or they cut your pay to about half of that and you work full time.
My last part-time job pays me about 10/hr and I only get about 20 hours a week. Still have the full commute. I would much rather work double shifts, I could put in a full weeks work, in 2 days, easily.
And I’m one of the lucky ones who has the job, having taken the job available.
I rest my case.