Am I the only one thinking that life - living - expectations are more expensive today than 30 years ago? When I was a kid, car / motorcycle insurance was optional( irresponsible not to have ), I knew plenty of young people that did not have it. There was no cell phones that cost the price of a working used car and no monthly cost that a miser could eat for the same month. Gallon of gas was about 1/4 hour at minimum wage, now 1/2 hour. Cable television, that was something rich people have, my family did not have it until my older sister living at home and paying rent bought it. Now besides cable, there is the cost of internet, another thing that did not exist. The schools have this, that, and the other that they want us to pay into. My wife said that the mandatory locker, gym clothes, class items ran us about $600, and they sucked us for about 2K for the many supplies and programs that they came begging for. I pay homeowners insurance, flood insurance, umbrella insurance policy, car insurance, life insurance, renters landlord insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, I might have missed some.
I miss the times that having clothes, food, and a dry place to sleep was enough.
Am I the only one thinking that life - living - expectations are more expensive today than 30 years ago? When I was a kid, car / motorcycle insurance was optional( irresponsible not to have ), I knew plenty of young people that did not have it. There was no cell phones that cost the price of a working used car and no monthly cost that a miser could eat for the same month. Gallon of gas was about 1/4 hour at minimum wage, now 1/2 hour. Cable television, that was something rich people have, my family did not have it until my older sister living at home and paying rent bought it. Now besides cable, there is the cost of internet, another thing that did not exist. The schools have this, that, and the other that they want us to pay into. My wife said that the mandatory locker, gym clothes, class items ran us about $600, and they sucked us for about 2K for the many supplies and programs that they came begging for. I pay homeowners insurance, flood insurance, umbrella insurance policy, car insurance, life insurance, renters landlord insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, I might have missed some.
I miss the times that having clothes, food, and a dry place to sleep was enough.
30 years ago was 1984. I don't know about the area you grew up around, but in NC car insurance was mandatory. (don't know about motorcycle) Don't like paying for a cell phone - don't get one. Get a land line. That's what people had. You didn't have instant connectivity then either. That costs money. Cable TV - I had it back then. Don't now. Don't miss it. My internet bill is about what cable TV used to cost - under $50.
Having clothes, food, and a dry place to sleep can still be enough but people want more. While costs have gone up, the biggest increase isn't from inflation, it's from raising the standard of living. What was once considered a luxury item is now considered a necessity (or human right, in some cases )
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 05-30-2014).]
luxury item is not considered a necessity (or human right, in some cases )
I guess you meant "now" considered a necessity, and I agree.
Prices have increased since 1984. Postage stamp was $.20 in mid 80s-- Today- $.43? Bread in '84 averaged $.71/loaf. I pay around $1.20 today. 1 gal milk in '84 averaged $1.94--it's over $3 gal today. 70/25 ground beef in 84 averaged $1.30/lb--Mar 2014 average was $3.69/lb. Not just beef either--I bought 10lb bags of chicken leg qtrs in the mid 80s for around $5. You won't find them for that today unless on sale.
As Maryjane pointed out, there are many things that have gone up remarkably, and certainly not in line with how much wages have increased for a lot of people. I'm talking everyday basic type items, and household expenses. Mainly I think it's the reason our Economy is stuck in the mud.
Am I the only one thinking that life - living - expectations are more expensive today than 30 years ago? When I was a kid, car / motorcycle insurance was optional( irresponsible not to have ), I knew plenty of young people that did not have it. There was no cell phones that cost the price of a working used car and no monthly cost that a miser could eat for the same month. Gallon of gas was about 1/4 hour at minimum wage, now 1/2 hour. Cable television, that was something rich people have, my family did not have it until my older sister living at home and paying rent bought it. Now besides cable, there is the cost of internet, another thing that did not exist. The schools have this, that, and the other that they want us to pay into. My wife said that the mandatory locker, gym clothes, class items ran us about $600, and they sucked us for about 2K for the many supplies and programs that they came begging for. I pay homeowners insurance, flood insurance, umbrella insurance policy, car insurance, life insurance, renters landlord insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, I might have missed some.
I miss the times that having clothes, food, and a dry place to sleep was enough.
Well... inflation has gone up... but other than insurance, none of that other stuff is mandatory.
If you have an HD receiver (free / open air), you can get more channels now through your rabit ears than you could ever have gotten back then (in most cities now), and you don't NEED a cell phone... there's really no pay phones around anymore, but pretty much everyone will let you use their shop phones.
As for the insurances, I have life insurance, but it's not mandatory, I also don't have dental... I pay out of pocket, much cheaper.
What boggles my mind is how much more it costs for things so that it takes two incomes to do what used to be able be done by one. And then there are extra costs, such as child care, because that second income exists rather than them staying home.
I personally think that with all the so called advancements we seam to enjoy and must have the quality of life for most in general is less. Health, actually doing things, real interaction and the experiences and memories made because of it. Not sure this is quantifiable but it feels that way, and not so much myself being much older and quieter but observing the younger generations.
Technology takes a lot of the adventure out of life. Think about a modern day road trip in comparison to say before the 90's. When we used to take off for a week or two on the bikes we had a map and were ......................................gooooone. Now your pin point planned plotted and connected.
I personally think that with all the so called advancements we seam to enjoy and must have the quality of life for most in general is less. Health, actually doing things, real interaction and the experiences and memories made because of it. Not sure this is quantifiable but it feels that way, and not so much myself being much older and quieter but observing the younger generations.
Technology takes a lot of the adventure out of life. Think about a modern day road trip in comparison to say before the 90's. When we used to take off for a week or two on the bikes we had a map and were ......................................gooooone. Now your pin point planned plotted and connected.
We've traded exploration for a "comfortable experience with a reasonable amount of thrills:...
I'm doing my best to actively raise my ONE offspring "genuinely" (whatever the hell THAT means)
We have sever pressure to have more, but wtf - they are all beside themselves with their multiples, raising 3.24 offspring in perfect mediocrity.
[This message has been edited by TheDigitalAlchemist (edited 05-31-2014).]
I guess you meant "now" considered a necessity, and I agree.
Prices have increased since 1984. Postage stamp was $.20 in mid 80s-- Today- $.43? Bread in '84 averaged $.71/loaf. I pay around $1.20 today. 1 gal milk in '84 averaged $1.94--it's over $3 gal today. 70/25 ground beef in 84 averaged $1.30/lb--Mar 2014 average was $3.69/lb. Not just beef either--I bought 10lb bags of chicken leg qtrs in the mid 80s for around $5. You won't find them for that today unless on sale.
I think you may have miss understood. I actually think that food is an amazing bargain because we can get so much at the grocery store for an hours wages. And I mean the basics, not preseasoned wild salmon. Costco has a giant hot dog for a $1.62 with local tax. What a bargain. Those leg qtrs are not that much more expensive than they used to be many years ago, amazing!
Obama and maybe others have been giving out cell phones to individuals, we used to be able to get an emergency only phone that was to serve the household. The basics have been upgraded. The county health care is now an actual health plan(subsidized) with all the expectations that a person that works very hard would get. Maybe not paid out of pocket but, expensive and upgraded from years ago.
Some things are a steal compared to years ago. There are low end computers that will most of what people would use a computer for very cheap.
I guess I am mentally noting that I am running threw large piles of money(at least what I consider large piles) on stuff I would have avoided or approached cautiously as expensive.
I personally think that with all the so called advancements we seam to enjoy and must have the quality of life for most in general is less. Health, actually doing things, real interaction and the experiences and memories made because of it. Not sure this is quantifiable but it feels that way, and not so much myself being much older and quieter but observing the younger generations.
Technology takes a lot of the adventure out of life. Think about a modern day road trip in comparison to say before the 90's. When we used to take off for a week or two on the bikes we had a map and were ......................................gooooone. Now your pin point planned plotted and connected.
Holy **** you are so right. I came to the same conclusion just reading your first sentence.
Honestly, I STILL enjoy doing the same things I did 10-20-30 years ago.
My most detested possession... my cell phone. My favorite pastime... going to the beach and / or a national or state park. My favorite gaming console... Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, and the Atari 2600. My favorite car... Pontiac Fiero All my favorite computer games are the same old games I played in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s.
I really think people are SO caught up in the latest and greatest of technology that it tends to consume them. Your road-trip example is perfect. Flying is convenient... but I like driving far more. I like the journey sometimes MORE than I do the destination. I take a lot of road trips with my family because it's fun, and we can unwind and not have to "rush" to our vacation.
I am too young to remember "the glory days" but I understand that everything outside of basic necessities is a choice I make. I chose my better-than-average apartment, the fancy electronics, my new car and motorcycle, my drinking habits, travel arrangements... and I'm glad I'm doing so because my life ****ing rocks! I don't understand the hate for cell phones. If you don't want to use it at any given time... turn it off. I like being connected sometimes, sometimes I don't! But the option is nice.
I go to work and I am still able to discreetly flirt with the girls I met over the weekend (text), I still can share my day with friends (Facebook). I have to watch the distractions and make sure I do my work right and well and ahead of schedule, but again, it's nice to have the option. Being connected doesn't have to be a bad thing.
I still like driving out some place with my phone on silent and the music off and just relaxing. You don't have be connected. (I know I veered off the original post I was just commenting on the other replies).
You're a slave to your possessions but it's a servitude that you enter voluntarily. You can live any way you want and, as others pointed out already, many basics are actually cheaper than ever before.
You can't really complain about the obligations you have because of luxury, convenience, impressing the opposite sex or keeping up with the Joneses IMO. It's a game you choose to participate in.
I guess I am mentally noting that I am running threw large piles of money(at least what I consider large piles) on stuff I would have avoided or approached cautiously as expensive.
Yep, those monthly things like car pmts, insurance, access to cable tv, etc.. They add up, I cut many of them, (not insurance). I still dont have a smart phone, why pay for internet access/data on my phone when I already pay to have internet at home? Could cut that too, choose not to. Another thing people dont notice is how much they spend when they eat out for lunch every day at work, people at my job do it, and they are blowing tons of money per year. Some of them bring in multiple energy drinks per day as well, even when there is free coffee. Silly stuff! Even entertainment such as a movie isnt that bad every once in a while if you just go to the movie, its the folks that make themselves buy a popcorn and drink for every family member..then ka ching $$!
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