Cost Of Living Today versus 30 years ago

[chobie]

Again, the past generation did not have to pay nearly as much for all the insurances. It takes a much bigger chunk out of our incomes.

 

[dvcgirl]

We pay much bigger percentage of our income for health care then our parents paid. My parents had 5 kids with no health insurance, a moderate income and paid out of pocket for all our medical expenses; it was not a big deal for them. They did not think twice about the cost of an emergency room visit when one of us was injured.

This is very true. Health care is the big question mark going forward in this nation, well, along with Social Security. Actually, it's not much of a question mark....both are in big trouble. The trend for companies to start hitting employees with huge monthly insurance bills is going to continue. My DH's employer charges us $500 a month to cover just me.

For this reason, we are seriously considering taking control over our health insurance costs once and for all. We're looking into a high deductible insurance policy paired with a health savings account. We can handle the deductible and love the idea of being able to put money into the HSA tax-free and pull it *out* tax free if we spend the money on medical expenses. This is likely to be the trend....much higher deductibles.

 

[Crankyshank]

We have more gadgets and stuff nowadays that requires more electricity and larger population=higher demand for oil and gas = higher utility bills.

I agree about the health care costs. Not only cost of insurance and medical procedures, but also prescription medication. Nowadays everyone it seems is on some sort of medication and it's not cheap!

 

[boomhauer]

Yup - Health care. That's another thing I forgot. I pay over $3,000 for medical insurance for my family.

I remember watching an episode of Leave It To Beaver where Ward was telling Wally he'd have to pay almost $200 for car insurance for the year. I pay over $2,200 for my car alone - And I have a good driving record.

 

[Galahad]

We pay much bigger percentage of our income for health care then our parents paid. My parents had 5 kids with no health insurance, a moderate income and paid out of pocket for all our medical expenses; it was not a big deal for them. They did not think twice about the cost of an emergency room visit when one of us was injured.

We also get a lot more healthcare than they did.

 

[chobie]

We also get a lot more healthcare than they did.

How so?

 

[golfgal]

It's difficult for young people to get started, they want everything now, and they are frustrated that they can't have everything now. But, as time goes on, in many many cases their wages increase beyond the inflation rate and by the time they are in their early to mid 50's they can have many of the things that they couldn't have in their late 20's.

.

This is a REALLY big part of the equation. Young people/couples want to have their dream home when they are 25. They buy a 4000 sq foot "starter" home using every available penny of their income to afford that. They can't afford to save money because their house is costing too much. It is just an unending spiral.

Our old neighbors are a perfect example. They first bought an affordable house for them on two incomes. Their first child comes along and they are still ok, well, surprise, #2 comes along 11 months later and it turns out your oldest has severe asthma and is in the hospital every couple weeks. Mom decides it is in the best interest to stay home, great. They can afford their house on one income. Well their friends start buying bigger houses and they decide that they "need" a bigger house, so they buy a bigger house with triple the house payment. Well, mom needs to go back to work because they can't afford the house payment, DD is getting sick all the time again because she is back in day care, mom is missing work a lot because of that. Is it worth it just to have a 5000 sq foot house?????

I think overall houses compared to income are more expensive today then they were when my parents were starting out, BUT, a starter home is no longer a small house either.

 

[chobie]

We also pay more for car insurance, home insurance, insurance for the insurance etc. It costs more to live now.

 

[Bob Slydell]

How so?

There's been maybe one or two medical advancements in the past 30 years, I'd say.

 

[chobie]

This is a REALLY big part of the equation. Young people/couples want to have their dream home when they are 25. They buy a 4000 sq foot "starter" home using every available penny of their income to afford that. They can't afford to save money because their house is costing too much. It is just an unending spiral.

Our old neighbors are a perfect example. They first bought an affordable house for them on two incomes. Their first child comes along and they are still ok, well, surprise, #2 comes along 11 months later and it turns out your oldest has severe asthma and is in the hospital every couple weeks. Mom decides it is in the best interest to stay home, great. They can afford their house on one income. Well their friends start buying bigger houses and they decide that they "need" a bigger house, so they buy a bigger house with triple the house payment. Well, mom needs to go back to work because they can't afford the house payment, DD is getting sick all the time again because she is back in day care, mom is missing work a lot because of that. Is it worth it just to have a 5000 sq foot house?????

I think overall houses compared to income are more expensive today then they were when my parents were starting out, BUT, a starter home is no longer a small house either.

My starter home, as were most of my friends in the same income bracket was 1500 sq feet. Maybe its the area we lived in, but no one I knew had a 4000 sq foot home. Some people are trying to live lifestyles they cannot afford. But most people I know in RL are just trying to get by and all of us have college degrees.

 

[golfgal]

We also get a lot more healthcare than they did.

What do you mean by "more"? Is it the more advanced procedures?

My dad didn't pay anything toward our family medical insurance. We didn't have deductible, co-pays, nothing extra. It was a true "perk" from his employer. We pay $6,500/year for our share of the premium costs, have a $20 copay for each office visit, minimum of $10 copay for prescriptions, etc. Fortunately DH makes a good salary but I don't know how younger people can afford this. At DH's old job there were some people literally working just for the healthcare, their entire paycheck, after taxes, went to pay their medical/dental insurance.

 

[chobie]

There's been maybe one or two medical advancements in the past 30 years, I'd say.

Not everyone gets all the medical advancements. The insurance companies have to approve them first.

 

[cardaway]

True about the healthcare. Medications for example cost a bunch, even with insurance, but it's always better than dying with out them, right?

 

[Bob Slydell]

Not everyone gets all the medical advancements. The insurance companies have to approve them first.

Honestly -- would you prefer to have lived 30 years ago, health-wise?

 

[chobie]

True about the healthcare. Medications for example cost a bunch, even with insurance, but it's always better than dying with out them, right?

Of course it is, no one is arguing that. However, that does not change the fact that is costlier just to exist these days. Not eveyrone is lazy and buying frivolous things, or being irresponsible.

 

[cardaway]

I think that it may be difficult for the younger generation to keep up because 30 years ago there were far less luxuries in peoples' lives. There were no cell phones bills. Nobody had a high speed internet bill. There were 13 channels on TV, not 899 channels with pay per view and NFL Ticket packages. A blackberry was something you ate, not yet another high tech toy with an additional monthly bill. The radio was free and yeah, it had some commercials. Now we're so busy we'll pay $16 a month to avoid commercials.

Exactly.

Don't confuse what you choose to let into your budget with what needs to be there.

 

[chobie]

Honestly -- would you prefer to have lived 30 years ago, health-wise?

No, not saying that; I'm just giving a reason for why its harder to get by these days other than that everyone is lazy and materialistic. Many people work very hard and still can't get by. It called the working poor and there are millions of them.

 

[Galahad]

Of course it is, no one is arguing that. However, that does not change the fact that is costlier just to exist these days. Not eveyrone is lazy and buying frivolous things, or being irresponsible.

I don't think it's relatively costlier "just to exist" at the same level you "just existed" 30 years ago. The "problem" is that nobody would choose to not have the medicines and procedures and other medical advances available to them. The cost of healthcare is the aggregate cost of making those things available to you - not just the cost of buying the treatment when you need it.

 

[Crankyshank]

I do agree that a lot of people have very unreasonable expectations when it comes to first time homebuying that has made them house poor, but it's not always the case. I would say with the people I know it's about 50/50

In this area even starter homes are pretty expensive (you need a minimum income of $74,000 in order to own an under 2000 sq ft home in 90% of the communities in Rhode Island) and those that are not outrageously expensive or located hours from the beaten track require quite a bit of work that if you are not DIY savvy could mean lots of money for contractors. There's a definite lack of affordable housing in many areas which I feel has increased the number of working poor.

 

[cardaway]

No, not saying that; I'm just giving a reason for why its harder to get by these days other than that everyone is lazy and materialistic. Many people work very hard and still can't get by. It called the working poor and there are millions of them.

But from the angle this thread is taking, they could pretend those drugs or treatments still don't exist and have the same or less cost of living than the people of 30 years ago.