Was Anyone Else As Stupid As Us (and probably 1/2 of my neighbors)

[Tygerlilly]

Forgive me here but actually seriously thinking about how it didn't cost $20 for you nor were houses exactly $15K back then in your area is misunderstanding the message. It would be the same message if it said $50 on groceries and $50K on houses. So yes if your thought is "must have been a PHENOMINAL shopper" and "how the median home prices where i was living (not new-existing 20 plus year old track homes) were at or above 50K." you've missed the message in an unfortunate way. Memes aren't meant to be taken for the exact figures.

Take this meme for example way back in the early days of the pandemic
View attachment 769951

It's not intended to mean people are actually making dinners with this stuff but rather to reflect the scarcity of staple products and the unusualness of what was left for people to make meals from. The housing meme isn't about looking at the numbers and saying "well that wasn't the case for me" it's about the larger picture regarding costs of goods and housing over time.

I'm sorry I shared the meme even as apt as it was as it wasn't intended to get into this type of discussion over it

I'm stealing that meme, I hadn't seen it yet and think it's funny.

As someone with 3 kids, one born in 2021, the grocery shopping issues I've seen since the pandemic have blown my mind. My grocery budget has doubled and it doesn't matter how "smart" I shop, I can't get anywhere near my budget from 2019. And it's not like my job has given me pay increases to help combat the inflation. So every meal seems to feel like chopped. What can I transform yesterday's leftovers into to make something new? What can I do with the two odd carrots left because I don't want them to go bad and get wasted?

 

[barkley]

I'm stealing that meme, I hadn't seen it yet and think it's funny.

As someone with 3 kids, one born in 2021, the grocery shopping issues I've seen since the pandemic have blown my mind. My grocery budget has doubled and it doesn't matter how "smart" I shop, I can't get anywhere near my budget from 2019. And it's not like my job has given me pay increases to help combat the inflation. So every meal seems to feel like chopped. What can I transform yesterday's leftovers into to make something new? What can I do with the two odd carrots left because I don't want them to go bad and get wasted?

chopped reminds me of my mom and dad discussing some of the meals they remembered during the depression-if you had anything you tried to figure out how to make it into something. my mom would speak of making 'graveyard stew' which consisted of days old bargain bin stale bread moistened with a bit of warmed milk, sprinkled with salt and pepper. dad-'poor man's tomato soup' wherein you went into a diner, ordered a cup of tea (tea bag on the side) and used the catsup, salt and pepper on the table to make repeated cups of soup (and pocketed the tea bag for later). mom grew up in foster care in a very diverse neighborhood where she was exposed to the 'chopped' method of cooking for a variety of cuisines-in one friend's home the peelings and end pieces of veggies were put in a container and saved to make a meal of stirfry, the same items were used for minnestrone in her foster home. the idea of not making bone broth or at least boiling beef bones, chicken or a turkey carcus (if they had one) to garner whatever nutrients they could appalled her. mom did'nt live long enough to watch chopped but i think she could have given them a run for the money.

 

[DLgal]

All you have to do to realize what a scam the real estate industry is is read any of the numerous articles written every week with a version of this same headline:

"Now is the best time to buy a house"

Like, really? Are you sure about that? In what universe?

And then when you read it, it says all these things:

1. Interest rates are actually not that high, historically.

-True, but home prices were ALSO never this high.

2. Home prices will continue to go up.

-FALSE...home prices don't always go up. They are going down in many areas right now.

3. Buying a home is the best way to create generational wealth.

-Again, false...that's a complete myth, based on how long the average person keeps a home before selling it.

4. It's better to build equity than pay your landlord's mortgage.

-This one doesn't take into account the VAST differential in rental prices vs. Monthly cost to own a home in the majority of the population centers in America. Also, this entire argument makes no sense. Do you say the same thing about dining in a restaurant? By doing that, you're just paying the restaurant owners lease, aren't you? So why is that okay? Paying rent is paying for a service: shelter plus all the trouble free repairs and maintenance. You aren't getting nothing for your money. In fact, you're getting flexibility with a fixed monthly cost with no surprises. Your rent is the maximum you will pay monthly. Your mortgage is the minimum you will pay monthly.

 

[Chili327]

Get out sooner than later when every one else is trying to get out from under their loan.

 

[punkin]

chopped reminds me of my mom and dad discussing some of the meals they remembered during the depression-if you had anything you tried to figure out how to make it into something. my mom would speak of making 'graveyard stew' which consisted of days old bargain bin stale bread moistened with a bit of warmed milk, sprinkled with salt and pepper. dad-'poor man's tomato soup' wherein you went into a diner, ordered a cup of tea (tea bag on the side) and used the catsup, salt and pepper on the table to make repeated cups of soup (and pocketed the tea bag for later). mom grew up in foster care in a very diverse neighborhood where she was exposed to the 'chopped' method of cooking for a variety of cuisines-in one friend's home the peelings and end pieces of veggies were put in a container and saved to make a meal of stirfry, the same items were used for minnestrone in her foster home. the idea of not making bone broth or at least boiling beef bones, chicken or a turkey carcus (if they had one) to garner whatever nutrients they could appalled her. mom did'nt live long enough to watch chopped but i think she could have given them a run for the money.

I remember that my grandmother still cooked that way in my lifetime. I remember stew made from chicken backs (for which she walked 2 miles each way into a poorer neighborhood because they had them for sale for $.09 per pound in 1975) and mostly potatoes...and by the end of the week...it was served over rice. She could feed a family of 4 on one chicken for a week. Hot dogs with cabbage was another favorite... not that any of this helps the OP in any way...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm stealing that meme, I hadn't seen it yet and think it's funny.

As someone with 3 kids, one born in 2021, the grocery shopping issues I've seen since the pandemic have blown my mind. My grocery budget has doubled and it doesn't matter how "smart" I shop, I can't get anywhere near my budget from 2019. And it's not like my job has given me pay increases to help combat the inflation. So every meal seems to feel like chopped. What can I transform yesterday's leftovers into to make something new? What can I do with the two odd carrots left because I don't want them to go bad and get wasted?

It's actually funny in a weird ironic sad what was going on way to look back at stuff from the beginning of the pandemic. Every so often we have discussions with our DISer friends about life back then, we usually look back in a comical way because really it's one of the only ways to address what we were all going through in one way or another. We're still running into issues every now and then. Consistently I haven't been able to find rigatoni from Great Value brand, Barilla yes and at nearly $1.00 more per box. Penne another one, Barilla well stocked but Great Value not.

And yes I feel you on the food part. I try to go through our fridge, freezer and pantry if I can to find things I can plug into some recipes and it doesn't always work. I think one of our hardest is heavy cream as the size of the container most often available either means wasting what's left (like if the recipe calls for 1 cup) or trying to put two recipes with that within a few days of each other before it goes bad. And yeah carrots, celery, etc can be difficult to figure out what to use the rest for. I feel like winter stews are easier for that.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

There are many problems with using this:
1) please take the average SQ footage of a house for each decade use the price per SQ foot
2) When you take into consideration interest rates as the exact example of this conversation a 4% can increase can double your payments much less the 12-15% decrease in rates as you will find through the decades.
3) salaries.
So here is real life My parents paid 25K for a whopping 800 sq foot house about 1970 one bath room 3 bedrooms and that is where my parents lived and me and my brother lived - unheard of by 2020 standards. I can not comment on salaries being I was just born and did not care until I did--but vacations were a stay at a relatives house and trip to a local amusement park (one day) think Dorney park or Hershey park and this was once a year period. Going out to dinner yeah Arthur Threachers was a big deal lets not get started on how big Sizzler was back then.
I can comment on the 80s My wife has a MASTERS degree and her first job in 1995 paid 17.5K and that was a great starting salary. I worked and went to college later I did ok as a retail store manager 6 days a week minimum of 50 hours although I do not recall the salary because I spent a lot still living at home (great times BTW) however in 1998 with an accounting degree my starting salary which was also very good (remember I had strong work experience) was 27K. I bought a condo that I had to save for 69K If I recall it was 670 sq feet. With my Maint I was paying over 1300 a month still had electric on top of this plus laundry as this was extra and a perking space that was 50.00 a month Bus/Train to get to work. that is with making 2,250 a month before taxes...... Got married in 2002 bought a house in 2004 I will leave out these details as the numbers continue... Point is things were just not easy EVER. Dont make the mistake of saying today a house cost... I said 2004 I bought a house walked into a 3 BR one bath 1,200 sq foot house in house where I wanted to live 3 houses in from major highway that needed a few repairs like a very small amount of ceiling damage from a previous leak with a 680K price tag when I asked about if that would repaired I was asked if I know I was in X area. So WE DECIDED to look and move to a very less nice desirable far less convenient area with far more reasonable prices after looking for well over a year. Still a choice these days..... I have great stories from folding tables set up front with a person asking if you want to make an offer as you left to a 2 bath room houses when asked where the second bathroom was you were directed downstairs where you found a bowl bolted to a drain in the middle of an unfinished basement. Sink HA... On a good side I could have peed as I stood there putting the laundry in the machine.

I laughed at your last sentence but that is actually sad about your wife's first job with a Master's degree. I finished a 2 year associates program for xray in 1990, 5 years before, and my first job was $25k/year. This is in a Philadelphia hospital. Your mention of Dorney & Hershey Parks prompted me to comment.
Our first condo (1BR/1BA) we bought in 1993 for $60k but it was a repo through HUD, originally sold for $74k new 4 years before.
I agree that it was always hard. My grandmother, who I'm blessed to have in my life until just before my 50th birthday, remembered making $16/week. When they bought their house, it took years before they could save to buy furniture.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

View attachment 769842


Yes this is mentioning 1980 and people were talking about later on with the recession but it's just meant to reflect the very different realities of back then to now.


It's been a bit since that comment so in all honesty I did not actually fully read yours (no disrespect meant). It's fairly well known about the housing market and incomes of today as well as prices of goods today. There's just too many articles out there over time to discuss this aspect. Square footage doesn't account for the fact that my husband's grandmother's place built in 1950s as a tiny house now can be sold for over $300K (this is just as of last week with comps pulled as they were looking to potentially sell). That price point for that area for that house is absolutely ludacris. Truly. It also has knob and tube wiring, etc. Many things are original as once you open a wall the whole house has to be brought up to code. Just nutty. And they would pay higher property tax in proportion to us. I digress but you get the picture.

This meme is a huge exaggeration. I was a teen in 1980. My mom started working when I was 10 just to help pay for groceries. Her 30 hour/week job gave her a take home pay of $125 and $100 of it was spent on groceries, which was typicall a full shopping cart.

They did pay $11k in 1968 for their house: a tiny 2BR/1BA doll house that was owned by an old lady who was a "cat lady" with a house full of them. They actually had to replace the floorboards because they were soaked with urine. My father being a carpenter and working construction remodeled everything and eventually added a master bedroom/bathroom/family room addition on one side and a 2 car garage on the other side. For a few years, I shared a room with my brother and sister. My current home was being built around that time and sold new for $28k and the larger homes around here were $32k.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This meme is a huge exaggeration. I was a teen in 1980. My mom started working when I was 10 just to help pay for groceries. Her 30 hour/week job gave her a take home pay of $125 and $100 of it was spent on groceries, which was typicall a full shopping cart.

They did pay $11k in 1968 for their house: a tiny 2BR/1BA doll house that was owned by an old lady who was a "cat lady" with a house full of them. They actually had to replace the floorboards because they were soaked with urine. My father being a carpenter and working construction remodeled everything and added a master bedroom/bathroom/family room addition on one side and a 2 car garage on the other side. My current home was being built around that time and sold new for $28k and the larger homes around here were $32k.

it's meant to be..that's what memes are about.

Seriously guys don't take the meme as a literal by the exact numbers. If you want to discuss the overall point go for it but continuing to discuss the the $20 and the $15K is completely missing the point. In most conversations about this topic that's precisely why people create and share these types of memes because those who are fighting so hard against the numbers used are the ones generally viewed as out of touch with the times. Really not trying to be rude here but continuing to talk about those two exact numbers is just showing the out of touchness on the topic. It's NOT about $20 or $15K it IS however about what I've already discussed (price of goods, price of housing over time increasing, and income certainly not keeping up).

Sorry I shared the meme it would have gone over better on the funny memes thread or perhaps any other thread.

 

[QueenIsabella]

This meme is a huge exaggeration. I was a teen in 1980. My mom started working when I was 10 just to help pay for groceries. Her 30 hour/week job gave her a take home pay of $125 and $100 of it was spent on groceries, which was typicall a full shopping cart.

They did pay $11k in 1968 for their house: a tiny 2BR/1BA doll house that was owned by an old lady who was a "cat lady" with a house full of them. They actually had to replace the floorboards because they were soaked with urine. My father being a carpenter and working construction remodeled everything and eventually added a master bedroom/bathroom/family room addition on one side and a 2 car garage on the other side. For a few years, I shared a room with my brother and sister. My current home was being built around that time and sold new for $28k and the larger homes around here were $32k.

Agreed. My parents bought a house in 1971, and it cost $27,000. 3BR, 1.5BA, 1200 square feet, where they raised 4 kids.

Maybe the mem should say 1960--it might be closer. I get that it's supposed to be funny, but it doesn't reflect the reality of 1980 (when gas zipped up to $1 a gallon--I was 16 in 1980, I remember the horror!)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Y'all are not the meme peeps I see I have never encountered such passionate dissecting of a meme and I'm normally the one dissecting comments

 

[DCLMP]

I think it's always better to own than to throw money into something you'll never get back. You just have to be smart about what you buy and don't get in over your head. As much as we have spent on interest and upkeep we would still get every penny back and then some if we sold today. You can't say that if you rent.

 

[DCLMP]

Agreed. My parents bought a house in 1971, and it cost $27,000. 3BR, 1.5BA, 1200 square feet, where they raised 4 kids.

Maybe the mem should say 1960--it might be closer. I get that it's supposed to be funny, but it doesn't reflect the reality of 1980 (when gas zipped up to $1 a gallon--I was 16 in 1980, I remember the horror!)

Same with my parents and that was in Garden Grove California. They sold it for 32k in the mid-'70s and built a house on an acre in Brea, California for 60k. I remember the gas panic in 1980 and the even and odd lines. That's when they switched to diesel cars.

 

[barkley]

Our first condo (1BR/1BA) we bought in 1993 for $60k but it was a repo through HUD, originally sold for $74k new 4 years before.

our first was in 1991-small little track home built in 1961, with no renovations-all original appliances (no dishwasher capability/laundry hookups were in the garage). we were THRILLED to snag it for $130k after someone else got it for $139k but backed out during escrow and the sellers had already made a non contingent offer on a new place.

Same with my parents and that was in Garden Grove California. They sold it for 32k in the mid-'70s and built a house on an acre in Brea, California for 60k. I remember the gas panic in 1980 and the even and odd lines. That's when they switched to diesel cars

i remember my dad arranging a couple of diesel car purchases for family members who lived in southern california b/c there were waiting lists back then down there that we were'nt experiencing (yet) in northern california.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Y'all are not the meme peeps I see I have never encountered such passionate dissecting of a meme and I'm normally the one dissecting comments

If young people, who weren’t alive in those “good ol’ days” that they argue about, would like to convince those of us who actually lived in those times, that home ownership is so much more difficult now, they need to stick to facts. Any exaggerations such as the meme, just make us roll our eyes.

Dh and I bought an 1800 sf rancher, no basement, when I was 29 for $130k. This is 11x what my parents paid. Ours was also a fixer upper, no upgrades in over 33 years.

Now my oldest son is 26. If he is paying 11x what we paid, that would be 1,430,000. Our house would likely sell for around $450,000 now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If young people, who weren’t alive in those “good ol’ days” that they argue about, would like to convince those of us who actually lived in those times, that home ownership is so much more difficult now, they need to stick to facts. Any exaggerations such as the meme, just make us roll our eyes.

Dh and I bought an 1800 sf rancher, no basement, when I was 29 for $130k. This is 11x what my parents paid. Ours was also a fixer upper, no upgrades in over 33 years.

Now my oldest son is 26. If he is paying 11x what we paid, that would be 1,430,000. Our house would likely sell for around $450,000 now.

okay boomer

**sorry couldn't resist!

And you're more than welcome to do your own research on housing over the years. You'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard over the years pre-pandemic and most certainly during the pandemic about the rise in costs of goods and housing costs. It's there for you to gain knowledge on if you'd like to.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

okay boomer

**sorry couldn't resist!

And you're more than welcome to do your own research on housing over the years. You'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard over the years pre-pandemic and most certainly during the pandemic about the rise in costs of goods and housing costs. It's there for you to gain knowledge on if you'd like to.

First, I’m not a boomer.
Second, I have seen prices rise during the pandemic. Still, assuming life was so easy “back then” is not accurate either.
I would say right now is not a good time to buy. Wait it out.
My sister bought at the peak of the big bubble back before the crash in 2008. I didn’t tell her not to buy but dh and I discussed how it was a bad time to buy, & a bad idea to pay such inflated prices.
When interest rates dropped, she couldn’t refinance because they were underwater.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.

My point was that my young adult kids wont have to deal with nearly as high prices, compared to what parents paid, as we did.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

First, I’m not a boomer.
Second, I have seen prices rise during the pandemic. Still, assuming life was so easy “back then” is not accurate either.
I would say right now is not a good time to buy. Wait it out.
My sister bought at the peak of the big bubble back before the crash in 2008. I didn’t tell her not to buy but dh and I discussed how it was a bad time to buy, & a bad idea to pay such inflated prices.
When interest rates dropped, she couldn’t refinance because they were underwater.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Okay Boomer is used as an all encompassing phrase these days. You don't have to be an actual classified boomer to qualify under it. It's meant as a way of dismissing the younger generations. Gen Z even like to use it towards Gen Xers and some Millennials lol.

It's not about ignore the past struggles but rather adjusting the perspective to today's age.

Wait it out is the most common advice to give but it's not always the right one. It's the wrong advice for my area which has no slowing down in sight. A seller's market since 2015 officially. Before the pandemic we were at a 2 month supply which reduced to less than one month at a point.

An article in April said finally more than 50% of Millennials own homes (exact number was 51.5%). By comparison sake Gen X at the same age point was 58%. “For a generation whose identity has been shaped by a tumultuous relationship with the housing market, homeownership has been a lofty goal, growing exceedingly expensive and competitive compared to when their parents were coming of age." It's not about "oh the pandemic".

"Baby boomers have the upper hand in the homebuying market,” Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement. The majority of them are repeat buyers who have housing equity to propel them into their dream home – be it a place to enjoy retirement or a home near friends and family. They are living healthier and longer and making housing trades later in life,”

That above is true, we know that instead of the older individuals moving on to different types of housing they are staying long and longer in homes and living longer. That's not a bad thing but it compounded with the struggles of 2008, the increasing pinch on the housing market before the pandemic, then the pandemic, then the supply issues as well as price of goods and inability to get items (especially appliances) among other things means there's less homes for anyone to move into and it has had an influence on the price of homes. And the incomes of people just haven't kept up anywhere near (even with a price correction in markets).

This isn't even getting into the newer trend of investors swooping in which wasn't a big issue even in the middle of the pandemic but has reared it's ugly head in the last year or two. I'm not sure how many investors were around 5 decades ago as flippers weren't really a thing back then and I'm not sure you had houses en masse purchased for renting the same way as you see now.

I've had various conversations with my mom about this topic (and have posted about them on the boards) on how she views the hardships of today compared to the past, she recognizes how she felt the cost of her homes were when they bought them (in the early 80s when she married my dad, then late 80s when she moved homes when I was a baby, then mid-90s when she got divorced) but has always firmly said it was not like it is now (or has been since she's been saying this since I've become a homeowner in 2014). To her they are incomparable even though she'll say "yes when we bought that house we thought it was really high".

ETA: There's not a whole lot more to talk about here, please continue on though, but I'm respectfully moving on in topics.

 

[barkley]

Dh and I bought an 1800 sf rancher, no basement, when I was 29 for $130k. This is 11x what my parents paid. Ours was also a fixer upper, no upgrades in over 33 years.

were you also hoping against hope like we were with our old fixer upper that certain things would hold out and not need immediate replacement b/c they were grandfathered under older building codes and replacement meant horrifically expensive structural changes to adhere to newer codes?

i remember thinking 'please hot water heater limp through another year or two to get us get through paying to replace the leaking windows and frames', then it was 'just limp along longer cuz the hvac sounds like it has c.o.p.d.'.

Second, I have seen prices rise during the pandemic. Still, assuming life was so easy “back then” is not accurate either.
I would say right now is not a good time to buy. Wait it out.
My sister bought at the peak of the big bubble back before the crash in 2008. I didn’t tell her not to buy but dh and I discussed how it was a bad time to buy, & a bad idea to pay such inflated prices.
When interest rates dropped, she couldn’t refinance because they were underwater.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.

My point was that my young adult kids wont have to deal with nearly as high prices, compared to what parents paid, as we did.

i've lived through the fluxes in the housing markets as well. i've owned in 3 different areas since 1991 and in all 3 i've seen buyers and sellers markets during each individual home's ownership. i know we've had a HOT market recently (ours has been in the top nationwide) but i've seen differences of 6 figures on identical homes sold within months of each other (and that's periods of downward drops as well as upwards).

Okay Boomer is used as an all encompassing phrase these days. You don't have to be an actual classified boomer to qualify under it. It's meant as a way of dismissing the younger generations. Gen Z even like to use it towards Gen Xers and some Millennials lol.

i don't want to get into a debate or an argument about it. suffice it to say that the term is perceived by some as offensive, discriminatory and ageist to the extent in 2020 it was entered into the u.s. supreme court's argument database. i sincerely believe that noone alive today has borne the brunt of generational name-calling as much as millennials but i would think that they would like to use their voices to put an end to all forms of name-calling rather than perpetuating it/modeling it for future generations. that It's become socially acceptable to see age cohorts as the enemy ignores the fact that every generation have access to particular knowledge, experience and opportunities that previous and future generations don't. i support making generational identity interesting and important vs. something which some of us feel the need to defend.


off my soapbox on the subject.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

i don't want to get into a debate or an argument about it. suffice it to say that the term is perceived by some as offensive, discriminatory and ageist to the extent in 2020 it was entered into the u.s. supreme court's argument database. i sincerely believe that noone alive today has borne the brunt of generational name-calling as much as millennials but i would think that they would like to use their voices to put an end to all forms of name-calling rather than perpetuating it/modeling it for future generations. that It's become socially acceptable to see age cohorts as the enemy ignores the fact that every generation have access to particular knowledge, experience and opportunities that previous and future generations don't. i support making generational identity interesting and important vs. something which some of us feel the need to defend.


off my soapbox on the subject.

I know what it is perceived as, who doesn't know this? and I rarely use it (and mentioned it in the past) but it fit so perfectly. If in this particular situation offends you (and I don't presume to know that it offends the PP) it might be for a reason. In this case telling others "if you haven't lived it" such as some of you were could be deemed offensive especially in the face of so much overwhelming evidence of what has been going on, it was for lack of a better term holding onto the "I walked 5 miles in the snow" (true story though I walked in the snow, in the ice, in the cold everyday and yes believe it or not uphill in college for 2 years so even I have to laugh at that description cuz it was me lol). I didn't take it as an offense, I did however take is as a perfect "okay boomer" moment. Sorry that upsets you but I couldn't even get across what a meme was so I'm afraid that some of this conversation is just not in the cards. I hope you have a lovely weekend and I'm off to different topics