• pulido@lemmings.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    Avocado toast is a big fat waste of money and I don’t take anyone seriously who buys it then complains they need more.

  • aesthelete@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    But this flies in the face of the great American delusion that everyone can white knuckle their way through large crises arising from systemic failures or engineered on purpose by oligarchs.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    My first apartment (without roommates) was $600/month I think. I just check the present day at it rents for $1400! The mortgage cost on my first house (small/low cost of living area) was only $1000/month.

    I just don’t know how young people are affording housing these days.

      • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        If you’re born rich it doesn’t matter what color you are. The difference is probably being born middle class and white, that’s probably where you reap the most benefit from systemic racism. Being born poor, doesn’t matter, the cards are forever stacked against you.

  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    My parents, 35000 dollars for a two bedroom, 1 bath house 3 acres of land in the middle of BFE back in the 80’s

    Today, 3 bed, 1 bath house with less than .25 acres, 200k

    With inflation something comparable to my parents house in BFE, because it’s not changed all that much, should only be 100k.

    And the recent minimum wage increase to 13.75 an hour passed by the people is in process of being revoked by Republicans.

    And I do get tired of visiting home and taking to people that spout off the ‘back in my day’ bs.

      • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        Seriously. I’m sick of this let’s-beg-for-an-itty-bitty-change nonsense. If rent near me is $2000/month, and that’s supposed to be 1/3 of my pay, then I should be making $6000 per month ($72k per year!)

        Assuming I worked a full 40 hours every week, with 4 full weeks in a month, that means I’d need to make $1,500 per week, which breaks down to $37.50 per hour (before taxes, as well as before payments for employee benefits, garnishments, etc.)

        I don’t live anywhere fancy. This place is an average apartment with too little parking and too many centipedes. Thankfully, I am not paying the entire rent by myself at this time, because I don’t make anywhere near $37.50/hour.

        If $13.75 was the wage of somebody who worked a full 40 hours/week, for 4 weeks, they’d only make $2,200. Total. That’s it. For the entire month.

        If your fight for a new minimum wage is starting with a number less than 30, you’ve already lost.

    • Necroscope0@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      I see a lot of folks here saying “based on inflation since X, item Y SHOULD only cost Z.” I want to point out those inflation numbers the government gives out every year are complete bullshit. Inflation has been WAY more than 30% over the last decade and a half or so (not you but someone above mentioned 30% as the inflation number since the aughts)

      They change their basket of goods to artificially deflate inflation numbers, it is way way way higher than the 2% a year that they claim is the average. Add greed on top and you get the crazy insane prices we see today. For a 2% inflation to really work for everyone and not just the rich assholes then minimum wage needs to increase proportionately. Should force minimum wage up the stated inflation rate once a year. So every year min wage increases by 2% (or more depending on the actual inflation rate).

  • shalafi@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    Please, I’m begging you, please call Habitat for Humanity. Don’t make assumptions based on what you think you know about the program or have heard, just fucking call.

    Worst case scenario: You spend an hour at the initial meeting and discover it won’t work for you. The other scenario: You end up owning a brand new home (or one refurbished to brand new) at cost.

    Because my es-wife picked up the phone, I now own my own home at $600/mo., 19-year mortgage. Took us right at a year to complete the program and have keys in hand.

    Be glad to answer questions, but there are variations according to the local outfit’s way of doing things.

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      She correct i worked making 6 bucks an hour in early 2001 and had my own apartment. Was 300 a month. Today fucking 1,000 for the same place. Bullshit not even close to what it should be.

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      I’ve thought about begging a similar outfit for that kind of help - I just got my first apartment on my own six or so months ago, and I’ve always been on the edge/dependent on others for help.

      Do they ever help single people? I’d do anything just to have my name on a place. I’ve slept in a car before and I never want to be in that position again.

  • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    I started at $1,400 in 2011. That went up to $3,200 by 2023 for the cheapest place in a worse part of town.

    I had to move to an entirely different city. Fuck San Diego. Shitty ass city.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      My last apartment was 1500 a month and I made a huge jump to buy a house with a 2500 a month mortgage. Seems crazy at first, but in 5 years that same shitty “luxury” apartment is going to cost at least 2800 a month.

    • dodgy_bagel@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      The phone that you use every day, that is required to function in daily society, and is the NUMBER ONE priority when you’re homeless, aside from maybe obtaining legal documentation?

      That cell phone?

      • Professorozone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        OMG, would people get off the friggin cell phone thing already. People buy all kinds of things they can’t afford. Money management would help with that. That was my only point. But if we HAVE to talk cell phones then fine. High end phones are over $1k. I just bought one for $200. To a person with little money, yeah cell phones too.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      As you type this, people in poverty who had their state-sponsored cheap telephones so they could get callbacks for work and take care of their families, are getting notified that the program has been canceled and they have to now somehow pay for their own phones on top of every other fee and expense that increases when you’re poor.

      It’s also kind of hard to not pay for your car when you live in it. Speaking from experience.

      • Professorozone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        That’s truly terrible but I don’t know what that has to do with money management, which is the only point I’m trying to make. I agree on the rest of all of this.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          I don’t know what that has to do with money management,

          That’s because I don’t think you actually understand the conversation. We’re talking about the difficulty of poverty, you’re thinking “money management” and that REEKS of someone who’s never actually been poor. You do not get it. You should be ASKING QUESTIONS and not dispensing life-advice about money to people who have been through actual hardships you clown.

    • Sporkbomber@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      Nice strawman you got there, goes well with all the avocado toast I buy instead of using it for a mortgage payment.

    • exasperation@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      The highest priced iPhone, all max specs, is $1600.

      If you get a new one every year, and trade in the previous year’s, you’ll probably get around $600 trade in value. So we’re talking $1000/year for the highest priced phone.

      On a monthly basis, we’re talking $83/month. That’s like a rounding error on rent, utilities, and food, much less transportation and health care.

      And, more realistically, people are buying $800 phones once every 2 years, maybe seeing something like a $600 net expense spread over 24 months, for $25/month.

      Phones are like the one thing that are cheaper in 2025 than in 1985.

    • theolodis@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      That argument is stupid, because usually people need a reason to save for. Now rent is so high that people can barely save, and houses are so expensive that even if they do and get a credit with their staggering student debt, they’ll never be able to afford it.

      So what do people do? they just enjoy the small things, because they know they’ll never have the big ones.

      • Professorozone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        It’s not stupid, you’ve just stupidly misinterpreted it.

        I believe you’ve mistakenly interpreted it to mean that I disagree with the premise that people have been priced out of the things we’ve come to believe are the standard of living now. That’s not what I was objecting to.

        My point is that money should ALWAYS be managed. If you have no money, then, well I guess it manages itself. But if you have very little money, you shouldn’t be buying s $60k car you can’t afford. You buy a $3k car you can. Saying, I can’t afford a house so I’m going to go into massive amounts of debt to buy a car to make up for it, is the REASON you need to manage money.

        • Red_October@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          The Ratio says it’s actually pretty stupid. The percentage of people who can’t afford a home purely because they bought a $60k car is going to be absolutely minuscule, but it’s a great dog whistle for trying to lay the blame at the feet of personal responsibility.

        • WraithGear@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          No, your take is very stupid

          you just avocado toast even harder. Now you not only over generalized people, and willfully ignore the cause of the problem.

          You then turn items that are essential to life in society into irresponsible luxuries. If you can’t afford to rent there is no such thing as an affordable phone/car.

          The point of the post is that it’s not merely impulsive spending and you went, “nah, it is just that”

          • Professorozone@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            2 months ago

            A $60k car and a $1600 cell phone are NOT essential for life and I didn’t just “nah, it is just that,” the argument. You’re just having reading comprehension problems.

            Let’s drop to your level. Are you stupid enough to believe that people don’t buy things they can’t afford? If you only have even $10 to your name and you need food, you go to the most economical grocery store you can get to and maximize your purchases. You don’t walk into Starbucks and order a latte. The OP implied that because there is as larger economic problem at hand, money management isn’t an issue. They are ALWAYS both an issue.

            And yes I understand that the problem is that people have to manage $10 now instead of $1000. It was not my intention to minimalize that.

            • WraithGear@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              You invent a scenario, and applied that to all people who struggle then? Context be dammed? Damn, sounds like a bad take.

              The OP context is “older generations say that things are easy, when they had it easy. But here is an example that shows that things are not equal by a long shot.

              Then you show up with a ‘if people would just stop eating avocado toast, they would have it just as easy’ ignoring the message in the OP and the systemic issues that not only make owning both your stated items a necessary component of life, but makes everything much more expensive.

              A stupid take. Do struggling people own $1300 phones or expensive cars? Maybe there are some but not a lot. You fucking just dammed everyone struggling over just the possibility, inventing a character flaw on an entire class of people.

              A very, very stupid take.

              • ameancow@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                2 months ago

                People who come into posts about struggles of poverty preaching “money management” are people who have never had to actually survive a day in their life and have always had an allowance or income they could depend on. I appreciate you mercilessly calling this user’s BS out.

        • rbamgnxl5@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          There is no such thing as a $3k car, those days are gone. If it’s going to be something that is expected to start and drive every day without major repairs that are overdue, you need to spend closer to $10k.

          I know this because I recently bought my sons some used cars. Used 2006 Volvo was $6k in about as good of condition it could be for the age and miles. Still needed a bunch of little things that quickly added up. New tires ($800), PCV breather system ($120 did myself), new ignition coils ($200, did myself), brakes ($80, did myself), etc. If I wasn’t doing my own work, it would have been 3x the cost.

          I also bought a 2013, nearly identical car to the 06. It needs far less, put tires on it, still has an evaporative emissions leak causing a check engine light. Not going to fix that.

          • pahlimur@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            2 months ago

            I buy $1k cars sometimes, but they usually don’t run. A $3k car will be usable if you know how to turn wrenches, have space to work, and own multiple other cars for when it breaks down.

            $10k barely buys a reliable car in most markets these days.

          • Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            2 months ago

            There is no such thing as a $3k car,

            Yes there is …

            My 2009 honda fit cost me 5k 3 years ago and has needed no repairs at all… You can go lower pretty easily…

            • Vox@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              Used car markets are highly localized markets and depending on demand in the area can fluctuate wildly, just because you got a steal on a 14 year old car 3 years ago doesn’t mean other people aren’t struggling to find an affordable used car now.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          2 months ago

          Your take only gets stupider the more you try to explain it.

          My point is that money should ALWAYS be managed.

          Is that what you think people are talking about in here? money management?

          You are truly too dense for any of this. Fortunately for you, you probably have never been touched by actual hardship and I hope that continues for you. The rest of us have had to deal with the very worst our nation can throw at us.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              Troll

              You don’t even know how words work huh?

              A troll is someone who doesn’t believe what they say they’re just trying to make you mad.

              I believe STRONGLY that you’re too dense/young for this conversation and I WHOLHEARTEDLY believe that you should back out of this topic and learn more about other humans and how civics works and a host of other broad topics so you can be a better person and not get your ass kicked someday for saying some offensive shit around people who have lived a lot more than you.

              This isn’t trolling, it’s actual advice, you need to get your head on better. Nobody cares about your stupid “life philosophies” about money. Put that shit on a wooden carved sign hanging over the kitchen sink, but out here in the real world, it’s far more complicated and people face a lot more problems than your stupid phrases and 2-dimensional witticisms. Lose literally fucking everything to some medical bills then get back to me, let me know how fair the system is then.

  • CulturedLout@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    We had to give up entirely on affording a house. There are ROOMS for rent at $1200 here. This used to be a low COL area until COVID. We had low infection rates so a ton of people moved here and we don’t have the infrastructure to support them. We’ve been priced out of what living space we did have and since there’s still the illusion it’s cheap to live here, it’s almost impossible to get a living wage.

  • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    If I’m not mistaken Liz Ryan is a former fortune 500, has been a consultant to several multibillion dollar companies like IBM, and at one point might have been appointed by the Biden Admin to run Youth Counseling services?

    IDK, but I’m not convinced she’s struggling with rent or groceries and she doesn’t seem to pick the correct side in US Politics.

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      She doesn’t have to be struggling herself to see other people’s struggles and try to amplify their voice.

      Even when people are millionaires, it’s a reality that they likely can’t just turn over their whole fortune at once to fix things. I’d generally guess people like this donate a lot to programs trying to fix these issues.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        Whenever you see a message promoted and shared at large scale you have to try to analyze what it is they have to gain and what steps they’ve taken to achieve it.

        They’re not promoting the obvious solution. They make massive amounts of money just by maintaining this image as a megacorp consultant and an author. Smells like grift, that’s all I’m saying.

        • someguy3@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          Except she is identifying the problem and kinda the solution. You are just complaining because… you don’t like her. Her analysis was fine, your “analysis” was “idk” and ‘but but but she must be bad’. It’s kinda weird. Something tells me I just should peace out of this conversation.

            • HipHoboHarold@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              Said the person complaining that someone pointed out that its getting to expensive to live and that avocado toast isnt the issue

                • HipHoboHarold@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  0
                  ·
                  2 months ago

                  She never said she struggled

                  Shes likely not renting as the CEO

                  She also says it in past tense

                  I dont know what her life was like before hand

            • ExtantHuman@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              Dude. Your entire “analysis” was : this person might possibly have a bias so what they’re saying must be wrong. Which is an idiotic conclusion. Bring skeptical is fine. But assuming everyone who could have a motive must therefore be lying is a good way to never gain any information at all because literally everyone who says something online has a motive to do so

              • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                2 months ago

                I never claimed they were wrong in any way, shape, or form. I said it smells like a grift and we should be aware of their position.

                • ExtantHuman@lemm.ee
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  0
                  ·
                  2 months ago

                  You just called someone maga because they said she was right regardless of what her personal situation was…

                  It’s right there. You’re not going to trick people in forgetting what was already said.

  • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    Rent isn’t linked to inflation, it’s linked to your income. The income you are able to gain in the area goes partially to the real estate in that area.

    You can’t compare it to easily imported goods from china. Who don’t work for an amount that you get paid.

    • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      Inflation occurs regardless and they are saying what today’s equivalent is for comparison because if they just said “$310” everyone would go “yeah but inflation blah blah.”

      Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

      • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        Guess what, having real estate in countries that had booming economies was a good investment. Having the exact same real estate quality in shithole economies would be a bad investment.

        Go to Indonesia, buy a house for 20k euros.

        Guess what lil bro, you’re gonna earn a lot less money 👍🏻

        If there’s an economy that allows you to generate a higher net worth. MOVE THERE

        Fucking hell, literal refugees can do it. But lazy Americans nah they just cry

    • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      Ok and assuming this person was probably in the 80’s where minimum wage was about half what it is now… that means the $310 should be $620… which it isn’t.

      • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        Just compare median income with median rent over the span of time in various places of the world. Make a study like that, or find one that did this. That’s useful information.

        “In 2023, 1.1% of hourly paid workers in the USA earned the federal minimum wage or less.”

        • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          Okay minimum wage+50¢, woopie. It’s someone’s first apartment. For rent. This is not median levels of income. This is first quartile at best. Median income shouldn’t even be renting.

          But sure, they have data on quintiles, so let’s use upper limit of the first from 1985 (~10k) and 2022 (30k) is 3x so even at that, it should be $930. https://taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/household-income-quintiles

          The data is on household incomes which is less ideal than individual income but whatever.

          Ignoring if it’s the same apartment from the 80s to now that’s 40 years older, and I doubt it’s been kept up to date, so it should not be worth anywhere near as much, but you know, whatever.

          • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            2 months ago

            Have to say it is very fun watching you dismantle their hand-wavy bullshit on their terms lol

            • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              That approach should be the standard, not talking bout minimum wages when it’s clearly just a symbolic euro. Your country doesn’t have a real minimum wage so you cannot use it in calculations.

          • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            2 months ago

            Aight, now you need to figure out why this is the case. Real estate went up in value. Why is that?

            Your country has a lot of capital. Like 550k euros per adult. In a country of 230 million adults or such. It’s all residing at top 1 to 10% because they live in USA for its legislature.

            If you change the legislature then they’d flee to other parts of the world. Such as Ireland.

            I’d say go and learn French and move to France. They have the highest taxes in the world. Bonjour Duolingo, comment çava?

      • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        “In 2023, 1.1% of hourly paid workers in the USA earned the federal minimum wage or less.”

        Come on broskis, you’re not paying me for economy lessons. I want you to entertain me properly

        • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
          cake
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          you’re not paying me for economy lessons.

          And we’re still getting ripped off.

          • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            2 months ago

            Profit incentive seems to be important. I have no problem giving misinformation if you people can’t figure things out.

            There’s a great answer that you folks could use to look at this subject.

            You should ask yourselves why the situation is what it is. How it relates to other areas in the world.

            Do some research.

            I’d do it, but you’d have to pay me and you don’t have any money 😬

            • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
              cake
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              Could I pay you to shut up instead? I think that’s a better use of my money.