I’m 31. My wife and I bought a house that was way more money than I ever anticipated spending on a home. She had a house size she wanted, and I wanted a few acres. We put in to retirement, tithe, cook 97% of our meals and grow most of our own food. There isn’t a whole lot left over at the end of the month doing all that so we are looking for ways to make extra money. I’m not willing to be away from my kids in the evenings by taking a real job after my 9-5 though so it’s going to have to be something I can do from home or at least include my kids.

With that said, culture and society has a lot to do with younger people’s inability to make good choices. A lot of millennials that I know had two working parents (or a single parent household) and were raised in front of a tv while the parent(s) worked to provide the American dream. Essentially letting culture teach morality, ethics, and goals. That culture has taught to do what makes you feel good, don’t settle down, have fun, live your best life and spend money. I believe that what we are seeing is a direct result of the guidance those young people received. I think the blame falls in many places and probably is the result of the frog boiling in water that was brought to temp slowly.

Ultimately, everyone has different priorities. For some it’s money, some it’s fun, some it’s family. Pursuing any of that these priorities have consequences up and down stream so it’s all about what you can live with

We have more today than we did 50 years ago most folks never had less so they think all the wants are necessary it’s all about perspective really. How often do you see a beater car or a smoker in traffic today? Heck high school kids drive nicer cars/trucks than adults did in the past. People walk around with $1,600 phones like it’s nothing today. $20,000 ATVs vehicles that would buy a house back in the day.

It sticks with a guy more then you realize, my truck is new but half of what other trucks that do less cost, my 4wheeler is a 2004 with less than 1000 miles on it most of that is from spraying weeds. A lot of things I have I’ve had for years I take care of my stuff it’s ingrained in me. It’s not inflation if you have all the toys that you seldom use but have to have.

I believe it was Warran Buffet that said we are better off today financially then 50 years ago we just don’t realize it.

Another issue is that a lot are of young people want to start with a brand new, mansion, instead of a small starter home needing some work.

Keith

^ exactly!

Relatives in the UP lived in the new basement and built the house as they could afford it over the years that’s a commitment.

What I am noticing is construction guys here are desperate for labor. Two concrete guys tried to hire me away from my current gig building two rentals top to bottom. Got to be pretty desperate to want to hire a 60 year old concrete ignoramus like me. My get up and go got up and went years ago.

A lot of good thought . My dad was born in 1922 he would tell people 50 years ago gas was 7 gallons for a buck but I carried 175 lb railroad ties for 9 hours for 2 bucks and a new tire was 16 for a model A he said people don’t realize how expensive that was and I get what he meant .

Things that don't really matter are incredibly cheap, cell phones, tvs, lattes, etc, you can have a ton of small pleasures but the things that really matter like houses and land are unattainable to many.

There seems to be a generational divide amongst those who are 35 and older and those under 35, those under 35s had cell phones basically since childhood while older mainly got then around 18 ish

[quote=Donnersurvivor]Things that don't really matter are incredibly cheap, cell phones, tvs, lattes, etc

Cheap? Different worlds here.

The problem here in Arkansas is that not only are the younger generation dealing with general inflation but also the mass exodus of the west coast folks. What was a hundred thousand dollar house in AR was a million dollar home in Cali. Those west coast folks took advantage of this and sold their CA home for a million and bought the same size home here for a hundred thousand. Didn't take long for the realtors and builders to realize this and they adjusted their prices. I work with a guy in his early twenties who just paid north of a $170,000 for a home that 10 years ago would have listed around $50 to $60 thousand.

Kind of the same here in Canada. Folks from British Columbia & Toronto etc sold expensive homes and bought custom homes for pennies comparably. Now no one here can afford a house because of the same reason, and the mass immigration of folks from across the pond. Was people watching while I was in line at costco the other day and i'd say the new immigrants are probably 30% or so of the population in under 10 years. No one can afford anything anymore.

In my family I had a handful of cousins and an uncle that were 10yrs older than me and when they got married they built garage houses. 24’x24’ garages with knockout partitions. Bathroom, kitchen, a couple of bedrooms all finished like a full -size house by saving and paid cash to build them. When they were ready and had saved some more $$, they used the “garage houses” as collateral to get a loan to build the full-size house off the garage. I did the same thing and highly recommend it. Value of my garage house increased instead of decrease as would a mobile home.

When the bank guy came out to inspect my garage house and inspected what I had started on the big house (foundation was in, the deck on, and walls were up and I was starting to hang trusses. The bank guy was shocked because he’d never seen anything like it, using a miniature house which would become a garage to get a $10,000 to finish the big house. He couldn’t give me a check fast enough!

I was 18 when I built the garage house was married and was working fulltime at Dow as a welder/fabricator. We were a single paycheck household and and I was making $2.45/hr and by budgeting saved $3500 during the year of 1966 to be able to drill a well, septic system, and build the garage house!! No, we didn’t go out partying with other young couples, or bowling, or seldom to the drive-in movies, and nor did we eat out!! We had a goal so we sucked it up and worked toward it.

I complained one day at work that we just seemed like we couldn’t save any $$. A couple of old pipefitters sat me down in the lunchroom and explained what budgeting was! Their advice was the turning point for us to save enough $$ in a year to do what I just described. I kept track of every man hour of help I needed during the construction of the garage house and the 1500sq” big house, 40 hrs of labor other than my own!! I went to the library and studied house construction, I knew plumbing because my dad & I did plumbing & heating on the side when I was in high school so I worked with him. I also knew what square & plumb was but seriously real technical questions I called my relatives who were contractors to get advice but never ask for any physical help except when I set the big living room windows and poured my 16’ wide driveway. I hauled and set all of my 28’ trusses alone with no problem except I used my strong back and a lot of sweat! Hung all of the 4’x8’x1/2” drywall ceilings & walls alone without any special equipment.

Numerous times I’ve tried to coach young people/relatives/family about budgeting and what it did for me and my wife as an example with some sacrifice and lots of sweat but they think I’m the dumb one for saving $$ by budgeting and not enjoying life when young and nuts for building 2 quality houses by myself! I think I’ve heard about ever excuse possible from young people trying to offer them advice and how work can make lots of things possible and that nothing is too big or tough to do! Everybody appears to want everything their folks have got right now and they seem not to understand work and saving $$ is too much work ! Tightening belts and sweating other than in a gym is not what they want to do and most of their parents feel the same.

My wife died of cancer when she was 42 and she loved the house I built her so much she had the funeral director take a picture of the house and she had it etched onto her gravestone!

It is fortunate to grow up in a very tight labor shortage market, it gives one the opportunity to be employed when during times when there is ample labor things would not work out well. Also the younger generation are very willing to move, change jobs and even careers and our culture is making that easier for them to do. With the big increases in service type jobs, physical exertion and body injuries are far less common and many may well plan to work full or part time well into their 70s and take their trips and vacations while they are working and younger and not try to cram a lot of travel etc. into older age when phycical limitations can prevent that as well. Also many may well carry considerable debt further into their life time than was common even a few decades ago.

Bryce

It's, a lot of time, imo, that those "incredibly cheap" things that don't matter can easily add up to a house payment, or most of one, in a months time. I work with people (and my job is NOT a high paying job) that every day they work, buy TWO "teas" that cost $8/each. $16 x 5 = $80 x 4weeks = $320/month in teas alone! If they buy them on days they don't work, and they probably do... that's another $128 a month, so $448 a month just in soft drinks. Some of these people also go out to lunch every day at work, to a place like Chilis or the Mexican place.... so figure another $400/month just on work lunches. Add in their car payment on their brand new cars, and whatever they're paying for rent... and I think we'd be pretty close to a mortgage payment in most areas. In fact, here in MS, the drinks and lunches, when combined with whatever they pay now for rent, WOULD more than make up the mortgage payment as the average mortgage payment in MS is $986.

Which brings up another point... if you live in an area where housing is simply unaffordable, why not move? For example, Donner, in your state the avg mortgage payment in right at $2k, but if they were to buy a house in neighboring ND, it would be 25% cheaper at an avg of $1500. Similarly, the avg in TN is $1800 while it's $800/month less in MS.

Average Monthly Mortgage by State

The states that are the cheapest to live in are also the lowest paying states. I’m not sure where the disconnect is but individuals commenting on how easy it is to follow X Y Z are speaking about systems in the past. (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman), the job, financial, and housing market hit wacky new headlines everyday. Just because I found a way years ago, that’s hardly a fair assessment of today. There’s loads of problems with the current generation of youth raised on cellphones and wanting what everyone else has…but this also applies to all age groups, that’s why we’re on a forum and not only chatting with the local club.

I knew a guy who did electrical work aside from his normal job. He got together with 2 friends, a plumber, and a guy who was a Real Estate agent and Lawyer. They pooled their money bought a small piece of land and built a duplex. They did all the work except for concrete. When they finished it they rented it out and then went to the bank for a loan. Got a 15 year loan and set aside enough cash to do the next duplex and split the rest between them. Because of the tax laws the cash they each took home is tax free. When I met this guy these three had built 10 duplexes in 5 years. Their plan was to build for 15 years and when the first mortgages were paid off retire.

Welcome, new guy. Happy 5th post!

As a retail worker in MS, (second lowest on the list) I make just shy of $20/hr. I've been tryin to figure out where anyone makes less than $15/hr, as I made a few bucks over that 10 years ago flipping burgers in MS.

Some people obviously waste a considerable amount of money, that doesn't change the fact houses are less affordable than they have ever been in the last 100 years. You can't expect everyone to move to ND so they can afford a house. Houses were more affordable before George Floyd became an excuse to burn down cities and before immigration from 3rd world countries drove out the middle class who now all wants to live in the suburbs away from the new comers and crime generated by the black community

Before I retired from Dow, my Welding Engineering Dept hired contracted welding/NDE inspector/technicians and these guys were all young and single except one was married and had a couple of kids. One day before noon I heard the bunch complaining about always being broke though they were making darn good $$. Everyday before lunch they’d all, except for the married fella, would head to the roach-coach and buy their lunches or fast-food. I ask them why were they complaining about not being able to save $$ but everyday you’re buying expensive lunches and hitting the bars every night after work?. They thought that was the dumbest question for me to be asking, except the married fella! LOL They didn’t save enough $$ through the week to hardly ever wash their clothes at the laundromat! LOL

Been retired a couple years .
Had a friend who does demo work ask me,
" You got a CDL and can you cuss in Spanish?"