Nihilist Cowboy

A Sick Man, A Spiteful Man, An Unattractive Man
2021-03-08 06:29:00 (UTC)

3/8/21 Thoughts: How do they do it financially?

Yesterday I got stuck helping my mom's friend move. Driving to the other side of the county I noticed that houses are being built like crazy. Hundreds of square miles of what was farmland and woods are being turned into suburban hell. My hometown is no exception, the former cow pasture behind my house is now going to be home to a massive development of about 200 houses. The new houses are being advertised as "starter homes," but when I back out of my driveway before work, the new houses dwarfs my place. This raises the question of how in the hell do people afford everything including these giant "starter homes?"

I make about the average of the average of the median household income in this part of the state even though up until 6 months ago I was making crap. My budget is still the same as it was from when I was making $12 hour except all of my extra money goes into either savings to buy a house or my brokerage account. So, I am living pretty cheap, I still have not gone out and really blown any money. There was not a new car for me after graduation. Then again, I have always tried to live conservatively especially after the years of low pay, credit card debt, and other lovely stuff.

Feeling curious, I looked up a mortgage calculator and figured out if I could afford one of those suburban hell houses. It turns out that I probably could afford the note, but add in a car note like it seems like everyone has and then I would be in trouble. If we were not in a pandemic and my student loans went back to the full amount owed I would be screwed. I really do not see how anyone could do it especially my age. Even if I had started making a living wage in my early 20s, it would only equal a few thousand dollars extra a year, not really enough to make a huge difference.

I can see how someone in my parents' or grandparents' generation could do it since you could make a good living on a high school diploma and you did not have to go to college for 4 years to get an entry level job. However, I have seen a ton of people my age buy these houses, new cars, and have families etc. I am not jealous in any way since I do not want kids and never really desired a new car, but I just do not see how they do it. Maybe they know some financial secret that I do not know? Or maybe everyone is up to their eyeballs in debt? I am stumped on this one.




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