One of the big differences between then and today is the fixed monthly costs.
In 1980 people paid for their mortgage, property tax, utilities, insurance and a phone line.
In 2012 people pay for the above as well as
-$100 for cable
-$50 for internet
-$25 for long distance/call display/voice mail
-$100 for a cell bill (2 in a family)
-$400 for a car payment (Traditionally people saved up to pay cash for a car)
Just off the top of my head there is $625 in monthly bills that we have that our parents didn't have to make. And that doesn't include the extra cost to buy the computers, phones and TVs that go along with the monthly bills. Throw in the $6 lattes daily and the fact that we go out for food far more often than our parents did and it is easy to see why things look tougher for our generation.
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