also FYI, in my state the average home costs about $194k. 30% of that is 58k. Now in the town I live closest to, the average income is quite a bit less than the national or even the state average. The average cost of a new vehicle in 2019 across the board is $53,534 according to one site. Now in 1970 the average cost of a new vehicle was $3542. So it does vary depending on region, so lets look at it as a percentage. the average INDIVIDUAL income in 1970 was $9,870 in 2019 the average HOUSEHOLD income is $63,179 (individual average is around 48k/year). compare that to the cost of vehicle above in relation to their respective years. That's what we're talking about. I'll give you the next 6 days to work through this, I'm headed Coues deer hunting in AZ, later dudes!
You said
30-50% of what your house cost (or more)
. Let me help you out a little. Let's go with your numbers for new cars. That 58k had better get you a new car that will last at least 350k miles - or else you ain't doin' somethin' right. That translates to $8764 in 1970 dollars. What could you buy in 1970 that would go 350k miles? How about three of those 1970 cars (pick any model). No, that comes to $10,626 - so you're close, but 1970 looks a little more expensive there. Before you object - I'm old enough to remember when it was a rare point of bragging when a car managed to survive 100k miles without a rebuild. But no - there is no reason that anyone
needs to buy a $58k car. That is a matter of choice. It's easy enough to find a car for half that price - brand new - which comes to more like 15% of your house cost.
But the reality is that most of us didn't buy "the average priced new car" when we were young. Today, I can go to any used lot (that's where most of us young'ns were buying cars then) and pick up a nice car that will go at least another 100k miles (all we expected from a new car in the '70's) for 10k or less. In 1970 dollars, that's a little more than $1500. What did you get for $1500 in 1970? Not another 100k miles. And we haven't even touched on maintenance cost - such as tires. When was the last time you replaced a set of tires with 12k miles on them? When was the last time you paid to fix a flat more than once in a year?
How about housing cost vs income? Average home price for 1970 was about $24k. Average single income (your figure) $9870. That comes to ~.41 of the annual income. Take your $194k home cost figure and your $48k annual wage figure. That comes to ~.25 of the annual income. You said
Half of what both those people make goes towards putting a roof over their heads
Half of that $63k? (Your figure) Say, after taxes, that's what - ~$48k? So $24k. If a millennial is paying $2k a month for a $200k house, he's doing something wrong. If he's paying that for rent, he's also not using good judgement, IMO.
What about just income? Yeah, average income is down in real dollars. You got me there. But we still need to account for some other differences in living expenses. For instance....In the '60's and early '70's, the average home was smaller and had fewer amenities...
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/news/a32142/homes-today-bigger/Again....a choice.
I forgot to mention the "extras" in cars. In 1970, we had no AC in most cars, or stereos, or tinted windows, electric windows, etc. Fancy wheels were rare. These are consumer choices. And oh yeah - the cars weren't as safe, so a lot of people are living longer than they would have in 1970.....and I don't mean 'cause they quit smoking.
In 1970, most people didn't eat out as much. They didn't travel as much (maybe drove more but flew less). BTW - airline tickets are abut 1/6 of 1970 in real dollars. I could go on, but if you haven't got the picture by now.....
The truth is, that most of the difference in income vs expense in real dollars is due to choice, and taxes. You can blame the taxes on previous generations, but if you're doing that without making better choices....well, that's just your class envy talking.
