A rant about the cost of living

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Cars cost a lot in CA. License, insurance, maintenance, gas. No matter what it is over $500/mo unless you pay cash for the car..

Simple: leave California. There's a whole country out there. That's what most smart people are doing. moving to states with no income tax. That's why I moved to TN. I was tired of my previous state from taking 6% of my income before I ever saw a dime.

 

[leftwinger]

You are being ridiculous How would she be married with roommates? There's a red flag right there.

Not impossible. I've heard of it. I saw a ring.

 

[Oddball]

This is a rant! The younger generation is really screwed these days with high costs for rent, housing, insurance, new and used cars, not to mention everything else.

She even has roommates, and still can't pay the bills.

I have a lot to say about this, and she's not completely out of line, but want to hear some other opinions.

Here's how it's happening...

Blackrock and Vanguard (at least) are buying up homes at (hypothetical price) $400K...They then keep them vacant for a short period, as though they're being flipped...Then they "sell" the homes to one of their holding companies for (hypothetical price) $600K.

Now you have comps in the neighborhood, which artificially raises the prices of every other house in the area for sale....The massive hedge funds then rent out the houses at inflated rates and clean up.

We are dealing with literal monstrous corporate rent seekers.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Not impossible. I've heard of it. I saw a ring.

I saw several rings. None of them a wedding ring.

Did you also hear her mention cigarettes?

 

[1srelluc]

In my AO a .25 acre town lot is 90K+. There is noting built on them now that isn't 400K+.

That's just the way it is.....Adjust your lifestyle to the times or rent the rest of your life.

It really is as simple as that.

 

[leftwinger]

Not impossible. I've heard of it. I saw a ring.

Home owning dont help much initially.
$10K property taxes on median home don't help. They would add it on payment with insurance + PMI if your down payment is low. Nearly $2K/mo additional is possible near SJ CA on a median home (Where the jobs are).

Holy cow*
A typical monthly mortgage payment in San Jose is over $7,000, with some estimates from late 2024 and mid-2025 placing it between $7,000 and $7,162. This estimate is for a median-priced home with a 20% down payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and includes principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI).

 

[leftwinger]

I saw several rings. None of them a wedding ring.

Did you also hear her mention cigarettes?

No. Did not open. $10 per pack per day wont help.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

No. Did not open. $10 per pack per day wont help.

So, you admit her rant was an attention seeking broadcast for help she doesn't need. She can help herself first!

Her bitching about running out of soap and toothpaste was funny! She could ditch her cigarette habit and afford to buy those things.

 

[leftwinger]

Here's how it's happening...

Blackrock and Vanguard (at least) are buying up homes at (hypothetical price) $400K...They then keep them vacant for a short period, as though they're being flipped...Then they "sell" the homes to one of their holding companies for (hypothetical price) $600K.

Now you have comps in the neighborhood, which artificially raises the prices of every other house in the area for sale....The massive hedge funds then rent out the houses at inflated rates and clean up.

We are dealing with literal monstrous corporate rent seekers.

When I bought CA houses, the bank would not give a loan if value was not "right".

Not sure what you say blackrock is doing. A 50% increase in a short time to themselves? What about neighborhood comps?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I feel bad for this younger generation and the generation before, but there is no escaping the fact that things are more competitive today...

Yeah... no it isn't.
If anything it is LESS competitive.
Try competing for jobs in the 1980s-90s.
It has always been competitive. The problem today is kids want a job where they don't have to work very hard, are not expected to commit themselves to their job - but get paid as much as someone who does and has been there for 20 years.
Then they perceive this as a hostile environment. And whine on social media.
Meanwhile, a kid the same age out there is willing to do this, and has been committing themselves and working hard - and they are now established and making better money.

 

[Dogmaphobe]

I feel bad for this younger generation and the generation before, but there is no escaping the fact that things are more competitive today and people are just going to have to play the game smarter if they want to get ahead. Spending 100K on a Transgender Studies Degree is going to be really hard to pay back on a McDonald's wage. Spending 100K on an Engineering Degree will pay for itself in a few years and then it becomes a major cash cow. That kind of stuff. More importantly, if one can't afford life, what are they doing posting on and viewing TikTok all day long?

True dat.

The engineering degree requires intelligence,though. The various "studies" degrees don't. All they require is agreeing with the profs.

 

[candycorn]

At this point I just worry about me and mine. I'm pretty much done concerning myself about the plight of others.

Pardon me all to hell for doing well for myself.

You’re buying food at a flea market...

Odd, I just bought some produce down at the flea market and I did not notice any difference except in melon prices which had fell which makes sense this time of year.

Only in the MAGA-verse is that considered “doing well”.



It is a sign of things to come though. You’ll see pork and beans being sold on EBAY before too much longer thanks to tariffs.

 

[Orangecat]

Surely the simple answer is to vote trump and everything will be fine. Get rid of that biden character.

There are not simple answers, but electing Trump was a step in the right direction.

 

[Dorian Mode]

Yeah... no it isn't.
If anything it is LESS competitive.
Try competing for jobs in the 1980s-90s.
It has always been competitive. The problem today is kids want a job where they don't have to work very hard, are not expected to commit themselves to their job - but get paid as much as someone who does and has been there for 20 years.
Then they perceive this as a hostile environment. And whine on social media.
Meanwhile, a kid the same age out there is willing to do this, and has been committing themselves and working hard - and they are now established and making better money.

Ahh... maybe. I started college in 1982 and and grew up during the 80's but all I seem to remember are great parties and great music. I don't remember struggling to get ahead but I also didn't **** around with my education and then work either. Life was always easy. Maybe today the younger generation is too entitled to take things seriously anymore and doesn't have to deal with real competition anymore. Who knows, but I am sure there are plenty of young people kicking ass in school and their first jobs and not having to struggle.

 

[Independent thinker]

This is a rant! The younger generation is really screwed these days with high costs for rent, housing, insurance, new and used cars, not to mention everything else.

She even has roommates, and still can't pay the bills.

I have a lot to say about this, and she's not completely out of line, but want to hear some other opinions.

Biden and the democrat's high inflation is cooked into the books. Unfortunately, it can't be uncooked unless we have deflation, which is bad. The best course forward is to not have any dem policies which throw gas on the fire and let the economy slowly grow out of their disaster.

Having said that, other than inflation and very bad dem policies during Covid which raised rents and home prices, the following are two things which can greatly help with the problem.

1. This first one is already being done and that is getting rid of all of the illegals who shouldn't be here in the first place because they take up valuable housing which raises rents and mortgages.

2. The second one doesn't get talked about much but is a very HUGE problem. We have these companies (some of which may be backed by China) which are very aggressively buying up properties everywhere and using them for rentals or AirBNB type things. This takes homes for sale off the market, raising home prices, and then they can use their properties as rentals and charge any amount of rent they want.

 

[Dorian Mode]

There are not simple answers, but electing Trump was a step in the right direction.

It was a giant step in the right direction, but we must remember than Trump is not trying to fix the mistakes Biden created, he's trying to fix the mistakes that created Biden. We're talking well over 200 years of mistakes. It will take much more than Trump to change course and finally get on the right track, especially with the neo-leftists fighting absolutely everything.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

From what I can see, there's only two things that can turn around this insane real estate / home buying / apartment rent nightmare:

Either (a) a full-on real estate market crash of at least 30% to 40% that would snowball into a goddamn catastrophe that would make the 2008 Meltdown look like a walk in the park, or (b) a restructuring of law that doesn't allow private equity to swallow up half the ******* homes and apartment buildings in the country for rental investments.

This is a perfect example of how we've misapplied capitalism, the greatest force for prosperity ever. It needs smart controls to work properly, and we absolutely refuse to do that. Regulations are evil!

Not too many moving parts on this one, gang.

Add over 10 million illegal aliens under Biden, demand for housing increases.

Now who could have seen that coming?

 

[Dorian Mode]

Add over 10 million illegal aliens under Biden, demand for housing increases.

Now who could have seen that coming?

Andrea Bocelli.

 

[Missourian]

(b) a restructuring of law that doesn't allow private equity to swallow up half the ******* homes and apartment buildings in the country for rental investments.

I get calls and letters almost every day from investment companies making offers on my unimproved land. Land I paid $1500 an acre for is receiving sight unseen offers of five to six time that amount.

But, houses are expensive because building houses is expensive. The older houses price increases due to the exorbitant amount it costs to build one.

I've priced it. A lot more expense goes into materials and labor than you would think. Especially you folks that do nothing for yourselves.

 

[Mac1958]

Especially you folks that do nothing for yourselves.

Trumpskies are so damn thick.