https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautifu ... alculated/
Here are the pictures:
1
https://preview.redd.it/lfv67fk4kbd81.j ... ed7d261d8c
2
https://preview.redd.it/g89ilmp4kbd81.j ... b14c0aebc0
3
https://preview.redd.it/3xd0bnv4kbd81.j ... b7d2770c42
5
https://preview.redd.it/pxkf9105kbd81.j ... a92cba1550
Nearly 10 years ago now, I did a study of evolution of costs in the US from the 1950s to 2010s. I saw that some things got cheaper or remained about the same (transportation, electronics, housing in suburban and rural areas, food), but some things got far more expensive (healthcare, college tuition, housing in large cities).
I'll note that the starting point of data on the reddit post (income from a minumum wage job) is not directly relevant to most people here. But the impact of these things that have gotten more expensive are likely to apply to all of use to various extents.
The lesson here, if you want to be financially secure:
- *HEALTHCARE* Limit your need for healthcare services. Take good care of your health. Be lucky and not born with problems (¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) While working, have very good insurance. Be safe and don't need much care from the medical industry. With insurance tied to employment, when considering your strategy of work and retirement, employer-provided insurance (if good) now has a larger weight (and thus, a strategy of keeping a job that is 'easy', working low hours, for less money, but more years is becoming a stronger option than before)
- *SCHOOL* For kids finishing high school, really think and be strategic about career and education choice. We all know this isn't the good old days where grandpa's advice of "walk into the business, find the boss, and look him in the eye confidently when you shake his hand" is no longer enough
- *HOUSING* Be open-minded about where you live. Housing costs have skyrocketed in many large cities and their suburbs. Living and renting in these areas is a huge money sink. It's possible to profit from owning homes there if the prices continue to rise (but taking profit may require moving to a lower priced area). BUT - prices are still pretty reasonable in much of the US, geographically. In the midwest, in the southeast, in smaller cities, and in most rural areas.
- *GEOGRAPHIC ARBITRAGE* - This would include living in a high income area (with higher living costs) while earning and saving, and then moving to a lower COL region of the US, or even better financially, a lower COL country. With great internet and remote work, it's now more possible to set up a career earning a U.S. level salary, but live and work in a low COL area. As a personal example, I lived in Vietnam for nearly two years and spent under $10,000 year while splurging a lot. And - I enjoyed living there more than the U.S.