I've been to this party, too. I had the bad luck of being on the tail end of the boomers demographic. So when I got out of school, they beat me to it, and got all the good jobs first. Same with housing, prices all went up before I could buy. And then finally when I did, got hit with high interest rates, and falling house prices. So, I would like to be sympathetic, but...

Having said that, economies go through cycles, for sure, with jobs, wage growth, and housing booms/busts. Most of these are beyond our control, and best we can do is be lucky with our timing.

But what is within our control, are the jobs/business we choose and what we do with whatever opportunities are presented to us. If you really want to get ahead then choose a business or job where your personal efforts and merits are rewarded. Don't get caught up in politics or peer envy. In the end, you will be assessed and rewarded based on your own performance. And always, always, always, try to help others around you, and not yourself. If you try to get ahead on the backs of others, that will always backfire, and just ruin your reputation and future (and you will be miserable anyway).

I was very "lucky" in my career, and managed to retire early, and now can fully enjoy life with family, hobbies (like reefing), travel, etc. Having said that, I never had to sacrifice anything or deprive myself or my family along the way.

I agree whole heartedly!!

There is another facet to the conversation of cost of living and that is jobs I've been on both ends of the spectrum living below poverty lvl on minimum wage and now I have a good paying job with retirement benefits and unless the mill I work at shuts down I will be a lifer.

We all want a better life for ourselves and our kids yet we are also our own worst enemies because we want the good things in life but need to big money for it. I actually had more money when I worked minimum wage which was a whooping $3.25 when I started to now where I make over $30 an hr. More wages means more bills, more bills means more toys, more toys means more wants and it never ends.

Then now kids of today want what we worked our way to earn I learned working minimum wage to respect money it doesn't mean I'm money smart but I respect it. Most kids I see won't even answer the phone for a job unless it is paying well above current minimum wage then most of us complain that foreigners are taking over our jobs but when you walk into fast food joints, corner stores and convenience stores your hard pressed to find kids working there and older foreign workers doing the jobs because they are willing to work for that minimum wage whereas we as a society have not taught our kids the value of money and grow up not respecting it therefore not respecting the work that they do.

I may be wrong but I also have been on both ends of the pay scale as well

I have a neighbour who seems to care more about appearances and how much money everyone in the culdesac appears to have and judges based on what he sees, not what he knows. He's a douchbag a$$hole who doesn't "appear" to have any friends. I honestly don't give a crap about what you drive, how you furnish your home and what kind of clothes you wear. I do care about making sure my kids are well taken care of, have what they need for school and happy. We bought an RV a couple of years ago because we love to camp and we want our kids to continue to want to come out with us. And they do from 22 yrs old to 12, they love it and hanging out with us. It wasn't about what our friends had, it was about what works for us as a family. Its only been in the last couple of years that I have actually started to spend money on myself outside of necessities. My income has more than doubled over the past few years, from when I was a single parent to today. I worked my butt off to ensure I could look after my girls and it was not easy, and no, I did not receive any support. I chose a career in which my income is only capped by how far I want to grow within the industry.

The cost of living has gone up, for sure. But in the end we make our own choices on how to spend our money, what type of house to buy and car to drive. Life was so much simpler with no mortgage, no bills (being a renter vs homeowner), no cell phones, car payments, fish tanks etc.

If coworkers decide to blow bonuses on cars and trips etc., really, why do you care? If you are happy, that really is all that matters.

I was listening to CBC today and was curious to see if anyone had heard of this new report out of the Fraser Institute that says you can bring up a child for $3000-$4500/yr.
:boink:

I'm not even a parent and I don't see how that's possible.

Nope, I punch them in the front of the head :boxing:

Maybe for the first year if you're breast feeding, and using cloth diapers

This depends on so many factors. For starters, what exactly do they mean by bring up? If they just mean feeding the kid then sure, that's possible. Kids don't actually eat much. You could clothes them in rags for all they cared. :lol:
Daycare is a bit of a variable. Not everyone has their kids in daycare. Some have a stay at home parent, some have grand parents, etc..

Good news, I can walk without crutches now

I spend more then that on my dog per year!