I started watching a pretty good show on Apple+ tv yesterday called Severance. It's a mystery thriller. Apparently only 5 episodes long and I've watched 3 1/2 so far. The premise is a group of people employed for this company agree to have their brains altered so that they only remember work while at work and only remember their time away from work while away from work. I've only watched 2 shows on Apple tv, and I'm sure it's not really the case for all the shows on there, but so far I'm liking that neither shows felt the need to throw in all the violence, blood and gore, and sex. Both were very good storylines without all that. The Ted Lasso show does have a lot of swearing, but honestly, it's funny and it's in an English accent, so it's even better, LOL. One of my favorite scenes was with the grumpy retired soccer (football) player who constantly swears. He spends a lot of time with his 6 year old niece who was picking up on his swearing habit and got sent home from school for the day. He had to go pick her up, because her mom (his sister) was busy with her job. The teacher explains all the swearing the little girl had been doing and the warnings. Then the little girl says "uncle Roy, can we stop and get ice cream on the way home?" Roy blurts back "F- No!". Next scene they are in his car eating ice cream cones, chatting about her not swearing and she says "maybe we can both stop swearing". Roy blurts out "F- You!". You'd have to see it. It gave me a good laugh.
Our YouTubetv had free HBO over the weekend and I watched a cute movie - "Free Guy" with Ryan Reynolds. Nothing great, but it was an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours.
In other things we watch regularly, the bald eagles have been taking turns sitting in the nest 24/7, LOL. It's been about 2 weeks of this so far, so about another 2 or 3 weeks until egg(s) hatch. Of course, since we can't see in the nest from our view, it will be awhile before we actually see the eaglet(s). Two years ago we watched through our binoculars as they sat but then never saw an eaglet as we didn't grab the binoculars too often. Last year we had the telescope but the eagles had left that nest for the most part. This year they are back and it's easier to watch what is going on there using the telescope. Hopefully later on we'll have an opportunity to see an eaglet, as it gets bigger and starts flying out of the nest.
Ok, reading stuff like this annoys the crap out of me, LOL. This was from a local "news" source, so the figures are from our nearby city, lamenting how no one can afford rent. I find the numbers and parameters they use to be a bit skewed. Says the median price for a 2 bedroom apartment is $979, so it takes $18.37/hr or 2.1 minimum wage incomes to afford a 2 bedroom apartment.
This is how I see it. First off, if you are making a lower end wage, why do you need a 2 bedroom apartment? Who says you must have a 2 bedroom apartment? How about you go with less expensive one bedroom apartment? If you are a couple, then you could still get by with a 1 bedroom and both work, so there is your 2.1 incomes (of min wage) needed (and that's for a 2 bedroom). If you are 2 people who are roommates and therefore need a 2 bedroom, well then you both of course need jobs to afford your half of the rent. Again, there's your 2.1 incomes to afford the rent for that 2 bedroom apartment.
Second off, there are job signs everywhere you go around the city offering $16-$17 an hour, not minimum wage. At every fast food or restaurant, at all the stores, Home Depot had a sign they were hiring, starting at $16, it was higher for a night stocker position. My mom's senior living place still has signs out as you drive in for job openings starting at $16. So, there ya go. One of these jobs, and a little side hustle, and you, on your own, can afford a 2 bedroom.
If you are married with a child or two, yes, you would need a 2 bedroom, but hey, sorry, both of you would might need to work, if you can't find one of those offered everywhere jobs for twice what minimum wage is. If you are a single parent and need that 2 bedroom apartment and are making minimum wage....well then my suggestion is to go get one of those $17/hr jobs that are there for the picking. Of course there are exceptions, I'm not talking about retired on limited income or people on disability. I'm talking about fully able-d adults able to work, which is most people. At least report it factual, with reasonable parameters.
It went on to say that the median home price here is $485,000, which is true. It then said that the income to afford that $485,000 home is almost $147,000 a year. I say BS. I don't make near that much and have a mortgage near that amount and we're doing just fine, with extra disposable income left over each month. Yet people read these little charts and articles like this one and I'm sure think "oh, there's no way I could afford a mortgage, then". Maybe these people writing these things need to go take a math or finance/economics class or two.
Some friends (who live in the city) have a daughter who is now 19 or 20. Working one of those $17/hour jobs (working at a retail store) and she has her own 1 bedroom apartment there in the city and is doing just fine.
Wow $979 for a two bedroom apartment. That is unheard of here. Here in my small city in Canada it is $1800.00 for a 2 bedroom. My son pays $900 just for his half of the 2 bedroom he rents. As for house prices here they are just insane. Houses on my street having been getting a million or more. Our houses are nothing special. What you would call starter homes. Our minimum wage is $15, with the average wage being around $20 so I don't know who is affording these rents or mortgages.
ReplyDeleteI used to kind of "wow" about Canadian prices, especially in talking to my half sister, who lives there. But then, after doing her US tax returns and realizing the Canadian exchange rate difference, your $1800 for a 2 bedroom is typically the equivalent of $1350 here, at that is very typical for higher cost of living/metropolitan cities here, if not higher. For example, - my half sis got the Covid stimulus payments. I think totaling $3200 US$. When she exchanged it it was like $4200 Canadian.
DeleteI'm happy for you that you can make all the numbers work on paper. I can tell you a whole different version of how the math really doesn't add up, but you'd likely not agree so I won't.
ReplyDeleteI felt the "article" was misleading saying you have to work two "min wage" jobs to rent an apartment, when there is really no one in that city that is not paying at least $16/hr, even for the most basic skill level type of job, no experience needed.
DeleteArticles like that are probably difficult to makes sense of because I really don't think you can generalize, even within the same State. We have the HUUUUUGGGGEEE difference here between the local Swiss (Geneva) prices and just across the border here in France. A two-bedroom apartment to buy in Geneva would probably go for between 1 and 1.5 million dollars, whereas my son just bought a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment 25 km away in France for $300,000. Of course one of the differences is that in Switzerland you can also get 100 year mortgages and also my Swiss salary at the end of my career was probably 5 times what I would have earned in France. So as I say, here at least it's very difficult (if not impossible) to compare apples to oranges. Everyone's reality is probably different!
ReplyDeleteit is different in different parts of the country and even parts of same states, but this "article" was specifically about the city near us. Anyone who wants a $17 an hour job can get one, no one needs to try to afford rent on min wage, at least here.
DeleteThe holdouts who won't work for minimum wage or a double that wage skew the facts. Plus, after you buy diapers because you cannot afford a washing machine or refuse to work with baby poop, it takes a bite out of wages. Then, there is child care, a car, drugs, partying, food you don't have to cook because you are too lazy, tired or don't know how to cook.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many factors beside the cost of housing or wages. Oh, there are utilities and over-priced housing. Reductionism is rarely helpful.
I tend to agree with SAM. I need to see what places are paying here at fast food places.
I have zero compassion for someone spending money on drugs and partying, etc who wants to complain they can’t afford rent.
DeleteOne,
DeleteWe all lose patience with those folks!
To be fair, I think people believe their needs are more complex than necessary. I lived very frugally for a very long time--tiny apartment in a major metropolitan area, no car, minimum expenses as I was single, and NOT making minimum wage. That said, I wondered how people at my same salary grade could manage their lifestyles. Turns out, they were in debt up to their eyeballs. (Of course, this was the era when consumer debt was advised.) I think people sometimes think that their "needs" are much more complex than they really are. That said, when I was just starting out, if I had been faced with a catastrophic even, I would not have been able to face it financially--in fact, while I had health insurance, I had no dental insurance, and had to have emergency oral surgery just 4 months after I started working. I had to use the few sick days I had earned, and had to max out my first credit card to cover the amount, choosing to do that rather than deplete my savings. (Back then, my savings earned more interest than my CC charged.) Things aren't so black and white--when my first child was born, infant daycare cost so much, DH and I figured if I stayed working, I'd be bringing home just under $500/month when all was said and done (childcare, commute, insurance deductions, disposable diapers, formula, appropriate work attire, etc.)--which was not even enough to cover the rent. I can't imagine how single mothers survived--and I was making a fairly decent salary at the time! Had I been single, I was at an income level were I didn't qualify for any subsidies. So I ask you, how was I going to cover the rent? And we lived in a one bedroom even with newborn, btw, opting not to pay for a 2 bedroom until our lease was up and we moved to a far cheaper part of the country. As for that move? That was covered by DH's company--I don't know how we would have managed had it not been, as even so, it still cost a fair penny. So, like Sam said, while *you* can make it work on paper, the math really doesn't add up for many.
ReplyDeleteSame stories from me and my dh earliest years. I was working p/t in college, dh was making $1200 a month at a company w/no health insurance. My lung collapsed and hospital and doctor bills. I put school on hold a year and went and got a f/t job, with benefits that also ended up paying for the rest of my degree. We, just like you, worked at getting out of min wage life. My dh took a job where he'd learn some skills that would get him a better paying job and I got an education for a better paying job. My point was that the article was making it sound like someone has to go out and work 2 full time jobs to afford an apartment and that is just not true when all the employers here are paying more than twice what min wage is, by law.
DeleteBut that's just it: I didn't *have* a minimum wage job. I had just earned my degree, and entered at the low end of the mid-level pay grade. Also, not sure how it is now, in your part of the country, but back then, in this major Northeast city, to move in to an apartment, you needed to put down 3 months rent: First month, last month, and a month security deposit. I had no credit history, so when I applied for my place I had to submit a notarized letter from my Sr. Officer stating I had the means to cover the rent, and then he made a phone call to the property management office and gave a verbal recommendation. Pretty sure *he* was the only reason they approved me. But, and this is important, I lived on a friend's couch for the first 3 weeks after starting my job before I got my first pay check and could even look for an apartment. Even then, that first pay check didn't cover the 3 months--I had to borrow the difference from my parents to have enough to move in. And, they phoned a local furniture store to have a bed delivered to me, because I would have been on the floor otherwise. Also, it wasn't the least expensive apartment in the area, it was the one I could move in the soonest, getting me off my friend's couch, and within (safe, well lit) walking distance to public transportation, which was necessary as I had no car. (Those places are typically more expensive.) All this to say, going though that, I learned that being "poor" costs money. That is not something that is taken into account when we say "Just cut out the Starbucks" to those struggling.
DeleteTHAT SAID, I would be the first person to, if offered, come into someone's home and show them how they could easily cut $ from their expenses without them even noticing it. Also, speaking from someone who has sorta', kinda' not wanting to launch young adults, I do know that many people expect to start off living in the manner in which they were living in their parents' homes, or with an apartment that looks like the set of "Friends." The reality is quite different. And, yes, the inability for many to face this reality infuriates me.
I make a "living" wage where I am but cannot afford anything. Even if I had a partner, they would need to make 4x what I make. Or we would both need 6 figure incomes, unless we move out of the suburbs. It's really hard out there for a LOT of folks, even folks who get paid that amount working non retail jobs.
ReplyDeleteso where you live it takes 2 people BOTH making over $100,000 a year to afford a 2 bedroom apartment?
DeleteYUPP! Rent is going up in major cities, along with cost of living etc. And you don't account for student debt which alot of folks have. Some homes rent for over $2000 a month. I can give a little and say if you rent, maybe only one 6 figure income is ok, but really things are less and less within reach for the average person.
DeleteRent and cost of living is going up everywhere, even in small towns and cities. I guess I would love to see a person's budget making 6 figures. It would be an interesting comparison, I'll bet ;) And to be totally honest, people with loads of student debt made that choice. There are other ways to get a college degree without loads of debt for it. People just don't want to sacrifice and do it that way. Well, then they end up sacrificing afterwards and can't afford rent.
DeleteIf that person with children is paying any kind of child care they won't be able to afford both childcare and an apartment.
ReplyDeleteBut that person, if they have children and are making min wage can qualify for all kinds of assistance and subsidies, can they not? In my state a single person with 2 kids (ie family of 3), making less than $46k a year can qualify for $648 a month in SNAP food stamps. They can qualify for a 25% reduction in their heating/electric bill. They can qualify for section 8 housing subsidy. They can qualify for child care subsidy. They can qualify for the $23/mo internet from the cable/internet provider. Our city's bus service that goes all over is free for everyone to use. I'm certainly not saying they will be rich, but there is much assistance available to those in need.
Deletethis is not the case where I live. they can get SNAP, but we don't have heating assistance except to defer payment in the winter and end up with a huge bill in the spring, Busses are not free here and there is no deal on internet. I work with the district social worker. Child care can be subsidized at certain facilities but they are often full or far from a person's job or home. Gas prices will now make this even more difficult.
ReplyDeleteYour profile says you live in Wisconsin. I found this about Wisconsin heating assistance: http://homeenergyplus.wi.gov/category.asp?linkcatid=239
DeleteMaybe this is outdated, but I also found something called "Wisconsin Lifeline Services" where you can get a discount on internet and phone service if you qualify for other programs, like SNAP.
I do realize that actually getting some of these assistances does take work and time, but it can be done. If the daycare is full, the parent should get on the waiting list asap.
Daycare costs were probably the second deciding factor in my decision to give up my career. (First one is, I wasn't going to have kids if I couldn't be home with them.) But, when I was pregnant with my first, aside from costs, available spaces in accessible daycares (within the route to work) were almost impossible to find. To this day I tell *every* pregnant mother who plans to return to work to start looking for a slot the minute she finds out she is expecting.
DeleteJulia makes another point about heating/fuel costs. In my northeast apartment, hot water was included, but electricity wasn't, and the heat was electric. I wasn't in a ground floor or basement apartment, thankfully, but even on the 3rd floor, and at work during the week, keeping the place at 55 degrees in the the midst of a New England winter cost a pretty penny. Again, these are things that (Sam, I think it was) pointed out that aren't included in the math of your article. Do I get frustrated at people not taking responsibility for their choices? Yes. But, I'm learning that it isn't as easy for some as other.
I did the same thing back in 1991 when I had my son. I started looking for daycare before I even had him. I called up the state and asked if they had a list of all the licensed daycares in my area, which they did and they mailed me (this was before email haha). I started calling and going to visit and putting my name on their list of the ones I liked. I was luckily able to secure a spot with a wonderful lady who lived less than a mile away. If I hadn't gotten that list of licensed daycares, I'm not sure how I would have know how to find one other than word or mouth of if they advertised (which most didn't, of course, if they were a home daycare)
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