Quick Question...
When did everything start to cost $1,000?
We're in that life station where there's a lot of energy in the maintaining. You know what I'm talking about, right? The dryer goes out. Or the roof has hail damage. Plumbing work needs doing. Cars need their 50,000 mile check up. Kids have a chance to go on a fantastic trip (the cost is a bargain, really). Price of gas. Dental stuff all around. You get the idea.
It's all part of life, man. I'm not griping. Really. I've been in far more dire situations. We're just at that station in life. It comes and goes. In fact, my mom, the beloved Charlotte the Scar, once described this station in life as a "generational loan." I was talking about orthodontics when we first went through that and she kind of laughed and said that none of her payments were gifts. They were all, practically speaking, loans. Her theory was that her parents paid for braces for her, she paid for mine, I'd pay for my kids and on down the line. Same for college. Weddings. Cars. The whole bit. It was all a loan that one generation started and the next generation just paid back with interest. I'm no economist but it makes sense on some level.
But what I want to know is when did it all seem like it cost $1,000? Why do I expect that plumber to say, "Yeah. We checked it out and it's pretty routine cleaning for a house this age and that'll be $100." Why do I think the car guy will call and say, "Well, sir. We gave it the once-over and all it needed was a tune-up. That'll be $75." Why do I hope the letter from the school's bottom line will say, "We do this every year. We rent bikes and tool around Europe and stay in hostels and get group rates. You'll need to come up with $350." Yeah. I'm not getting any of those calls. There is usually a comma involved in the numbers I'm being given.
The only thing I can think of is that I grew up in the 1970's and listened to my parents talk about their high cost of living and those figures stayed on my brain's hard drive. But, man. That generational loan's interest rate seems higher than I expected.
Any help you could give me on this would be appreciated.
When did everything start to cost $1,000?
We're in that life station where there's a lot of energy in the maintaining. You know what I'm talking about, right? The dryer goes out. Or the roof has hail damage. Plumbing work needs doing. Cars need their 50,000 mile check up. Kids have a chance to go on a fantastic trip (the cost is a bargain, really). Price of gas. Dental stuff all around. You get the idea.
It's all part of life, man. I'm not griping. Really. I've been in far more dire situations. We're just at that station in life. It comes and goes. In fact, my mom, the beloved Charlotte the Scar, once described this station in life as a "generational loan." I was talking about orthodontics when we first went through that and she kind of laughed and said that none of her payments were gifts. They were all, practically speaking, loans. Her theory was that her parents paid for braces for her, she paid for mine, I'd pay for my kids and on down the line. Same for college. Weddings. Cars. The whole bit. It was all a loan that one generation started and the next generation just paid back with interest. I'm no economist but it makes sense on some level.
But what I want to know is when did it all seem like it cost $1,000? Why do I expect that plumber to say, "Yeah. We checked it out and it's pretty routine cleaning for a house this age and that'll be $100." Why do I think the car guy will call and say, "Well, sir. We gave it the once-over and all it needed was a tune-up. That'll be $75." Why do I hope the letter from the school's bottom line will say, "We do this every year. We rent bikes and tool around Europe and stay in hostels and get group rates. You'll need to come up with $350." Yeah. I'm not getting any of those calls. There is usually a comma involved in the numbers I'm being given.
The only thing I can think of is that I grew up in the 1970's and listened to my parents talk about their high cost of living and those figures stayed on my brain's hard drive. But, man. That generational loan's interest rate seems higher than I expected.
Any help you could give me on this would be appreciated.
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