it used to be possible for a guy to work a normal salary and get by good. if you wanted to be frugal and do an extra 20 hrs a week on the side then a guy could pay off his house in 10-15 yrs and retire young with enough socked away. but im talkin 25 years ago.
So true.
I remember the good old days- like the asst produce mgr who was 19years old and he was able to buy a new Corvette in 1969 on his salary. He was still living at home, but what kid could do that today under the same circumstances on today's grocery store slave wages?
Good jobs (THE KIND THAT COULD SUPPORT A FAMILY) were easy to get and quite a few kids in my high school era were able to get married right out of highschool and support themselves. One of friends who did, retired recently after spending 40 years on the railroad and others got jobs at GM right out of highschool and have good retirements today.
In the old, old days, you went in person and applied for a job, the HR girl scanned your one page application and if you were breathing and didn't act drunk they asked you to sit and wait for an interview- then 15 minutes later ther HR person asked if you could come back in a couple hours and start immediately on 2nd shift. yes they practically nailed your shoes to the floor to keep an able bodied person from going down the street and getting hired at another factory.
Working second jobs was common- gas station, bowling alley, grocery store and all the money was plowed into saving for a new car (cash) or paying off that mortgage asap. If you did get a loan- they were for 2 or at the most 3 years- lots of people traded every year or two- they had equity to do it on short loans. We were still remembering how our grandparents talked about the depression, so mortgages were gotten rid of as soon as possible. Also, it was still common for a man to support his family on his wages and in my school years very few mothers worked outside the home. In 10 years jobs will be plentiful again- thanks to the baby boomers retiring- the jobs just won't pay much, thanks to our bought and paid for politicians.
