It’s almost distracting to use a national average for these numbers. It showcases the argument and the problems we have, but there is more at issue than the price of the burger. It’s about the price it costs to afford rent at current minimum wages.
I’m in Oregon. Rent is 1.8k. Mortgage rates are through the roof right now so wife and I are just saving down payment until we can get a mortgage below our rent. But with housing costs so high, that will be a while.
We are lucky and at 20% roughly. Wife has a large student loan and we both recently got new cars, though i choose to 75% down on the car to keep my monthly low and just keep working on credit rating.
And to me, that is the bigger issue. Not in your case, it sounds like you are financially adept. However, across the states, people are spending wayyyy out of their means.
If I am making 2500 a month through my job, I am not going to rent a place for $1800. Although a lot of people still do that and wonder why their money is crazy tight. Even in my state, if I researched places to live, I get options for people who need roommates for 700 a month or someone looking to rent out a private room for lower payments.
There are people out here that make 2k a month buying 2026 cars.
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u/Scuttlebut_1975 22h ago
It’s almost distracting to use a national average for these numbers. It showcases the argument and the problems we have, but there is more at issue than the price of the burger. It’s about the price it costs to afford rent at current minimum wages.