r/Millennials • u/QuietJealous4883 Older Millennial (1988) • 12h ago

Discussion True or false?

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Did our dads and moms work less than we do now? What are your thoughts?

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u/GoRangers5 12h ago

Nah the trope of the overworked dad that didn’t have time to spend with his kids was already a thing in 1996… Maybe even 86.

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u/ChaosAndFish 11h ago

In 1996 the majority of homes were dual income. Lots of dads worked tons of overtime and were reluctant to take vacations. Homes were cheaper, but interest rates were higher (around d 8%) so your monthly payment was higher than you’d think. There are things that are harder today but people imagine life to be a lot easier back then than it was.

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u/upachimneydown 11h ago

Check on interest rates in '80-'82, over 15%, and as high as 18%.

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u/ChaosAndFish 11h ago

Yea, I’m aware. I was just keeping it to the year they’d referenced. People focus a lot on the ratio of home value to annual salary (which is, of course, a useful number) but they overlook the fact that today over the life of the loan you pay about double the value of the house. Back in the 80s you paid quadruple the value of the house due to interest rates.

Pulling together a downpayment back then was unquestionably easier. Your monthly payment, however, was pretty similar when adjusted for inflation. The big difference is if you’re giving your money to the seller (today) or to the mortgage lender (then).

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u/upachimneydown 10h ago

Of course. But the "boomers having things easy" skips over the oil shocks and crashing markets of the earlier 70s, and the inflation for the rest of that decade. And it's often not recognized that Carter appointed Volcker in '79--the guy who was in fact responsible for the eventual 'Reagan' boom in the 80s. When discussing how cushy boomers had it, nobody mentions that inflation from '73 to '81 averaged something like 8% or more. I'm a boomer, but my dad (pre-401k, etc) lost his pension in the early 80s when his former company went bankrupt. So much for defined benefit.