I really need some motivation/hope here.
First of all let me say that I'm good at my job, I enjoy my work, actually like my employer, and while I have only been here for about 18 months and haven't got a raise yet, that is about my only real gripe. (I have had enough experience that I know it wouldn't be prudent to expect LOYALTY from them, but overall, they're not bad as far as employers go.) This isn't about my actual job but about my complete lack of motivation to kick ass and try to get ahead. Let me explain…
For various reasons, I'm almost 50 years old but have almost no savings. This isn't because I spent the last 30 years partying, it mostly has to do with poor choices in partners and the last one having chronic illnesses that changed a lot of plans and drained what savings I did have when she was unable to work. That part isn't relevant. What *is* is that we split up right before the pandemic hit (no, I did not dump her, and I certainly didn't dump her because she was sick. But that's another story) and I've spent the whole time since paying off debt, kicking ass, and getting back on track. I have been debt free since February, am saving aggressively, and basically an observer would think I'm doing all the right things.
It seems to be completely pointless. Let me explain. I make a good salary, a lot of people would think it's high and I should be happy. However, I just ran some numbers and I realized that a “starter home” in anything resembling a decent area near me would cost 5x my annual salary, it would take me literally 4-5 years to save up even a 10% down payment at my current savings rates, and if mortgage rates stay as high as they are I still couldn't afford it because the monthly payments would be literally almost all of my take home pay.
So why should I do all the right stuff? Seems like I should just keep renting the cheapest place I can find and just figure on an “accident” if/when I get too old and feeble to work anymore.
Close to 20 years ago now (damn) my then-fiancee and I bought a modest house in a desirable neighborhood. I was thinking that today I could almost afford the mortgage payments on something like that today by myself, because I'd really like to not be worried about landlords and stability, and maybe I could even find something cheaper because at this point in my life I don't really care about school districts other than some vague notions about keeping property values high. But it wasn't until I actually started thinking about a real plan and making it work that I realized just how much the higher interest rates we have today would make it unattainable.