I've worked my ass off my whole life.
I've been through a lot. Nothing illegal or devastating, I've just been through a lot.
I'm not a big-brain smarty pants, but I'm not completely stupid either.
I don't come from money, and my family is not well-connected or established. We're just an average, lowkey family.
I don't do drugs or have bizarre felonies or issues. I'm just pretty boring/normal.
I don't go out all the time. I don't vacation. I don't really do anything, tbh. I work, pay rent and bills, and…work to pay rent and bills.
I did an honorable term in the military, got my GI bill, got my bachelor's, and have my VA Home Loan waiting.
So, I figured, hey, I'm doing okay.
Except…apparently I'm not.
I'm not gaining any ground, and I basically break even at the end of each month. Everything just gets more expensive, but my wages stay the same.
The more I looked around, the more I realized I'm actually fucking low-income, low class, and utterly screwed.
I take home about $56,000 a year at a nice, flexible, white-collar position. Full healthcare coverage, even though I don't use it (I'm fit and healthy, thank goodness). I thought that was decent.
Holy shit was I wrong. For whatever reason, there's this incomprehensible gap from like $60k to astounding wealth. There doesn't seem to really be anything in between. You're either a doctor/engineer/lawyer/business owner/inheritance kid . . . or you're just fucked.
You either make like $50-65k . . . or you make $150k and up.
What the fuck is happening in the gray area between? I have no clue. My company stonewalls everyone and refuses to do raises or corrections, so we're all just kind of…stuck…with no growth or ability to crawl out of that $60k ceiling (meanwhile, our CEO has purchased his 10th home–not a joke).
At any rate, I started poking around numbers, dreaming about someday using my VA Home Loan (fucking lul). I figure, I've worked hard, I did my service, and I have an established position at a decent company; I should be able to afford a basic, entry-level, single-family home.
What I've been finding is blowing my mind:
In April 2024, U.S. home prices were up 6.0% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $432,812
Up 6%? $432,812!?
Ouch. Wrong direction. Still way too expensive. Still hyper-inflated COVID prices.
The median in 2019 was $258,000 . . .
I figured since that's a national median, some states would surely be cheaper…right? Nope. Pretty much every state has $400,000 as the bar for anything built in this generation. Stuff built in 1940 and in BFE states come in a little lower, around $250k-$300, but with massive issues and renovations needed. No thanks (I'm also not able to move atm, so that's off the table anyway).
So, I plugged this into a mortgage calculator (30 years, 7%).
Assuming I have 10% at $43,281 for a down-payment (I don't–but the VA Home Loan allows some flexibility there), this resulted in the following monthly:
- ~$3,348 a month, which includes property tax, homeowners ins., and private mortgage ins. estimates.
For me, that's almost 100% of my monthly income. Just to cover shelter. JUST to cover shelter. For the national median home price…
This doesn't include insurance, groceries, gas, utilities, bills, clothing, retirement, etc. Kids? A spouse? Lol.
Something doesn't seem right here.
Middle class is the middle. Median is the middle. A median priced home is way beyond what I can afford.
I've started freaking out a bit. I'm not even middle class? At my age and after all I've done? And not only am I not middle class, I'm not even close.
If we go by the recommended 3:1 ratio for housing, I'd need to make approximately ~$10,044 take home a month to not be what is considered “burdened.” That's ~$120,528 a year, after taxes.
So now I'm flipping out, realizing that MIDDLE CLASS in 2024 means an income of probably around $150-175,000 gross.
That's like 3x more than I make currently, with no way to close the gap.
Except, when you look at what currently IS the middle class, “Real Median Personal Income in the United States” in 2022 was $40,480…
…WHAT?!
I decided to toss that figure into a “how much house can I afford” calculator, selecting NerdWallet.
“At your income level, NerdWallet recommends that you apply for a mortgage no larger than:
- $108,301″
You can almost not even get a mobile home for $108k these days.
Then who the fuck is affording literally any housing?
WHAT IS GOING ON? Lol.
I'm not sure who to blame here: employers or real estate exploitation.
Probably both.
I'm at a loss, and I'm just fucking done. I see all these job postings that require masters degrees and pay $20/hr. On the flip side, I see actual morons working as engineers and lawyers making $400/hr. I'd go do that, but I'd have to go get $200,000 in student loans to get through law school or $60,000 to get a masters. And even then, there's no guarantee I'll even find a job that pays enough without nepotism or some kind of break.
And I'm just tired. I'm not 20 anymore. I'm exhausted.
Wtf is going on? Seriously…
TLDR:
- 2024 median home prices are insanely high at $432,812.
- That's roughly $174,812 higher than the median home price from 2019–just 5 years ago before COVID frenzy investor buying.
- That is about $3,348 a month–just to cover housing, after a $43,000 down payment.
- 2022-2023 median personal annual income in the United States is just $40,480.
- You can only afford a house at about $108,000 at that wage.
- Houses where I live are all listed at $600,000+, many at $1,000,000+.
- Who the fuck is buying anything anymore?
- Do we blame companies for low wages, or housing exploitation and investors for screwing us over? Or both?