[notch656a]

Even when I was a forklift driver, a job available in practically every middle-sized low COL midwest city, I could save $10k a year by only spending on necessities. That's only like 15 years to buy a house somewhere like a middle-sized Midwest town with forklift jobs. Not too shabby if you can buy a house by 33.

The piggy-bank method does work. Maybe more people should be doing it rather than us having a system inflating the hell out of our economy through loans with negative real interest rate.

[symlinkk]

I just Googled it and the average forklift driver salary is $40k. After tax and retirement you’re taking home around $2500/mo. After putting $1200 in your piggy bank you’re left with $1300 to pay for rent, food, gas, car, phone. I seriously do not think that is possible, let alone pleasant.

[cjrp]

Saving $10k/year is $833.3/month going in to savings (so $1600 left to live with). Doable if your rent is cheap.

[factsarelolz]

Yeah just live at home with mom and dad or have room mates for 15 years.

[akgerber]

Rent in a city like Appleton, WI (a random small Midwestern industrial city) averages $659 for a 1br: https://appleton.craigslist.org/search/apa?min_price=&max_pr...

Sharing a 2br is even cheaper. And this is only if one wants to buy a house all-cash.

Another traditional route to homeownership in Midwestern cities is purchasing a 2-family house. The tenant's rent generally covers the house's mortgage, even at today's interest rates: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/701-Broad-St-Menasha-WI-5...?

[notch656a]

There's a certain segment of people with a smug self superiority that think because they earn six figures in places like Seattle or San Francisco that the simple forklift driver in bumfuck, WI has even less chance of buying a home than they have.

They couldn't be more wrong.

While the forklift driver is slowly saving 10k a year for a 150k house, the SF bro is saving 50k a year for a similar house for $1M. Guess who gets to the target first.

[akgerber]

Nowadays one can also work remotely for an SF/Seattle firm and live in Appleton & buy a very nice house & talk about Bucks games at the bar rather than website capitalism.

[cjrp]

Or have room mates for a few years, and then move in with a partner and split the rent on a cheap 1 bed. It's doable without being miserable, most of the country lives like that.

[prottog]

> the average forklift driver salary

Of course, one may choose to work harder than average to make more than the average.

> I seriously do not think that is possible

Rents can be very low in these kinds of places, especially if you're young and willing to share a house with others. I personally knew a couple who spent less than $20k a year on all household expenses; granted it was a few years ago, but they weren't even in a very low CoL area.

[mrguyorama]

More work hasn't given more pay for decades. Worker productivity in real terms has gone up 50%, yet take home pay has not.

[notch656a]

Productivity is output per unit of time worked. More productivity is getting more out of the same amount of work. AFAIK median hourly wages have been flat or better per unit time worked, thus working more would indeed mean more pay.

[factsarelolz]

> one may choose to work harder than average to make more than the average.

Work 60 hours a week for 15 years so you can buy a 150k house?

I'm sure there are plenty of 18 years old willing to do that. /s

[prottog]

If more 18-year-olds were willing to do that, we would be in a better place.

[factsarelolz]

Too bad there aren't really any "decent" homes for 150k to raise a family without giving up something huge.

[notch656a]

What is a midwestern forklift driver giving up when they buy the 150k house? Just a few years ago I was raising a family in HALF of a duplex that was worth 80k. My kid had their own room, a nice big yard to play in, close proximity to parks and outdoors, water electricity and internet for kids shows or whatever. Are you saying I was depriving my family of something huge that I otherwise could have provided them?