What economic group did you grow up in?

absolutely!!! some of the stuff I look at the price tag and think OMFG that must be a typo.

eg I can buy some cheap chinese cables or electronic clock or some gadget for $1-$5 inc delivery from China, the average salary has shot up since I was a kid, so its like loose change!!!

incomes have gone up but imported cars seem to have come down a bit eg your hyundais etc.
bmws and mercs seem to have gone up along with CPI

phone calls overseas were like $2.50 per min to the USA, now they are virtually free,

however, we didnt have internet, mobile phone, tablet monthly charges

whitegoods seem to have not increased that much
however mobile phones for good ones are now $1000 each !!! along with tablets

I feel overall, that an average family who still needs those gadgets and expensive stuff is in a better financial position then when I was a kid

however try telling a person under 30 to not spend $200 a night every weekend going out to their favourtie restaruant

What used to be cheap:

- Utilities - especially water, I remember my dad use to "water" the concrete on hot days.

- Food. Days before the duopoly of Coles and Woolies.

- House/Rent

- Wages

Arguably it would be better off living

What used to be expensive:

- Electronics/Gadgets.

- Holidays/Flights.

4G Mobile phones can be purchased outright for $300-$400! Also bear in mind whilst back then there was no mobile/internet/data charges, phone bills were exxy, not as exxy as the mobile/data bills are today though.

It's arguably easier to live back then than today and move up a class. Most of the essentials today are much more expensive.

Under 30s eat out, travel and enjoy life like no tomorrow generally because the focus these days is different. Buying your dream house in your dream suburb is just that - a dream.
 
Middle class, not sure if you'd say middle or upper middle. My parents were teachers then Dad worked for the government. Mum mostly worked part time, we went overseas a couple of times but mostly holidays were in a caravan up the coast, on the boat or driving holidays. We were certainly lagging behind on the gadget front but had a small, crappy yacht (emphasis on the small and relatively crappy) for a while when we didn't have a caravan. We only ever did 1 or 2 activities but my brother went to boarding school for the last couple of years, mainly because the local school was not working for him. M&D reckon they were best off in the 70's and then once they retired. they certainly do OK now, mainly due to their wealth being topped up by decent inheritances.

I think much of just comes down to priorities. Education & domestic holidays were more important than having a video or a fancy car.

Once I left home definitely middle class, mainly courtesy of professions which paid badly! Best off in my 30s, not that I did much about building wealth at the time.

These days still middle class, trying to work my way up :)
 
4G Mobile phones can be purchased outright for $300-$400! Also bear in mind whilst back then there was no mobile/internet/data charges, phone bills were exxy, not as exxy as the mobile/data bills are today though.

It's arguably easier to live back then than today and move up a class. Most of the essentials today are much more expensive.

Under 30s eat out, travel and enjoy life like no tomorrow generally because the focus these days is different. Buying your dream house in your dream suburb is just that - a dream.

that just reminded me, our flights back to our hoem country apparently were about $1000 per adult, now they are $600-$700 per adult, and thats $1000 in the olden days money , so maybe $2000 in todays dollars,

that being said, I remember local phone calls were 20c or 22c per untimed call, so you couldnt rack up huge bills unless you called STD or internatioal. International wa like $2 per minute even to the USA

when mobiles first became mainstream I remember being shocked at being charged per minute! our first plan was something like $20 per month acccess fees, $15 handset fees, no calls included with calls at 20c per min peak and 10c per min offpeak. and then calls crept up every year slowly

in 2001 I had a business where I needed a unlimted phone call plan, I ended up signing a contract with Orange for $250 per month unlimited calls to local lines, no mobiles included.

Today you can get an unlimited call plan for as little as $25 per month including mobiles and 1300/1800 numbers. I absolutely love this plan!!!! makes me remember how expensive it was just 15 years ago
 
that just reminded me, our flights back to our hoem country apparently were about $1000 per adult, now they are $600-$700 per adult, and thats $1000 in the olden days money , so maybe $2000 in todays dollars,

that being said, I remember local phone calls were 20c or 22c per untimed call, so you couldnt rack up huge bills unless you called STD or internatioal. International wa like $2 per minute even to the USA

when mobiles first became mainstream I remember being shocked at being charged per minute! our first plan was something like $20 per month acccess fees, $15 handset fees, no calls included with calls at 20c per min peak and 10c per min offpeak. and then calls crept up every year slowly

in 2001 I had a business where I needed a unlimted phone call plan, I ended up signing a contract with Orange for $250 per month unlimited calls to local lines, no mobiles included.

Today you can get an unlimited call plan for as little as $25 per month including mobiles and 1300/1800 numbers. I absolutely love this plan!!!! makes me remember how expensive it was just 15 years ago

Phone calls is so last century. Mobile data is where they make money these days.

It's all about competition these days really. Low cost no frills airlines, cheap Chinese manufacturers.

The biggest factor in all of this is probably China - they produce a lot of low quality, cheap goods flooding markets.

Huawei makes a lot of communications gear for Optus which keeps its prices down.

Tbh, I've been using Skype for so long keeping with friends/family in Europe/USA/Asia that I rarely ever use landlines.
 
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