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Zoomers are known for a lot of things.
Some of these are fair, like their inventiveness with language and their enthusiasm for embracing new technology.
In fact, their attitudes about Gen Zs supposedly out of control spending werent rooted in current financial reality.
That might seem like a wild claim, but Smith breaks it down.
Back in the 80s, luxuries were expensive, but life was cheap, he said.
Now, its been inverted.
If you wanted a personal computer, youd better be prepared to pony up at least $2,500.
Even a microwave would set you back $500.
Smith assumes an average household has three televisions, totalling $3,000 in 1980.
$8,500 was the equivalent to a 20% down payment on a $40,000 home.
As Smith put it, our biggest luxury is our rent.
Music is also far more affordable, with streaming subscriptions costing around $100 per year.
If you wanted to put this into a down payment … lets bring it down to just $320,000.
A 20% down payment on that is $64,000, Smith said.
So if you gave up all of those luxuries, you would still owe $61,000.
This $2,400 of luxuries wouldnt even cover your closing costs of $10,000 on that home.
But those are our necessities.
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