An 80 year old reflects: Are things that much harder today than when he was building a life?

It’s been a long and wonderful journey. I have nothing to complain about, but I was reading an article that triggered a thought. Did I have it easier simply because of the years in which I grew up? Are things that much harder now? They are very different for sure. 

Was I just fortunate even when things weren’t so great after all?

I grew up in an apartment with my parents and two sisters. My father was a car salesman, my mother a homemaker. They truly lived paycheck to paycheck. There were no investments of any kind and very modest savings as I learned many years later. 

I graduated high school in 1961 and immediately started looking for a job, my first one lasted a week and I was fired. In November that year I was hired as a mail boy by the Company I would work for until 2010. 

Four months later I was laid off, but luckily was given a clerks job in employee benefits. I was a clerk until returning from the army in 1969 when I was made a supervisor – super clerk. I didn’t obtain a college degree until 1978.

I lived at home those years before 1969 and was not required to pay rent. I was the lowest paid worker in the company when I started, $1.49 an hour – about $15.50 today, still pretty low on the pay scale. 

Life was pretty boring until 1968. I spent my free time bowling and driving in sports car rallies. In February 1968 I finally got the courage to ask this girl out whom I had worked with via the phone for several years. 

February 1968-first date, May 1968-called to active duty in the army, June 1968-became engaged, December 1968-married, September 1969 back to my old job, July 1970-first child (Connie stopped working), spring 1971 bought first house for $29,000, October 1971-second child, etc., etc.

We couldn’t afford a nicer house that was $35,000 so we settled for a smaller, much older one we could. 

On the plus side I never lost a job again and I did receive a raise every year  albeit for many years about $20 to $30 a month. When I got out of the army in 1969 we decided if I was earning $135 a week we could buy furniture for our apartment. 

Except for the first year or so we have been a one income family although Connie did work very part time for her doctor for a few years when the children were in high school and college-at the same time.

I never had students loans-for myself, but used several hundred thousand dollars for our children. We paid for four weddings too. 

I worked as much overtime as possible in the early years, went to school at night for nine years and had some form of side job during most of our years raising children. We never paid credit card interest. If we could not pay, we did without. 

Over several decades I received promotions until 2006 when I finally reached my goal of Vice President and the compensation that went with it. 

We and many others coped with mandatory military service, stock market crashes, oil embargoes and double digit inflation. 

We are still married-to the same person-after 56 years and we never had a significant difference about money all those years. Even when I groused at a large purchase I eventually saw the light, like buying a new water heater. 

Now here I am at 81. I have no idea of how things are for a 30 year old. I know they must be different, but are they all that much worse? 

How much different because of different ideas about and priorities with spending money, needs and wants, relationships, whatever?