My perspective is that the kids work just as hard as we did, and many are paid more than we were, after inflation adjustment.
Back in the late 70s we were paid about £6000 a year, that is worth about £32,000 today according to the ONS CPI index. I had a company car, that wasn't taxed, and we got a married persons tax allowance and mortgage interest tax relief.
My 36 year old daughter is paid about 3 times that, because she works for a multinational, lives in Switzerland and works as long as she needs to to get the job done. She works hard and plays hard, is single and has no kids. She has a property near Cranfield that is let and should be mortgage free by 2030. My 33 year old son earns £35k, with his partner bringing in £24k (a health care worker) they have a reasonable lifestyle, are buying their home but sometimes still need help from the Bank of M&D and or Sister....
It is all very different today, but because we were not saturated with information we just got on with life, rather than worrying. But from my grumpy perspective, the only real problem is the cost of housing. In 1980 we bought a 3 bed detached house in Warmley, near Bristol, for £25,000 with a £5k deposit. Today that house last sold for £175,000 in 2002 and that would be pushing £400,000 today. Totally unaffordable for a couple earning £60k.
Peter, 66, 2016 Porsche Boxster S No longer driving Tarka, the 2014 Plus 8...
