{"id":82940,"date":"2024-04-27T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T08:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=82940"},"modified":"2024-05-02T08:28:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T15:28:27","slug":"black-coffee-27-apr-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id82940-black-coffee-27-apr-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Getting What We Pay For"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I hope everybody had a wonderful week. And with that, let’s get right to this week’s commentary, shall we?<\/p>\n

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Warren Buffett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? A new Redfin survey found that nearly 40% of US renters no longer believe<\/a> they\u2019ll ever own a home. The reason: lack of affordability. For that, you can thank the seemingly-relentless increase in home prices, and rising mortgage rates. In fact, first-time buyers must now earn $119,769 to comfortably afford the median-priced home $332,494. That’s about $45,000 more than the median household income $74,755. Imagine that.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> On a related note, a recent study has determined that the classic middle-class American Dream now costs more than $3.4 million<\/a>, putting it entirely out of reach for many Americans. For the record, that daunting figure is the estimated lifetime cost of marriage, two children, cars, a home, healthcare, education, and retirement. We just wonder how many young Americans today believe that to be even remotely achievable. How times have changed. It used to be a given that that most American kids would end up better off than their parents – which resulted in young people pondering stuff that was far more mundane. Take this one, for instance:<\/p>\n