My first apt was in the basement of a house with NO windows to the outside. Totally illegal and a fire trap, but it was cheap and month to month so i could bail when opportunity arose. I bicycled to work to save gas and car ins. I quit drinking. It sucked but I saved a down payment.
LOL, boomers keep moving the goal posts. I could see the end zone, made a plan and worked the plan.
Yeah its hard, that's why its called work.
I don't disagree with your ethic but one problem is that one also has to see how the scene has changed. Too many older people cop the "I had it hard but I did it and so can you" mantra. I never got along that well with my mother because she set all her values on what was happening in the 1950's. Protectionism, stable jobs, no internet, protestant work ethic, fixed for life mortgages etc. The white picket fence with mom staying home taking care of the two kids.
Mentioned before, we rented the house I grew up (Near High Park) for $150 a month and subbed out a flat for $70. We could have purchased the house for $15,000, less than six months rent today. A decent job for a guy paid $100 a week so the house was three years gross pay for the guy.
Today the same guy might be making $1000 a week but the house is $1,500,000 or 30 years gross pay.
Designer labels are a curse, whether they're on your shirt, shoes or coffee cup. If you're a general contractor you're expected to show up in an $80,000 pickup truck. If you don't, you probably don't know what you're doing.
If you don't buy your six year old brand X running shoes they get shunned at school. Do you deny them the social contacts or drop a couple of hundred on a pair of shoes they will outgrow in no time. Is it still cool to mutilate them? The shoes, not the kid.
Bridging the gap between old and new is the challenge. I mused over how one would acquire a detached house in GTA based on starting with the minimum wage and a couple of years ago it was doable.
Number 1 was to take CC's advice above but try to add in a posslq (Person of opposite sex sharing living quarters) with similar goals. Mutual support and intellectual company to keep you on track.
Number 2 is to figure out why you're making the minimum wage. If you have a skill but can't use it because of a language barrier fix the language barrier at night school. If you don't have skills get one at night school. If neither of those are feasible get a second job. Eighty hours a week won't kill you or your posslq. Brown bag your lunch and thermos your coffee. You have a six figure income with minimum wage expenses.
After a couple of years buy a two bedroom condo and rent out the spare to pay the condo fee. Don't own a car and rent out your parking space to pay half the taxes.
If you've done something about the language / skill issue you should be making well above minimum but I probably lost most people when I said "After a couple of years" because they want it now.
At the best the detached is 15 years, more likely 20 with another 15 to mortgage free. Kids will complicate the formula.
. Switched to the mini for a while as it requires less cashflow and is less likely to have me wasting money in court.
