"N2EY" wrote:

Let's do the math, shall we?

Say you were making $4000/yr (about $2/hr, ) back then.


I don't remember what I was paid back then (that was a long time, and a
lot of jobs, ago). All I do remember is that it was just barely above
minimum wage. But, for the purposes of your example, that salary figure is
probably good enough.


That's $334/month. Out of that came rent ($100), furnishing
($20/mo?) food ($100?) car ($100 including gas and insurance?).
Leaves $13.


Hey, we were hippies back then - we didn't pay that much for furniture and
much of what we had was homemade. ;-)

The car payments were also less than that. No insurance and about a tank
of gas a week (we rode bicycles almost as much as we drove the car - another
hippy thing).


That $320 from the VA was almost equal to your salary.


Yes, it was. And it was a real disaster when that check didn't arrive on
time for whatever reason (it didn't twice).


At $2/hr, the rent cost 50 hours' work. I presume utilities
were included.


I think everything except gas was included. We paid the gas bill
separately. But that was about it (we couldn't afford a phone).


Today 50 hrs work at minimum wage is what - $300?


Can you imagine even trying to rent an apartment in Southern California
for $300 today (just that - forget the other stuff)? I guess one could be
found but I probably wouldn't want to live in it. It would probably take
about a hundred hours of work at minimum wage today to find a decent
apartment in that area.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/