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[–] 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Don't forget about the cell phone plan, Internet access, Netflix or large screen TVs. I remember reading about "boomer math", if I remember correctly - the skewed notion about what really costs what.

Used to be a color TV was a luxury, and that probably made a real imprint on some. Same for coffee - until Starbucks really cracked that market, the idea of paying more than fifty cents or whatever for a cup of coffee was considered ludicrous at one time. And things like cell phones, Netflix and Internet were not really things in their formative years...

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I just saw the Costco flyer for this week and they had a 75" LG TV on sale for like $599. I couldn't believe how cheap TVs are now.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Exactly. I think once they started monetizing the data from "smart" TVs, they really, really fell through the floor. And yeah, compare that to memories of the 60s or 70s when a mere color TV of any size was a big deal and definitely a luxury item for the rich and adjust for inflation....in 1965, say, $599 would be $59.13...so if you imprinted on that in your twenties, I could see how that might be hard to understand the delta....

    See the prices for a 23"-25" color TV in 1965 - $1800-$2000. That'd be $18,233 - $20,259 in today's dollars...so if someone is doing "boomer math" when chastising people for buying huge TVs, and claiming that's the reason they cannot afford a house/rent, I can sort of get it, but it's also just a one-time cost....and they really need to update their thinking.

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