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…
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.
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…
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.
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.