Fully agree. Going back to the 50s, families maybe had one car, no cable, no internet, ate out like 1-2 times a year. I feel this lifestyle was the norm.
But still at the time, a guy could have a stay at home wife with 5 kids while working at a factory or something. I am not sure one could do that now without government assistance.
One thing I’ve noticed with humans is a tendency to focus on tiny details, and those tiny details come with a huge cost. The newest cell phone or newer car are examples of this. I have had a motorola smart phones for a while now for example. They are typically $200, and last for 2-3 years. It does everything I want. Cars, I’ve gotten nicer, but I see so many people in my neighborhood that have more money sitting in their garage than I owe on my mortgage (~80K). I am pretty sure I earn more per year than most of these people too. There isn’t anything wrong with doing this IMO, but I am not willing to go into debt like that for a fancy car. To me it is a detail I try my best not to care about. My $5K cars get me around just fine. Even eating out (my wife and my big stupid thing we spend money on), we will usually share a bigger entree, and if we are getting drinks, we get tall boys of Hamms or some other cheap beer. I enjoy the cheap beer almost as much as the fancy stuff, and they are like $3 vs $7 for a pint of the local IPA. It is a tiny detail I can ignore. Now if the fancy beer is worth that much more to you, that is fine. I just don’t think most people ever even think about those types of things.
How much do you spend on the gym + supps (all supps ;)) per month? Over a 10 yr timespan, what’s that sum total?
We’ve all been living fat and happy riding the best economy in ages over the past decade. Knowing where the fat is so you can cut it when the bubble bursts is key. Know the difference between neccessities and niceties is remarkably rare in our culture today.
Gym is $35/month. It might surprise some people, but the illegal supps can be less than the legal ones. I actually have the costs in a spread sheet. Comes out to $34 a month. I do also use protein powder, but I consider that food (I use it as a breakfast replacement). If I do a blast, it gets more expensive, but IDK if I’ll be doing any more of that. Just kinda DIY TRT.
If I am looking to cut costs, I know exactly where to look. The bars / breweries and restaurants on the weekends.
My budgeting is kinda simple. If I max out my 401K, and don’t have any loans (which I don’t aside from mortgage), I kinda spend what I want, and with that method I am usually in a surplus, so I invest in individual stocks with the surplus money. I am not much of a consumer. Most of my clothes are from the thrift store haha (except I do have a good amount of shirts from powerlifting meets from the past). My wife does need to cut back the clothes and accessory budget though.
No shit? I’d have figured your gym would be close to +$75/month (private strongman/powerlifting gym right?) and supps over $100. Good to know for the future it can be cost efficient…
It is normally $45/month. They have all sorts of offers though. If you are former military you can get $10 off, seniors I think get the same. I use the couple discount which gets both of us in for $70/month. It is mostly a powerlifting / strongman gym though. I’ve talked to the owners and they seem to be making good money that pricing structure. They have grown the gym a lot in the 5 years I’ve been there. I think they have more than doubled the members in that time, but I don’t have any equipment issues (not getting a bench or squat rack type thing).
If I just use Test at TRT dosages it would be like $7/month. I have a very inexpensive source that makes great products (not everyone finds something like that). Some add ons can get expensive though, some of the supplements like TUDCA can be more than than actual gear). Blood work is expensive. That is the most expensive part of DIY TRT, but something that should be done IMO.
When I was competing in Master’s Nationals as my yearly focus it was costing me at least $3,000 a year (1989 thru 1997) for AAS. The health food supplements were at least $1,000 a year, plus eating 6 meals a day. Those are low ball numbers.
Was this a “want” or a “need”? In my case it was a “need” at that time of my life. All my bodybuilding plans was planned around two other more important “needs”, work and sleep, for those “needs” were required for bodybuilding to happen (financial and recovery.) Everything else had to be squeezed around those 3 “needs.”
Regrettably, all else had to become considered as “wants.” It is just that “bodybuilding is a jealous bitch.” “She” takes priority of your life if you want “her” to look “her” best.
When I was doing TRT though a clinic, it was in that ball park for a year of treatment (probably closer to $2K). For me, the benefit was basically that it was legal. DIY TRT is much cheaper. The labs are the most expensive part. I keep things simple though. I am not using expensive compounds or HGH.
Price can vary so much currently. Not sure how much it was back in the 90s, but I am guessing adjusting for inflation, you couldn’t get a quality vial of Test for what I am paying ($20 for a 10 mL vial of Test E 250). Some guys are paying 3X that amount currently (maybe more?).
They agreed to the wages when they accepted the job. Where is there a problem.
“That is not fair?” My dad would tell me, “Son, there are three “fairs”. The County Fair, the State Fair, and the World Fair. Which one are asking about?”
The people at the top want to keep you there. Desperation is the name of their game. Work for shit wages OR starve, possibly go homeless. Nor much of a choice. Even worse if you have a family. I will be 51 on the fourth of July. When I was a small child in the 70’s my dad raised a family of 5 on one salary. And this was the norm. It isn’t any longer, why?
My dad’s mother’s side were all poor farmers in the Delta in MS stretching back since the 1800s. The farm house down there still does not have central AC or heat. It didn’t get inside plumbing until the late 80s.
They kept the land in the family though. A little over 1800 acres. I use it to hunt and fish mainly now.