Here's some numbers to crunch on, and I regularly have this discussion (usually with "old people") when they criticize younger folks for seemingly struggling more than the older folks did at their age.........1990 vs 2025 (1990 $'s have been converted to 2025 $'s for apples-to-apples comparison)

Median Household Income (AL)
1990 - $57,000 (again, converted to $2025)
2025 - $64,000
so roughly a 12% increase

Avg New Vehicle Price
1990 - $37,500 - 66% of yearly Household Income (again, converted to $2025)
2025 - $50,000 - 78% of yearly Household Income
so roughly a 34% increase, and a 12% increase in "percentage of Yearly Household Income"

Median Home Price (AL)
1990 - $130,000 - roughly 2.28x Yearly Household Income (again, converted to $2025)
2025 - $234,000 - roughly 3.66x Yearly Household Income
so roughly 80% increase overall, and 60% higher vs Yearly Household income.

The takeaway is that, after adjusting for inflation, households are making 12% more than they made 35yrs ago, but vehicles cost 34% more than they did 35yrs ago, and houses cost 80% more than they did 35yrs ago.

Homes and vehicles...the 2 largest expenses most people have...are rising a LOT faster than income. That simply isn't sustainable long-term. I don't know what the answer is.

Isaiah 5:20