Why did the economy change that we need 2 full-time breadwinners as opposed to 1 less than a decade ago?

Question

Edit: I meant less than a century ago! My bad! Just a brain fart.

In: 9783

Answer 1

We have a lot more stuff now and that stuff is expensive. Beyond that people tend to have a skewed view of how difficult it was to live in the past. 100 years ago my great grandparents bought a 40 acre farm for $200. Sounds like a steal you say? Well the farmhouse was a 300 square foot building with no basement, no running water, no electricity, and both heat and cooking was provided by a potbelly stove in the middle of the only room. All 6 of them slept in the attic. They had no tv. No radio. No computer. No iPhone or iPad or Nintendo switch. No gas stove or refrigerator or sink or marble countertop. You could go buy an equivalent building for $5k from Home Depot today. If you were willing to live equivalently remotely (1 days travel from nearest city) you could get 40 acres for $20k. $25k is about what that $200 is worth today.