Part of the reason we work so much is to have nice (and expensive) things - especially a beautiful house, quality educations for our children, great tasting food, and comfortable, reliable cars.
Here are some rough annual expenses for an American household with a mortgage.
Part of the reason we work so much is to have nice (and expensive) things - especially a beautiful house, quality educations for our children, great tasting food, and comfortable, reliable cars.
Here are some rough annual expenses for an American household with a mortgage.
20K on mortgage
15K per child on education
10K on cars
7K on food
5K on medical care
Add this up for a family with two kids = 72K/year.
Where does the education money go? Peter gives us an important clue, and I don’t agree with everything Peter says, but we should pay special attention to where our money is going.
Here is Peter.
“But we also have an ever-growing number of jobs that seem completely useless or even harmful. As examples, we have administrators and assistant administrators in ever larger numbers shuffling papers (or digital documents) that don’t need to be shuffled, corporate lawyers and their staffs helping big companies and billionaires pay less than their fair share of taxes, countless people in the financial industries doing who knows what mischief, lobbyists using every means possible to further corrupt our politicians, and advertising executives and sales personnel pushing stuff that nobody needs or really wants.”
“The median monthly cost of homeownership in the US is $1,672 per month, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey. That cost includes not only the monthly mortgage payment, but also other necessary costs like homeowners insurance, HOA fees, and property taxes.” https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-mortgage-payment?op=1
Scott, thank you for this valuable addition to the letter. One reason for our continued long workweek that I didn't touch on in the letter is this: We are culturally ingrained to want more stuff--big houses, fancy cars, expensive (and generally useless) schooling for our kids, and on and on--rather than to want more time to enjoy ourselves and one another. Wanting more stuff feeds the economy as it exists. It leads to evermore exhaustion of the planet and evermore money in the pockets of the rich. We have stuff but little time to enjoy it.
Thank you Peter.
Why do we work so much?
Part of the reason we work so much is to have nice (and expensive) things - especially a beautiful house, quality educations for our children, great tasting food, and comfortable, reliable cars.
Here are some rough annual expenses for an American household with a mortgage.
20K on mortgage
15K per child on education
10K on cars
7K on food
5K on medical care
Add this up for a family with two kids = 72K/year.
Note that education spending is very high.
American schools are spending over $15,000 a year per student. Verify for yourself. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_236.55.asp
Where does the education money go? Peter gives us an important clue, and I don’t agree with everything Peter says, but we should pay special attention to where our money is going.
Here is Peter.
“But we also have an ever-growing number of jobs that seem completely useless or even harmful. As examples, we have administrators and assistant administrators in ever larger numbers shuffling papers (or digital documents) that don’t need to be shuffled, corporate lawyers and their staffs helping big companies and billionaires pay less than their fair share of taxes, countless people in the financial industries doing who knows what mischief, lobbyists using every means possible to further corrupt our politicians, and advertising executives and sales personnel pushing stuff that nobody needs or really wants.”
Other references for my numbers are below.
A monthly and yearly break of expenses.
Housing - $1,050/month, $12,600/ year
Transportation - $820/month, $9,830/year
Taxes - $780/month, $9,410/year
Utilities & house - $730/month, $8,810/year
Food - $610/month, $7,320/year
Social Security - $600/month, $7,250/year
Health care - $430/month, $5,360/year
Entertainment - $240/month, $2,920/year
https://www.valuepenguin.com/average-household-budget#food
About 90% of home buyers choose a 30-year fixed-rate loan, making it the most popular mortgage type in the country.
https://www.mpamag.com/us/mortgage-industry/guides/the-7-most-popular-types-of-mortgage-loans-for-home-buyers/255499
“The median monthly cost of homeownership in the US is $1,672 per month, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey. That cost includes not only the monthly mortgage payment, but also other necessary costs like homeowners insurance, HOA fees, and property taxes.” https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-mortgage-payment?op=1
Scott, thank you for this valuable addition to the letter. One reason for our continued long workweek that I didn't touch on in the letter is this: We are culturally ingrained to want more stuff--big houses, fancy cars, expensive (and generally useless) schooling for our kids, and on and on--rather than to want more time to enjoy ourselves and one another. Wanting more stuff feeds the economy as it exists. It leads to evermore exhaustion of the planet and evermore money in the pockets of the rich. We have stuff but little time to enjoy it.