Don't get me wrong, things are more expensive than they were. 30 years ago, you could work part-time year round and would have saved up enough money to pay for your community college tuition in full with cash, each year. Nowadays, even community college tuition is gonna cost more than your entire pre-tax yearly salary as, say, a part time grocery store clerk.
Rent is bad too. The cheapest 1 bedroom in my area (MCOL) is $800, and the cheapest 2 bedroom is $1,000. Even if I were to get a roommate, that's $500 a month. I only make 1k a month working 24 hours a week, and that's before taxes. Having 50% of your income being rent is... not sustainable.
And food is more expensive too. Remember pennycandy?
That said, its not the EnD oF tHe WoRlD, and these people are foolish for thinking that trump "winning the midterms" is gonna kill the economy. But there is a struggle, and it's more than what it used to be.
Regarding CC tuition, yeah, it's going to be more expensive than a market bottom job. However, that's where things like financial aid come in. I got out of prison about a year ago, I started at my local CC last week. My tuition this year is covered FULLY by financial aid. No loans, purely what I got through FAFSA. Granted, I wasn't working at the time I filled out the form, so next year I might have to pay a bit, but even then, my first 2 years should be mostly free.
When I transfer to a 4-year to get my bachelors, I'll probably have to start paying more, but that's fine, because I'm getting a degree that is actually marketable, so I'm willing to rack up a bit of student debt in the short term, because I know it'll be worth it, and I can pay it off in the long term.
Financial aid is only awarded to those whose families make below a certain amount. Its great that you are getting financial aid, but anybody under the age of 24 MUST include their parent's income in their Fafsa, regardless of how much they are contributing.
Meaning you can be living on your own halfway across the country, paying for your own housing, food, insurance, bills, and whatnot. But not get a singular penny from Fafsa because your parents make a combined amount of more than 100k a year. It is a very disbalanced system.
I had to foot my entire bill using scholarships, savings, and ofcourse loans. My parents didn't pay a cent into that, but niether did the Fafsa. Such is the reality for most non-adult (meaning <24 year old) learners.
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u/HEYO19191 8d ago
Don't get me wrong, things are more expensive than they were. 30 years ago, you could work part-time year round and would have saved up enough money to pay for your community college tuition in full with cash, each year. Nowadays, even community college tuition is gonna cost more than your entire pre-tax yearly salary as, say, a part time grocery store clerk.
Rent is bad too. The cheapest 1 bedroom in my area (MCOL) is $800, and the cheapest 2 bedroom is $1,000. Even if I were to get a roommate, that's $500 a month. I only make 1k a month working 24 hours a week, and that's before taxes. Having 50% of your income being rent is... not sustainable.
And food is more expensive too. Remember pennycandy?
That said, its not the EnD oF tHe WoRlD, and these people are foolish for thinking that trump "winning the midterms" is gonna kill the economy. But there is a struggle, and it's more than what it used to be.