In an earlier post I mentioned the money, or lack of it, we had back in high school and I also mentioned the letter you can get from Social Security that details your annual salary. I call it my feel good letter, because when I complain about what I make now I can look back at this letter and say "My God, how did we get by on that?" Well, I got my feel good letter today and it's funny to wonder how we got by on so little.
In 1967 I made $257. I was 15 and sitting on top of the world. What was I ever going to do with that much money? In '68 I went up to a whopping $363, or just short of a dollar a day. In 1969 it skyrocketed to $543, and in '70 it went thru the ceiling at $1,364 (I got a job at Maramont). I make more in a month now than I did in those 4 years combined.
I guess you could argue that yes, I made a lot less then, but things also cost a lot less then too. That's a good point. 25 cents a gallon for gas, cigarettes 20-25 cents a pack. And you could also argue that I didn't have to worry about rent or anything like that during those years, and that would also be true. I can remember when I first got married in 1972, I could take $10 on pay day and fill up the car and buy a carton of cigarettes and a case of beer.
But the point I guess is how did we get by on so little back then and how does so much spread so thin now? I make as much in a year now as I made the entire decade of the 70s. At first glance that sounds like a lot, but it's not. We do okay, but we still have to balance a budget, just as I'm sure the rest of you do.
I guess that's life though, but for a little while at least the feel good letter is going to keep me smiling.
4 comments:
MY FIRST REAL JOB BESIDE BABYSITTING WAS AT THE BLUE CIRCLE ON MY 16TH BIRTHDAY. I HAD TO WALK AFTER SCHOOL ACROSS BRIDGE. I CANT REMEMBER HOW MUCH I MADE BUT IT WASNT MUCH AND I THOUGHT I WAS RICH. I DID MORE WITH THAT MONEY THAN I DO NOW. AND I HAD TO WEAR THAT STUPID LITTLE HAT.
I had forgotten all about the Blue Circle!! That was the little burger they had at the football games, right?
I can just barely remember the Blue Circle. Were their hamburgers like the Krystal burgers? I think they were real cheap like 6 for $1.00? I think I walked across that bridge a few times but I was always so happy to get back to solid ground!
you could buy a bag of them for just a little money but it was my very first job. They were like the krystal's
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