I hear ya. It’s all relative. I remember back in 1997 I had done a little job, got paid for it, and deposited the check. It was the first time I saw that I had $424 in my bank account mid month and I didn’t have to stress about rent. I remember because I thought it was so much money that I had to show my wife.

My wife was the first to get “a good job” (it was actually terrible) and I remember when she got her first paycheck. It was $998.86 and we just happy cried in the car.

My mother died during my senior year of high school and her parents are in a poor Eastern European country. No help was coming. These memories stick around because, wether other people think it or not, being that desperate leaves a permanent mark, and these were the first glimpses of hope.

PS: The place we rented for $275 (yes, it was a ghetto) twenty five years ago goes for $1200 now. I genuinely have no idea how people are supposed to survive.