Yes Marc, and that proves my point - that the costs of living have outstripped wages. Business is so greedy it wants to make a profit, and that is at the expense of decent wages for their staff. They typically, from my experience, make staff work twice as hard for less money. When they burn the staff out, they get rid of them and replace. Rinse and repeat as needed.
I've been working over 20 years now and that's what I see has happened. Many that I talk to agree. The modern workplace is not a good place.
I've lived out of home for a good number of years, been there, done that. I moved back home for a variety of personal, theological and financial reasons. I'm glad I came back home, I'm getting to spend time with my dad who doesn't have that long to live (stomach cancer). I got to see him for the last good 18 months of his health, before it turned bad.
Marriage? Kids? No thanks. I like my freedom. I'm not the marrying kind. I have no intentions of having kids, due to again, personal, theological, religious and financial considerations. Plus I'm too ugly to find a partner it seems - the modern woman is only interested in looks, money and the size of your private member. If you don't have A, B & C, forget the dating scene. I can quite happily do without the BS ;-)
As Shrek would say:
"I like my privacy".
I'm also an onion
Dave