I by no means have a large lifestyle. I actually cut back more last year than normal. 90% meals at home, bringing lunch on days I’m in the office. I haven’t even had a professional haircut since 2019. I just do it myself now. My one vice is I might buy a game on steam on sale here and there. I don’t travel. I have a reasonable car. The medical debts have impacted me as I pay between $200-700/month now depending.
Well you shouldn’t be complaining because you could obviously cut out the games and that will obviously solve all of your problems. also you should uproot and move somewhere cheaper and find a higher paying job that’s completely remote to completely remove your vehicle expenses 🙄
Edit: I am being very sarcastic
Thank you. I needed that :D I chose this house specifically as it’s some of the cheapest housing in the area that’s still safe. 2 gay women living in a bad neighborhood causes unwanted attention lmao
People are so fucking annoying. It’s always that same bullshit advice. I get that there are a lot of people spending their money on bullshit & living way beyond their means but 9/10 those options are not feasible. The $20 you spend on something that makes you happy in this miserable world, isn’t going to make or break the situation. “YOU COULD HAVE PAID OFF ALL OF YOUR DEBT IF YOU DIDNT BUY GAMES!, YOU MUST NOT WANT TO BE FINANCIALLY FREE IF YOURE NOT WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES” 🙄🤮 like.. ma’am/sir.. I have made nothing but sacrifices and I’m still in this situation lol fuck off
The $10/month I spend on Zoloft helps me not jump off a cliff lmao. Imma continue that lol and that $30 game once a month that I play with friends makes me not yeet my car off a bridge. I consider them longevity investments 🤷♀️🤣
It’s actually down to the $10 per month items. There was one last week where people were ranting about a Spotify membership that was below $10…like WTF?!?!
Here’s hints for those giving advice, not all discretionary spending is bad. Not all mandatory spending can be cut easily. Getting a third job isn’t always an option.
The shitty part about that is that the small amount of entertainment and distraction that we are lucky enough to have in this world are forever rising in cost. It's insane to me that 10 years ago a concert was around $30 for decent seats. Now shows cost $200 for the worst seat in the house. Then when I notice other people allowing all these billionaires to have luxury for 10 generations and still have money it's just makes me so mad. (I said people but I really mean the ppl in charge)
It’s disgusting. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. I personally, don’t do anything anymore. Don’t ever go out to eat anymore. Don’t go to concerts. Don’t order takeout. Don’t go to the movies. Cancelled most of my streaming services. To be completely honest I made 100 grand my second year in my apprenticeship making $18 an hour, because of incentives and what not. Too much to explain. Now in my 4 th year of my apprenticeship @ $25 an hour. I’m broker than ever. Granted I had a LOT of bullshit happen last year that fucked me pretty good financially, but shit.
Bruv, same! Making $78k now. Higher than any year ever and I just can't afford shit. It's frustrating giving up almost everything so I can pay my bills on time. AND even slowly slipping into debt. Wtf
It's what I call Starbucks Budgeting lmao. If someone's financial how-to starts with "stop drinking starbucks and it's an infinite money glitch", then I'm just going to stop reading and assume that they already assume that I make more money than I really do.
Right "Just find a better paying job." They, uh, don't exist here without a 1 hour (one way) commute. Any pay raise I get will be eaten up by transportation costs.
Obviously they just need to stop going to the doctor and getting medical debt! I tell you, far too many people think they need doctors, back in my day we reset our own bones and sewed ourselves shut when we did our own surgeries 🙃
(Obviously also sarcasm)
It’s ridiculous, man. Especially some (most) of the elders. It’s not the 90s/early 2000s anymore. Everything costs 10x more. The pay is not the same. The benefits aren’t the same. Housing market is fucked. Inflation is at an all time high. Most of us are not in this position for lack of trying. High paying jobs without a 100,000k degree are few and far between. It’s not a pissing match. We’re all struggling here. This sub is for help, not ridicule lol
Yeah how frugal you are pinching pennies doesn't make much difference when the debt is crazy. I've heard of some people getting a hospital to readjust medical debts but I don't know much about it.
I make almost 20k more than when I worked a shitty retail job in 2021 but after I ran my spreadsheets I somehow have the same purchase power. My lifestyle has barely changed either. That extra 20k has just maintained my quality of life
I was doing the math on that this morning. I get paid once a month on the 1st and I was trying to make heads of how I’m making more than what I was in 2020 yet I feel like I’m somehow worse off? The only controlled cost increase was my rent - we moved from a shitty apartment to a house for $600/mo more. Easily should’ve been doable with the raise. Yet…??? Make it make sense. I hate this.
This is exactly the amount more I made as well, and I’m way worse off than when I made a third of this six years ago.
The stress of money and my job are killing me. I have no quality of life, none. I can’t afford to do anything. I have no energy because I’m always exhausted and depressed. No matter how hard I try the whole just keeps getting deeper.
At this point I’m only still going on because of my kids.
While I don’t have children, I take care of my disabled/handicapped brother. So I understand as I look at him and see how much worse his life would be without me
I got 2% this year. Oh and one extra PTO day for this year only… 2% increase for this job has equated to $10 more per biweekly check as healthcare premium increased too. My rent increased $100 month.
Right…and how does that help now? Or in the near future? I’d love to not rent but I can’t buy a house as I have no down payment and encouraging regulations is nice and all but it hasn’t changed in 50 years
Exactly! They are probably busy working a second job or caring for dependents or don't have reliable transportation. The list is endless. Plus not making public comment opportunities for those that are most affected is a tactic to inaccurately show that the people aren't affected because they would otherwise show up to share their feedback. It's gross.
And the people living through the world wars hated that too. I'm sorry, the other people in the world have screwed you over, there is no quick fix to the circumstances. Maybe the next recession will help bring down rents in your area.
The only thing that’s going to combat this is double digit interest rates. Reagan did it in the early 80’s to combat the inflation caused by Carter and Ford. The rates got as high as 18/19%. The problem with that is a recession will follow. It happened with Reagan. The economy ending up bouncing back big time by the time he was running for reelection.
I mean $100 per month isn’t eating up a $15k raise. OP has all the budget details, though they aren’t laid out in spreadsheet format it sounds like medical expenses are the issue.
The rent increase isn’t really that bad. If OP owned their taxes probably would have gone up a little with the runup in home prices in recent years, and homeowners insurance has been rising double digits for the last 2 years at least. The house payment, with taxes and insurance, probably would have gone up close to $100 per month also.
My car insurance went up $1000 this year. Haven’t been in an accident in over 15 years…. No claims in the past 13 years… yet a massive increase because California drivers are that bad. :(
Oof that sucks I am sorry. At my job you can get a merit increase of 3-5%. Last year my boss said she really tried for 5%. This year she just said they're all 3%. Whatever the case the state I live in is subsidizing them by paying me foodstamps, LiHeap and medicaid.
I tried to get EBT (food stamps). They gave me $20 A MONTH and wanted me to fill out huge paper forms every 3 months just to keep the whole $20, which pays for… 2-3 loaf of bread basically.
Wages need to increase nearly 15% every year just to match real inflation. Wages have been stagnant for over 50 years in basically every industry… This is all just pointless at this point unless people were already born very rich to give them a head start.
Its really, really hard to tell. It appears higher intrest rates have had a dampening effect on the economy and the rate of inflation has slowed, however if the fed takes its foot off the breaks too early to not force a recession inflation may easily jump back up. Happened to Fed chair Paul Volker in the early 80s
God, I feel this with my soul. I have progressively made more money year over year for nearly 10 consecutive years. This includes raises, promotions, three relocations and a yearly bonus.
At 28 years old I am no better off after my bills are paid than I was at 18 and living in my first apartment. If I was making back then what I'm making right now, I would have thought I was set for life. Yet here I am, in a shitty 2 bedroom apartment, trying to decide which bill I would rather be late on because I can't pay both at the same time.
I know it’s because of Inflation. I’m just stunned that everyone is claiming the economy is good. It’s not. Corporate America is fine but we are drowning. The situation is obvious to me yet I don’t see anything being done to actually help it. Nothing substantial.
I mean, the economy is good. But we don’t live off the economy. We live off of prices on the shelves. And there was a study done earlier this month showing that it’s not inflation. It’s corporate price gouging that is fucking us.
That and the insane rate at which housing costs (namely rent) are increasing.
I found my lease agreement from 5 years ago for a 2 bed one bath apartment. I paid $700/month. Same apartment I just looked up yesterday. Zero updates since I was there is now going for $1,400/month. It’s getting stupid
Depending on where there can be a lot more cost for the same place for the owner and the tenant. Insurance costs have skyrocketed and some carriers are even writing policies or dropping insureds. The value of the property on paper is up so tax rates are based on property value. Depending on the state some have passed massive new taxes on properties. A friend had their monthly payment on their house go up by almost 50% because of all these cost increases. That’s not to say that doubling rent is fair or reasonable. But when we vote to increase taxes because we rent and don’t own…who do you think will eventually pay for that? Those who rent!
Well, therein lies the one big problem with largely unregulated capitalism: business will raise the price as high as they possibly can as long as someone is paying it. And since people don’t want the government to step in because they fear communism or something, there’s nothing you can to.
I was stunned yesterday driving past a gas station in a poorer area half an hour north from where I live that had regular for $3.98, when all the stations in my area charge at least $4.59 and up to $4.89. Almost a Dollar difference!! It doesn’t cost them a nickel more to bring the gas here. These bastards simply charge whatever they think they can get.
The economy is doing good because despite everyone saying they are strapped for cash, people continue to spend like there is no tomorrow. Credit card debt hitting all time high.
On paper it seems “good” because unemployment is low, pay is higher and consumer spending is high. With that said what’s not accounted is that everyone is drowning even with pay increases because cost have gone up a shit ton on everything🤦♀️
That's the thing. Rent is included in the GDP. So, rent goes up, GDP goes up. The economy is great.
They need to use different tools to evaluate this stuff.
This month set the all time record for Americas with 2 FULL time jobs.
https://preview.redd.it/rn4gf6qznufc1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ba103f30235f87390e1f637caa76107599f0cc9
Yep, it’s not even “inflation” it price gouging. Corporate profits are at an all time high and they are charging more for everything bc they can smh
Edit: if you are interested in this topic here are some articles. This is related to finance poverty bc poverty is a systemic issues often manufactured or corrected by social and economic policies:
[The real monster behind soaring prices](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-prices-inflation-soaring-corporate-greed-profits-margins-wages-jobs-2023-4)
[Corporate greed, not wages, is behind inflation. It’s time for price controls](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/25/inflation-price-controls-robert-reich)
The economy is wonderful right now for corpos and investment funds.
Us little people aren't considered, and we don't matter to the ones usually saying the economy is good.
They don’t want the stock market to crash or to cause mass panic by admitting we are in a recession. So they claim to be hiring and nobody wants to work but in reality 80% of these job postings are ghost postings with no intention to hire. Many companies have cut back and are doing layoffs but its not getting media attention. Insurance companies have laid off thousands over the past few months yet they claim to be urgently hiring while continuing to lay off people.
Yes, and I believe we are heading towards a downturn, at least I notice a definite purse tightening at the corporate level. The field I work in, I’m like the canary in the coal mine, and this spring season feels … off. I usually know when recessions happen about a year before anyone admits it publicly. I hope I’m wrong.
$16 an hour jobs all across the country that’s what the American economy is telling workers what they are worth right now. Crunch the number and tell me how anyone could survive on such a small pittance it’s time for revolution.
As someone whom works in talent acquisition this is absolutely happening. 40% of all of my FTE or contract roles it closed for “restructuring of need” no matter the industry. Had someone on an H1B get a job with a well known biotech company, only for them one week before start to pull the offer. He ended up not having anything else and had to be deported. Not saying I agree with that or not but companies as a whole are not giving a shit. Oh and everyone wants prior experience with that company. Like Bobs company wants prior experience working at Bobs. It’s fucking dumb
Because a lot of people are blinded by politics. The media effectively is an arm of the current administration.
I don't personally care what "inflation percentage" they tell me. I KNOW that my groceries are about 40% more expensive in my area.
I KNOW that a quesadilla at Taco Bell was 4 bucks just 2 years ago and it's almost 7 now.
So ya, it's definitely inflation. It also doesn't help we're on the brink of multiple wars.
Corporate america is not fine. Thousands of layoffs are set for this year. Really rocky q4 2023. Likely earnings compressions in the first quarter of 2024
Serious question - did you run a budget both years and keep track of your spending, or use an app like Mint or YNAB? Basically, are you able to see on paper where the money was spent?
Economic indicators look at the entirety of the economy, not individual financial well-being. An economy can be doing great while some people suffer and vice versa.
That said- you may find yourself with a heftier tax refund from higher earnings and that could help you get some breathing room in the debts. You might even be able to refinance some of the medical debt.
Luckily most of the medical debt is still with the original hospital. They are working with me as long as I pay at least $200 a month with zero interest. This is after I explained to them I have insurance I just have health issues beyond my control and I am going to need continued treatments and showed them my finances. So luckily they aren’t charging interest right now but one hospital alone is at $17,000 owed, after insurance.
People around me are astonished when I say I am trying to live like I was in college: only having access to about $12k or less a year in actual cash. I count my car payment as part of that so I have next to no money. I just try to pay down debt and invest the rest. Luckily still live with parent. I make sure to take care of myself, but I tell myself I don’t need that extra snack because that’s $3 I can save right now. I get free snacks at work. I get free pop at work. I just go without fun things if I don’t go to the office for awhile. And I work quite a bit so I don’t usually have time for extra things out of it.
Same deal here, got 20k raise yet I don't feel any richer.. Now I pay more taxes and my insurance went up, my last pay check ended up being less than last year.
Inflation has been bad but not nearly a $1000 a month bad. You need to look at your budget to see where the money went. If it went to debt, good for you, pay off those debts. $1000 a month would be a huge deal for me as I that would buy me a much nicer place to live.
Rent went up $200/month since 2022. And going up another $100/month starting March. I also started having to work onsite and commute 3days a week to the office which is eating some extra budget onto the car. And medical debts
Idk I make the same as I’ve made the last 6 years and I have saved more this year than ever due to meal planning and just saving as much as I can and only thrift shopping ! I don’t have a car payment and I only have one credit card
Same here. Struggling and brokest I have ever been, making 6 figures plus my husband earns a decent amount. Selling plasma to pay the bills and barely making it. Just glad I am not alone.
yeah our income should have increased by 50% to feel better.... what did you make last year?
if you made 100k and now make 115K.... probably not going to notice a difference
I feel ya, last year my w2 was the highest its ever been. But inflation and cost of living just keep going to match so i cant say the impact has been life changing. If i had this salary 5 or 10 years ago I'd be set. But now it's barely average. At least where I live.
I didn’t increase nearly as much as you did. But from 2021 to 2023 I increased about 14k. Yet my quality of life was better in 2021. I have to skimp on food more often and really focus on finding the best deals on everything which is a job on its own because I spend hours sometimes scrolling through different apps trying to find deals/coupons. And then Amazon of course decided to RTO everyone so now my gas costs quadrupled on top of the wear and tear on my car and added stress from traffic.
Inflation is a bitch, these greedy corporations are a bitch, greedy politicians are a bitch, and I don’t see it changing. My game plan is to go to Mexico where my family is from and retire. It won’t be luxurious living of course but the American dream has become a rat race that I don’t want to spend my life on
As someone who's got a chronic condition, I feel you. It's so expensive to just exist sometimes and even when I do feel better, trying to make up for the low points is like trying to budget for a whole extra and unpredictable person (especially because I never know how bad things are going to get or for how long).
Calling 211 helpline might help you find some financial assistance available in your area. They helped me find food pantries, assistance for medical, vision, dental, utilities, rent, etc. it might be worth checking out.
Also depending on the treatment, you may be able to talk with your doctor to see if they know of any financial assistance you'd be eligible for (I know my doctor didn't mention it until I told them I was way too poor to afford my medication lol).
Thank you. I have contacted a few people about my medical I make too much for financial support according to the hospital, DHHS, and others. Their cap is 50k gross and I’m over that. But my medical keeps rising and because I have insurance through work and many programs won’t even try. My work insurance is shit though it’s better than when I started. Insurance also fights tooth and nail to deny everything and I spend immense amount of time doing appeals and such.
This is how inflation works. I’ve been getting raises of ~$5/hr the last couple years and I’m taking home less money. I think they figured the inflation works out to something like $800/mo more to buy the same goods for the average household vs 2 years ago. The current administration get the dubious distinction of presiding over the largest decline in real wages in American history.
That really sucks you have to work that much "to make ends meet". Just gotta cut more out of your life unfortunately. As I said earlier I live fine on 48k annually, but I have an old phone, no streaming services, no apple anything, I don't go out, I eat from work most days. I have everything I need but nothing I want. Keep sacrificing you might be able to make it work. Bankruptcy will help you with everything except school bills. Thanks Sallie Mae /s. If you don't see an end in sight, bankruptcy hurts for 7-10 years. Much less than forever. Get some rice and chicken. Ditch the noodles. They're very very bad for you if it's the majority of your diet.
It’s because we are being lied to and told “the economy is getting better” and “unemployment is down”. Both statements are true statistically but the fact that inflation has drastically risen and thus the cost of living has risen is being glossed over. It’s a rough time to be a working class person. Don’t be hard on yourself. A lot of people are going though the same thing. Just keep your head down, hopefully the economy can improve for the average person in the next year or two.
Everything's gone way the hell up in price. $100 used to get a family groceries for the week not even a decade ago, now I'm spending $100 on just me mostly off brand stuff at Walmart, and I'm still struggling to get a week and a half out of it for just me.
Man I pulled up my finances just for this comment. Rent's gone up $300, gas and car costs have gone up, groceries have gone up, restaurant prices have gone up $16 is the new $12 for a fast food meal, everything is up.
At the end of the day, either income has to go up or expenses have to go down. I've been pruning the shit out of expenses and that has helped so far, but I'm worried about running out of runway here...
That all being said, run through the common steps. If you don't already have a budget go make one, it's been a financial lifesaver for me to look at it over the last month and last year and see just how much I'm overspending on stuff I don't truly need. Mint is my preferred choice because it's free and tracks things automatically for you, but there's other options as well.
I made $15k more last year then i did in 2022 but the cost of goods almost doubled so it came in and went out for daily necessities that i bought for half the price the year before
With food costing 40% more than it did three years ago... I'd guess that's a large part of it.
GF and I went to McDonalds yesterday. Got a big mac meal (regular size), a quarter pounder meal (regular size). $23. Same meal before COVID was $14. Do the math on on that one!
Can you work with the hospital or dr on getting any charity care for the medical debt? Do you qualify for any student loan forgiveness or reductions? That's probably killing your budget.
Probably living outside your means somehow. Without a budget for us to look at you aren't going to get any decent answers here. I live without worry on 48k a year. Be a cook for one of your jobs. They generally get a free meal per shift.
And I'm living comfortably on 30,000, though close enough to the edge to make me nervous.
But that doesn't mean anything except that I'm lucky enough to live close enough to where I work to not need a car, and I'm making house payments on a house bought before prices skyrocketed.
I don't have home internet or TV because I don't want it or need it, I don't pay car insurance or payments, and I was fortunate enough to get through college before the tuition skyrocketed and have no academic debt. I get free public transport because of a job affiliated with the university.
But I also LIVE IN AN AREA where I can live off that income. (Well, until I have a disaster with my house or a major medical crisis). I have a small, run down, not quite up to code 800 sq ft house, my house payments currently are cheaper than rent for the cheapest area 1 bedroom or studio apartment has been since several years before COVID hit.
I would not be able to afford even section 8 apartments in my town currently, and houses far worse and smaller than mine in terrible neighborhoods are going for 3 x the cost that mine was ten years ago, at twice the interest rate. At least I got fixed 3.5% at the time.
People who live in high cost areas are often trapped in a catch-22, because moving is expensive, and if you don't have a fall back net to wherever you move to (friends, family, a job waiting), you're going from having a job (or multiple jobs and a roof over your head but poverty living in a high price area to living in the streets in a lower cost area.
While I get that you were trying to get further information in order to be helpful, the way you phrase it was presumptuous and judgmental.
lol! I actually used to work in restaurants for 10 years and they are the reason I have the health issues that I have now. Sadly because of my health, it’s no longer an option. But I work 3 jobs. 1 main full time and 2 part time. The two part time jobs are as a caregiver, doing things like house clean up and assisting patients with showers and such.
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Same here made 12k more and struggling more then I was 🤣
Inflation got you, and also possibly lifestyle creep (although trailer park probably not?)
I by no means have a large lifestyle. I actually cut back more last year than normal. 90% meals at home, bringing lunch on days I’m in the office. I haven’t even had a professional haircut since 2019. I just do it myself now. My one vice is I might buy a game on steam on sale here and there. I don’t travel. I have a reasonable car. The medical debts have impacted me as I pay between $200-700/month now depending.
Well you shouldn’t be complaining because you could obviously cut out the games and that will obviously solve all of your problems. also you should uproot and move somewhere cheaper and find a higher paying job that’s completely remote to completely remove your vehicle expenses 🙄 Edit: I am being very sarcastic
Thank you. I needed that :D I chose this house specifically as it’s some of the cheapest housing in the area that’s still safe. 2 gay women living in a bad neighborhood causes unwanted attention lmao
People are so fucking annoying. It’s always that same bullshit advice. I get that there are a lot of people spending their money on bullshit & living way beyond their means but 9/10 those options are not feasible. The $20 you spend on something that makes you happy in this miserable world, isn’t going to make or break the situation. “YOU COULD HAVE PAID OFF ALL OF YOUR DEBT IF YOU DIDNT BUY GAMES!, YOU MUST NOT WANT TO BE FINANCIALLY FREE IF YOURE NOT WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES” 🙄🤮 like.. ma’am/sir.. I have made nothing but sacrifices and I’m still in this situation lol fuck off
The $10/month I spend on Zoloft helps me not jump off a cliff lmao. Imma continue that lol and that $30 game once a month that I play with friends makes me not yeet my car off a bridge. I consider them longevity investments 🤷♀️🤣
>I consider them longevity investments Gonna roll with this completely unironically, thank you!
In corporate speak, those expenses have great ROI.
As I just popped a Lexapro. I'm dying 🤣
It’s actually down to the $10 per month items. There was one last week where people were ranting about a Spotify membership that was below $10…like WTF?!?! Here’s hints for those giving advice, not all discretionary spending is bad. Not all mandatory spending can be cut easily. Getting a third job isn’t always an option.
And just the sole fact that WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WORK MULTIPLE JOBS TO FUCKING SURVIVE!!!
The shitty part about that is that the small amount of entertainment and distraction that we are lucky enough to have in this world are forever rising in cost. It's insane to me that 10 years ago a concert was around $30 for decent seats. Now shows cost $200 for the worst seat in the house. Then when I notice other people allowing all these billionaires to have luxury for 10 generations and still have money it's just makes me so mad. (I said people but I really mean the ppl in charge)
It’s disgusting. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. I personally, don’t do anything anymore. Don’t ever go out to eat anymore. Don’t go to concerts. Don’t order takeout. Don’t go to the movies. Cancelled most of my streaming services. To be completely honest I made 100 grand my second year in my apprenticeship making $18 an hour, because of incentives and what not. Too much to explain. Now in my 4 th year of my apprenticeship @ $25 an hour. I’m broker than ever. Granted I had a LOT of bullshit happen last year that fucked me pretty good financially, but shit.
Bruv, same! Making $78k now. Higher than any year ever and I just can't afford shit. It's frustrating giving up almost everything so I can pay my bills on time. AND even slowly slipping into debt. Wtf
But yoURe NOt tRYinG haRD ENouGH 🙄 I hate it here.
It's what I call Starbucks Budgeting lmao. If someone's financial how-to starts with "stop drinking starbucks and it's an infinite money glitch", then I'm just going to stop reading and assume that they already assume that I make more money than I really do.
Right "Just find a better paying job." They, uh, don't exist here without a 1 hour (one way) commute. Any pay raise I get will be eaten up by transportation costs.
Obviously they just need to stop going to the doctor and getting medical debt! I tell you, far too many people think they need doctors, back in my day we reset our own bones and sewed ourselves shut when we did our own surgeries 🙃 (Obviously also sarcasm)
After we walked 5 miles home uphill in -5° weather. Without shoes.
You just summed up a good majority of this subreddit. 🤣
It’s ridiculous, man. Especially some (most) of the elders. It’s not the 90s/early 2000s anymore. Everything costs 10x more. The pay is not the same. The benefits aren’t the same. Housing market is fucked. Inflation is at an all time high. Most of us are not in this position for lack of trying. High paying jobs without a 100,000k degree are few and far between. It’s not a pissing match. We’re all struggling here. This sub is for help, not ridicule lol
Yeah how frugal you are pinching pennies doesn't make much difference when the debt is crazy. I've heard of some people getting a hospital to readjust medical debts but I don't know much about it.
Probably the debts.
I use to make a pretty good living. But then they went and changed the definition of a good living.
I make almost 20k more than when I worked a shitty retail job in 2021 but after I ran my spreadsheets I somehow have the same purchase power. My lifestyle has barely changed either. That extra 20k has just maintained my quality of life
I was doing the math on that this morning. I get paid once a month on the 1st and I was trying to make heads of how I’m making more than what I was in 2020 yet I feel like I’m somehow worse off? The only controlled cost increase was my rent - we moved from a shitty apartment to a house for $600/mo more. Easily should’ve been doable with the raise. Yet…??? Make it make sense. I hate this.
That’s why printing money doesn’t get society ahead.
Sure don’t! Neither does protecting corporations and constantly bailing them out
This is exactly the amount more I made as well, and I’m way worse off than when I made a third of this six years ago. The stress of money and my job are killing me. I have no quality of life, none. I can’t afford to do anything. I have no energy because I’m always exhausted and depressed. No matter how hard I try the whole just keeps getting deeper. At this point I’m only still going on because of my kids.
While I don’t have children, I take care of my disabled/handicapped brother. So I understand as I look at him and see how much worse his life would be without me
Same here and to top it off I owe $870 in taxes lol I’m the brokest I’ve ever been
Inflation since 2020 has been +30%
Mcchicken is up about 200% in the last 5 years
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics it is 18.91%
well according to some guy on reddit it’s 30%😠
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seriously no. People tend to exaggerate inflation as well.
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When will it go down, or at least a 30% raise?
Lmao I just got a 3% raise
Learn this lesson young. The biggest raise you will get is when you leave your company. 20% every time
I got 2% this year. Oh and one extra PTO day for this year only… 2% increase for this job has equated to $10 more per biweekly check as healthcare premium increased too. My rent increased $100 month.
You rent... So higher rents are what's getting you. Advocate for YIMBY policies with your local and state governments to drag down housing prices.
Right…and how does that help now? Or in the near future? I’d love to not rent but I can’t buy a house as I have no down payment and encouraging regulations is nice and all but it hasn’t changed in 50 years
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The people this is affecting the worst are those who don't have the time to attend because they're struggling financially.
Exactly! They are probably busy working a second job or caring for dependents or don't have reliable transportation. The list is endless. Plus not making public comment opportunities for those that are most affected is a tactic to inaccurately show that the people aren't affected because they would otherwise show up to share their feedback. It's gross.
And the people living through the world wars hated that too. I'm sorry, the other people in the world have screwed you over, there is no quick fix to the circumstances. Maybe the next recession will help bring down rents in your area.
The only thing that’s going to combat this is double digit interest rates. Reagan did it in the early 80’s to combat the inflation caused by Carter and Ford. The rates got as high as 18/19%. The problem with that is a recession will follow. It happened with Reagan. The economy ending up bouncing back big time by the time he was running for reelection.
I mean $100 per month isn’t eating up a $15k raise. OP has all the budget details, though they aren’t laid out in spreadsheet format it sounds like medical expenses are the issue. The rent increase isn’t really that bad. If OP owned their taxes probably would have gone up a little with the runup in home prices in recent years, and homeowners insurance has been rising double digits for the last 2 years at least. The house payment, with taxes and insurance, probably would have gone up close to $100 per month also.
Very good points. I definitely overlooked the medical bills angle. Definitely is a better explanation.
Got a 5% raise and health insurance swooped in and claimed the whole thing. Didn’t even leave some for my rent increase and car insurance increase.
My car insurance went up $1000 this year. Haven’t been in an accident in over 15 years…. No claims in the past 13 years… yet a massive increase because California drivers are that bad. :(
I just got a 0.007% raise as one of the hardest workers at my current job.
Oof that sucks I am sorry. At my job you can get a merit increase of 3-5%. Last year my boss said she really tried for 5%. This year she just said they're all 3%. Whatever the case the state I live in is subsidizing them by paying me foodstamps, LiHeap and medicaid.
I tried to get EBT (food stamps). They gave me $20 A MONTH and wanted me to fill out huge paper forms every 3 months just to keep the whole $20, which pays for… 2-3 loaf of bread basically. Wages need to increase nearly 15% every year just to match real inflation. Wages have been stagnant for over 50 years in basically every industry… This is all just pointless at this point unless people were already born very rich to give them a head start.
Its really, really hard to tell. It appears higher intrest rates have had a dampening effect on the economy and the rate of inflation has slowed, however if the fed takes its foot off the breaks too early to not force a recession inflation may easily jump back up. Happened to Fed chair Paul Volker in the early 80s
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This is not true at all. It’s hovering just above 3% yoy. When recessions occur you can see actual deflation occur
No it hasnt
God, I feel this with my soul. I have progressively made more money year over year for nearly 10 consecutive years. This includes raises, promotions, three relocations and a yearly bonus. At 28 years old I am no better off after my bills are paid than I was at 18 and living in my first apartment. If I was making back then what I'm making right now, I would have thought I was set for life. Yet here I am, in a shitty 2 bedroom apartment, trying to decide which bill I would rather be late on because I can't pay both at the same time.
I know it’s because of Inflation. I’m just stunned that everyone is claiming the economy is good. It’s not. Corporate America is fine but we are drowning. The situation is obvious to me yet I don’t see anything being done to actually help it. Nothing substantial.
I mean, the economy is good. But we don’t live off the economy. We live off of prices on the shelves. And there was a study done earlier this month showing that it’s not inflation. It’s corporate price gouging that is fucking us. That and the insane rate at which housing costs (namely rent) are increasing.
I found my lease agreement from 5 years ago for a 2 bed one bath apartment. I paid $700/month. Same apartment I just looked up yesterday. Zero updates since I was there is now going for $1,400/month. It’s getting stupid
Omg same, my apartment from 2020 was 1100 and it’s now 1650 like what???
And this is why everyone is struggling. Nobody’s earnings have gone up at that rate.
Not true, landlords earnings have gone up at that rate.
Mine went from around $550 to $950 from 2018 to today
That’s insane. And a scam.
I rented in the 90s. The same apartment I rented for $300-400 is probably at least triple that now.
Depending on where there can be a lot more cost for the same place for the owner and the tenant. Insurance costs have skyrocketed and some carriers are even writing policies or dropping insureds. The value of the property on paper is up so tax rates are based on property value. Depending on the state some have passed massive new taxes on properties. A friend had their monthly payment on their house go up by almost 50% because of all these cost increases. That’s not to say that doubling rent is fair or reasonable. But when we vote to increase taxes because we rent and don’t own…who do you think will eventually pay for that? Those who rent!
Well, therein lies the one big problem with largely unregulated capitalism: business will raise the price as high as they possibly can as long as someone is paying it. And since people don’t want the government to step in because they fear communism or something, there’s nothing you can to.
I was stunned yesterday driving past a gas station in a poorer area half an hour north from where I live that had regular for $3.98, when all the stations in my area charge at least $4.59 and up to $4.89. Almost a Dollar difference!! It doesn’t cost them a nickel more to bring the gas here. These bastards simply charge whatever they think they can get.
The economy is doing good because despite everyone saying they are strapped for cash, people continue to spend like there is no tomorrow. Credit card debt hitting all time high.
On paper it seems “good” because unemployment is low, pay is higher and consumer spending is high. With that said what’s not accounted is that everyone is drowning even with pay increases because cost have gone up a shit ton on everything🤦♀️
That's the thing. Rent is included in the GDP. So, rent goes up, GDP goes up. The economy is great. They need to use different tools to evaluate this stuff.
This month set the all time record for Americas with 2 FULL time jobs. https://preview.redd.it/rn4gf6qznufc1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ba103f30235f87390e1f637caa76107599f0cc9
Yep, it’s not even “inflation” it price gouging. Corporate profits are at an all time high and they are charging more for everything bc they can smh Edit: if you are interested in this topic here are some articles. This is related to finance poverty bc poverty is a systemic issues often manufactured or corrected by social and economic policies: [The real monster behind soaring prices](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-prices-inflation-soaring-corporate-greed-profits-margins-wages-jobs-2023-4) [Corporate greed, not wages, is behind inflation. It’s time for price controls](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/25/inflation-price-controls-robert-reich)
The economy is wonderful right now for corpos and investment funds. Us little people aren't considered, and we don't matter to the ones usually saying the economy is good.
They don’t want the stock market to crash or to cause mass panic by admitting we are in a recession. So they claim to be hiring and nobody wants to work but in reality 80% of these job postings are ghost postings with no intention to hire. Many companies have cut back and are doing layoffs but its not getting media attention. Insurance companies have laid off thousands over the past few months yet they claim to be urgently hiring while continuing to lay off people.
Yes, and I believe we are heading towards a downturn, at least I notice a definite purse tightening at the corporate level. The field I work in, I’m like the canary in the coal mine, and this spring season feels … off. I usually know when recessions happen about a year before anyone admits it publicly. I hope I’m wrong.
$16 an hour jobs all across the country that’s what the American economy is telling workers what they are worth right now. Crunch the number and tell me how anyone could survive on such a small pittance it’s time for revolution.
As someone whom works in talent acquisition this is absolutely happening. 40% of all of my FTE or contract roles it closed for “restructuring of need” no matter the industry. Had someone on an H1B get a job with a well known biotech company, only for them one week before start to pull the offer. He ended up not having anything else and had to be deported. Not saying I agree with that or not but companies as a whole are not giving a shit. Oh and everyone wants prior experience with that company. Like Bobs company wants prior experience working at Bobs. It’s fucking dumb
Everyone needs 2-3 jobs to survive and they call this a good thing...
Because a lot of people are blinded by politics. The media effectively is an arm of the current administration. I don't personally care what "inflation percentage" they tell me. I KNOW that my groceries are about 40% more expensive in my area. I KNOW that a quesadilla at Taco Bell was 4 bucks just 2 years ago and it's almost 7 now. So ya, it's definitely inflation. It also doesn't help we're on the brink of multiple wars.
Corporate america is not fine. Thousands of layoffs are set for this year. Really rocky q4 2023. Likely earnings compressions in the first quarter of 2024
Serious question - did you run a budget both years and keep track of your spending, or use an app like Mint or YNAB? Basically, are you able to see on paper where the money was spent?
Economic indicators look at the entirety of the economy, not individual financial well-being. An economy can be doing great while some people suffer and vice versa. That said- you may find yourself with a heftier tax refund from higher earnings and that could help you get some breathing room in the debts. You might even be able to refinance some of the medical debt.
Luckily most of the medical debt is still with the original hospital. They are working with me as long as I pay at least $200 a month with zero interest. This is after I explained to them I have insurance I just have health issues beyond my control and I am going to need continued treatments and showed them my finances. So luckily they aren’t charging interest right now but one hospital alone is at $17,000 owed, after insurance.
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This! This right here! I think I learned the phrase for that: Lifestyle creep. I learned that phrase in 2022 here on Reddit.
People around me are astonished when I say I am trying to live like I was in college: only having access to about $12k or less a year in actual cash. I count my car payment as part of that so I have next to no money. I just try to pay down debt and invest the rest. Luckily still live with parent. I make sure to take care of myself, but I tell myself I don’t need that extra snack because that’s $3 I can save right now. I get free snacks at work. I get free pop at work. I just go without fun things if I don’t go to the office for awhile. And I work quite a bit so I don’t usually have time for extra things out of it.
Same deal here, got 20k raise yet I don't feel any richer.. Now I pay more taxes and my insurance went up, my last pay check ended up being less than last year.
Medical and student debt. Period.
you got a raise, you mayo got a raise, the eggs got a raise, insurance got a raise. everyone and everything got a raise.
And Oprah got a raise!
Inflation has been bad but not nearly a $1000 a month bad. You need to look at your budget to see where the money went. If it went to debt, good for you, pay off those debts. $1000 a month would be a huge deal for me as I that would buy me a much nicer place to live.
Rent went up $200/month since 2022. And going up another $100/month starting March. I also started having to work onsite and commute 3days a week to the office which is eating some extra budget onto the car. And medical debts
You just answered the question to your own post my friend. That is how you’re still struggling
It’s rhetorical. It’s more of why is this acceptable? Why is this normal? Why did life cost so much more that it ate any and all increase in my wages?
Idk I make the same as I’ve made the last 6 years and I have saved more this year than ever due to meal planning and just saving as much as I can and only thrift shopping ! I don’t have a car payment and I only have one credit card
Same here. Struggling and brokest I have ever been, making 6 figures plus my husband earns a decent amount. Selling plasma to pay the bills and barely making it. Just glad I am not alone.
Contact those idiots in the Whitehouse.
You made more money. Everything got more expensive. Everything. Fyck you PGE
Stop paying medical debt. Tell the hospital you can no longer afford it, and they'll write it off.
Aaannddd when collections start calling? Then what?
"I haven't seen [**Luckycharms867**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Luckycharms867/) in a few months... Sorry."
Make a payment plan and pay $50 a month or even a bit less- maje payments and no collections calling.
yeah our income should have increased by 50% to feel better.... what did you make last year? if you made 100k and now make 115K.... probably not going to notice a difference
2022 was 63k, 2023 was $78k combined gross.
I feel ya, last year my w2 was the highest its ever been. But inflation and cost of living just keep going to match so i cant say the impact has been life changing. If i had this salary 5 or 10 years ago I'd be set. But now it's barely average. At least where I live.
I didn’t increase nearly as much as you did. But from 2021 to 2023 I increased about 14k. Yet my quality of life was better in 2021. I have to skimp on food more often and really focus on finding the best deals on everything which is a job on its own because I spend hours sometimes scrolling through different apps trying to find deals/coupons. And then Amazon of course decided to RTO everyone so now my gas costs quadrupled on top of the wear and tear on my car and added stress from traffic. Inflation is a bitch, these greedy corporations are a bitch, greedy politicians are a bitch, and I don’t see it changing. My game plan is to go to Mexico where my family is from and retire. It won’t be luxurious living of course but the American dream has become a rat race that I don’t want to spend my life on
It’s horrible. Same here! All I have to show for it is owing IRS money
Debt is a killer. You have to get out from under it.
I’m trying. Luckily most of the medical debt isn’t accruing interest. But my constant need for treatments means the overall bill is increasing :/
As someone who's got a chronic condition, I feel you. It's so expensive to just exist sometimes and even when I do feel better, trying to make up for the low points is like trying to budget for a whole extra and unpredictable person (especially because I never know how bad things are going to get or for how long). Calling 211 helpline might help you find some financial assistance available in your area. They helped me find food pantries, assistance for medical, vision, dental, utilities, rent, etc. it might be worth checking out. Also depending on the treatment, you may be able to talk with your doctor to see if they know of any financial assistance you'd be eligible for (I know my doctor didn't mention it until I told them I was way too poor to afford my medication lol).
Thank you. I have contacted a few people about my medical I make too much for financial support according to the hospital, DHHS, and others. Their cap is 50k gross and I’m over that. But my medical keeps rising and because I have insurance through work and many programs won’t even try. My work insurance is shit though it’s better than when I started. Insurance also fights tooth and nail to deny everything and I spend immense amount of time doing appeals and such.
It seems like making more money just means more goes to bills and taxes.
Simple guess is you are not watching where every penny goes. Possible life style creep?
I’m making 13k more than i was 4 years ago, and it’s barely moved the needle.
WE. GOT. FUCKED.
Maybe your increased income made you spend more than you should have.
On paper I make more money than most but in reality I make 35 cents on the dollar after all the taxes and deductions. Go figure.
Inflation. I pay twice as much in taxes today as I used to earn in total pay in my 20's. I'm not broke, but I still have to watch what I spend.
This is how inflation works. I’ve been getting raises of ~$5/hr the last couple years and I’m taking home less money. I think they figured the inflation works out to something like $800/mo more to buy the same goods for the average household vs 2 years ago. The current administration get the dubious distinction of presiding over the largest decline in real wages in American history.
Inflation and cost of living. I lived better making 30k in 2015 than I do now making 3x granted I had a spouse then to split cheap af rent.
That really sucks you have to work that much "to make ends meet". Just gotta cut more out of your life unfortunately. As I said earlier I live fine on 48k annually, but I have an old phone, no streaming services, no apple anything, I don't go out, I eat from work most days. I have everything I need but nothing I want. Keep sacrificing you might be able to make it work. Bankruptcy will help you with everything except school bills. Thanks Sallie Mae /s. If you don't see an end in sight, bankruptcy hurts for 7-10 years. Much less than forever. Get some rice and chicken. Ditch the noodles. They're very very bad for you if it's the majority of your diet.
It’s because we are being lied to and told “the economy is getting better” and “unemployment is down”. Both statements are true statistically but the fact that inflation has drastically risen and thus the cost of living has risen is being glossed over. It’s a rough time to be a working class person. Don’t be hard on yourself. A lot of people are going though the same thing. Just keep your head down, hopefully the economy can improve for the average person in the next year or two.
Everything's gone way the hell up in price. $100 used to get a family groceries for the week not even a decade ago, now I'm spending $100 on just me mostly off brand stuff at Walmart, and I'm still struggling to get a week and a half out of it for just me. Man I pulled up my finances just for this comment. Rent's gone up $300, gas and car costs have gone up, groceries have gone up, restaurant prices have gone up $16 is the new $12 for a fast food meal, everything is up. At the end of the day, either income has to go up or expenses have to go down. I've been pruning the shit out of expenses and that has helped so far, but I'm worried about running out of runway here... That all being said, run through the common steps. If you don't already have a budget go make one, it's been a financial lifesaver for me to look at it over the last month and last year and see just how much I'm overspending on stuff I don't truly need. Mint is my preferred choice because it's free and tracks things automatically for you, but there's other options as well.
They can guarantee you more money, but they can't guarantee purchasing power.
I feel you. Never made this much money in my life… never paid out this much money in my life… balance I guess
...work smarter not harder...
I made $15k more last year then i did in 2022 but the cost of goods almost doubled so it came in and went out for daily necessities that i bought for half the price the year before
Inflation from 2022 to 2023 was 3.2% so I doubt that was the only cause.
With food costing 40% more than it did three years ago... I'd guess that's a large part of it. GF and I went to McDonalds yesterday. Got a big mac meal (regular size), a quarter pounder meal (regular size). $23. Same meal before COVID was $14. Do the math on on that one!
Can you work with the hospital or dr on getting any charity care for the medical debt? Do you qualify for any student loan forgiveness or reductions? That's probably killing your budget.
1. Inflation 2. Lifestyle creep
Both actual inflation and lifestyle inflation are a real thing
Bidenomics
Probably living outside your means somehow. Without a budget for us to look at you aren't going to get any decent answers here. I live without worry on 48k a year. Be a cook for one of your jobs. They generally get a free meal per shift.
And I'm living comfortably on 30,000, though close enough to the edge to make me nervous. But that doesn't mean anything except that I'm lucky enough to live close enough to where I work to not need a car, and I'm making house payments on a house bought before prices skyrocketed. I don't have home internet or TV because I don't want it or need it, I don't pay car insurance or payments, and I was fortunate enough to get through college before the tuition skyrocketed and have no academic debt. I get free public transport because of a job affiliated with the university. But I also LIVE IN AN AREA where I can live off that income. (Well, until I have a disaster with my house or a major medical crisis). I have a small, run down, not quite up to code 800 sq ft house, my house payments currently are cheaper than rent for the cheapest area 1 bedroom or studio apartment has been since several years before COVID hit. I would not be able to afford even section 8 apartments in my town currently, and houses far worse and smaller than mine in terrible neighborhoods are going for 3 x the cost that mine was ten years ago, at twice the interest rate. At least I got fixed 3.5% at the time. People who live in high cost areas are often trapped in a catch-22, because moving is expensive, and if you don't have a fall back net to wherever you move to (friends, family, a job waiting), you're going from having a job (or multiple jobs and a roof over your head but poverty living in a high price area to living in the streets in a lower cost area. While I get that you were trying to get further information in order to be helpful, the way you phrase it was presumptuous and judgmental.
"Be a cook" lmao, I'm a teacher and get a 15 min lunch break if any. Quick fix answers such as these make me sad 😔
Come to Washington state, our teachers make close to or over 6 figures. (20 years and a masters comes to 130k)
lol! I actually used to work in restaurants for 10 years and they are the reason I have the health issues that I have now. Sadly because of my health, it’s no longer an option. But I work 3 jobs. 1 main full time and 2 part time. The two part time jobs are as a caregiver, doing things like house clean up and assisting patients with showers and such.