Has your income kept up with inflation

[WVMomof3]

Another spinoff from the Is Middle Class priced out. A lot of the talk on that thread has been talk about how much their income has or has not gone up. So I arbitrarily looked at our 2006 taxes and our 2016 taxes to see if our income has kept up with inflation in the last 10 years. I have to tell you, I feel like it has not, we did go on more vacations back then, maybe because we now have 1 in college and another going next year, we feel the pinch more. But our income almost exactly matched inflation. We have averaged a 2.02%/year raise in the last 10 years. Our medical insurance has increased 82% in that time also.

Here is the calculator I used, how have you done?

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

 

[Princess Minnie321]

My DH made a career change a few years ago and got a big salary bump when he did. He works a lot more, but at the time we really needed that bump to dig out of a hole. This bump is the only reason he has kept up with inflation.

Mine has not. I took a pay cut when I had my son to cut my hours and then because work keeps getting dumped on me, I am now working longer days at the reduced salary. My raises have been 1-2% each year so not keeping up with inflation.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We have definitely outpaced inflation, but DH is in a field where experience is highly valued.

 

[tarheel618]

nope not even close- so far behind that we had to take on a second job

 

[tvguy]

Using that calculator, it appears we have. Sure doesn't feel like it. Our income is 4 times what it was in 1983 and we had a house payment of $1,100 a month then. I'm not sure if I could afford that kind of house payment today.

WHAT we spend money on has changed. There are so many optional expenditures, many that are not necessities, that we have now.
Cell phones $70 a month
Life insurance $180 a month
Long term care insurance $400 a month
Gym membership $100 a month
Burglar alarm monitoring $40 a month
Cable TV (satellite) $112 a month
Pest Control $25 a month
Cost of insuring 5 cars (we have 2 in 1983.) $120 a month for the 3 additional cars

 

[DLgal]

Yes, because DH is a military officer and has been promoted and those come with big salary bumps. He's about to be promoted again this year which will be about a 15% raise again.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I can't really say regarding the last ten years. I had just finished undergrad in 2006 and didn't finish graduate school until 2009. The legal market was terrible at that point, so I didn't get a full time job until 2010. In the last six years, my personal income has doubled, but I also started out with a fellowship. Those are usually pretty mediocre pay, but are very prestigious. It helped me land my current job a year later. And I got promoted last year, which resulted in a significant pay increase. For the last several years, my university has given 2-3% cost of living increases every year, so at my new pay level I should be keeping up with inflation.

DH got a job at the same university in Sept. and I assume that he will also get a cost of living increase this fall, but since he is in a different department, I am not sure what their policy is regarding that. We will have to see in a few months.

 

[mommajo143]

Well our income has actually declined so I can easily say "nope" - our office was furloughed last year which resulted in a 5% pay loss... it was better than layoffs but still hurt. Issuance costs have skyrocketed so that has eat away at my take home too... I havent had a raise in 6 years - each year during evaluations I along with my coworker's are all told how amazing we are but yet no one but the big boss gets a raise. In an effort to reduce cost our office has not filled numerous vacancies over the past 5 years which means a lot more work for the rest of us. However, I think DH & I feel richer despite all the & it's because:
1) paid off our cars - would've likely bought new ones but these are in good enough shape so we just keep driving them (of course at some point we will have to buy at least one, probably 2, cars)
2) DS5 & DS9 are in school now - that's meant savings of a little over $1100/month in daycare costs because my mom teaches & the boys go to her house after school.
3) we realized we don't really watch TV so we got rid of cable & just use Netflix & antenna
4) we quit smoking - that actually was almost 10 years ago but I know our health is better & the cost of a pack of cigarettes these days would put us in the poor house for sure!
5) we gave up soda... little change but has really helped a lot because those add up fast & water is free!

We should pay off our student loans next year which will help some too...

 

[superme80]

My husband makes the most he ever has, but it is still at the top of the poverty line for our state. We found out we now have to pay for our own insurance so that is an extra amount out of his paycheck. My staying home homeschooling actually saves us money than me working. We ran the numbers and it did not make sense with day care, before and after school care, and paying out more in insurance since our tax bracket would go up. We are very blessed, but it does become a struggle.

 

[crisi]

We've done pretty well, but we aren't middle class - we are in the top 5% - the part of the population that has seen its incomes increase.

 

[dclpluto]

Only making 2/3 of what I did 10 years ago. I got the same job and had pay raises all them years but way way way less overtime.

 

[dreiwhit]

It absolutely, positively sure hasn't kept up for us. I once did the math, and to have the same buying power that I did back in the early-mid 2000s and I would need to be making about $25,000 more a year.

In 2013, I was cleaning out the cupboards over the refrigerator (you know, the ones you never use) and found a Wal Mart receipt from 2009. I saved it and did the math. Back then, we were pay about 30% more for every item on the receipt. And, we all know how much portions shrunk by then.

I'm in the IT field. I noticed that our raises started getting MUCH smaller back in 2008, if we got them. A good raise got to be 1.5%. Prior to then, it was 3.5-4.5%, and I would get bonuses every six months. Yes, the bonuses went away too. In 2013, for the first time in my 20 year IT career, I had to take a pay cut of about 15% to keep my job. Last year, I had to take another pay cut to take another job that was more stable. Right now, i'm making what I made back in 2006. The big problem is that good IT jobs are scarce here - the job market has never recovered - which means that the employer can pay much less than they would have 10 years ago. Last year, I saw experienced people being paid what I was making in 2000! Unfortunately, moving isn't an option that we can consider.

Starting in 2010, health insurance went up to the point where the monthly premiums had tripled over what we paid a few years before. AND, you had to pay 20% of the cost out of your pocket. We once had $1300 in medical bills in two months when my daughter got sick. That hurt.

In 2001, I was out of work for two months. Today, what is frustrating and depressing is that we are living like we did back during those two months, but this time I HAVE a job. We just cut the cord on our satellite service. In 2001, we kept it!

Everything is more expensive. Something is going to have to give soon.....

 

[ronandannette]

Our local economy has been devastated over the past 3 years by low oil prices - an unprecedented crash that has left this province with an unthinkable 8% unemployment rate. I'd reckon those who still have jobs certainly have not kept up with inflation. My own workplace (a branch of a national corporation) has been in wage-freeze for 18 months; we're all just grateful there have been no roll-backs or significant staff reductions.

Personally, my salary has more than doubled over the past 10 years due to promotion, so overall it's far above inflation. Household wise, DH has had a rough go and his present job pays about 1/3 less than he was making 5 years ago and at his age we're resigned to the fact that his peak-earning years are likely behind him.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

the BOD of our N-P org does their absolute best to give us a COL 3% every year, but sometimes can't do it. I've topped out in my dpt., with the training I have. Getting more training is not an option as I have a stay-at-home dad and a Pre-K child and any free time my DH has, he is working part-time. So there's no schooling I can take unless I want to exit out of my family's life completely, and that would be unacceptable to them.

Anyway, my employers don't have control over things like groceries skyrocketing, portions shrinking, gas being way more than it used to be, service prices going up everywhere, and now... the utilities getting jacked up because of "carbon tax". Like anyone can afford $200 extra on their heating bill! and the city, bless their hearts, decided that they weren't going to increase property taxes by 30% (like they feel they should), they're being kind and only raising them 4-14%. I could say a lot of adult words that would get me banned from Disney, let alone this forum!

I wouldn't say that anyone's pay has kept up with inflation, but that's because there are so many more things to buy now! If the box of cereal gets 1/3 smaller and 1/3 more expensive, nobody wins. Some people have to go without the cereal, some will try to DIY granola, some will shrug and decide it's interest on their CC they can pay off later. How many people replaced their cable bill with a Netflix bill? Still a bill... How many people have decided, "No more cell?" Nahhhh we all just try to have what we have and get a little more, instead of cutting back. Consumerism at its greatest! My struggle in our household is that we have cut back on consuming anything to its bare minimum but that doesn't help when the cost is displaced elsewhere. We would actually be "ahead of the game" if the carbon tax wasn't stealing hundreds from us each quarter.... and we've just seen Quarter One.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our incomes went up significantly in 2014, but it was because of changes we made. Dh began drawing retirement from a job he had for 23 years and started career #2 with higher pay than career #1. I began working full time after being part time for 15 years to be home with the kids. On paper, the income looks great. Realistically, we are still watching our pennies.

We now have 3 teens and a 20 something. That means we have 5 automobiles, upkeep, gas and insurance for 3 males under 25 . We have 2 in college now and will have 2 in college until at least 2024. Two are looking at careers in pharmacy. 6 of us have smart phones- pretty standard now a days and cable, etc.
Activities for high school students are not cheap. Fees and out of town trips for soccer, volleyball, band and assorted clubs to make a well rounded student on their resumes and keep the kid out of trouble and healthy. Test fees for the AP and ACT and SAT tests. It doesn't end.

Oldest ds gets married this year and we are paying the usual groom's family expenses for a 300 guest rehearsal dinner/wedding/reception.

In 2005 hurricane Katrina brought us new home owners insurance rates.

Dh and I are getting closer to 50 so eating right and taking care of ourselves has become important. That brings it's own expenses. Health Insurance and rising costs have out paced raises in income. For several reasons, I've turned to alternative medicine which is not recognized by insurance and is all out of pocket.

We took a big Disney/universal vacation last year- the first in 6 years and don't see another vacation on the horizon at all.

We know we are fortunate to have the salaries and life we do, but it's not easy.

 

[MommyBryn]

My husband makes the most he ever has, but it is still at the top of the poverty line for our state. We found out we now have to pay for our own insurance so that is an extra amount out of his paycheck. My staying home homeschooling actually saves us money than me working. We ran the numbers and it did not make sense with day care, before and after school care, and paying out more in insurance since our tax bracket would go up. We are very blessed, but it does become a struggle.

This is just like us. We homeschool, so have one income, and my husband is in an under-appreciate field of work (EMS). NOT keeping up with inflation! His income hasn't increased much at all over the last several years but they've dropped all benefits for us (without changing his wage to cover the difference, like they said they would), so all of that comes out of our pocket now. THankfully we have Healthcare Sharing as opposed to traditional insurance so we pay under $500 for the 7 of us (and get better "coverage" than any insurance can offer us) but dental is the one that kills us! Sheesh. Anyway, our budget is pretty much constant, we have no debt, and our grocery expenditure is really the only "flexible" category yet I'm already barely able to stay within the limit of that and food keeps getting more expensive! This topic is something that has come up in conversation a lot in our house lately.

 

[brooke789]

I'm in the same position I was in in 2006. So, I just logged into our HR tools to see my 'compensation history'. My salary has gone up by 30% since June 2006. We receive COL adjustments most years and I've also received other increases, along the way.

 

[superme80]

This is just like us. We homeschool, so have one income, and my husband is in an under-appreciate field of work (EMS). NOT keeping up with inflation! His income hasn't increased much at all over the last several years but they've dropped all benefits for us (without changing his wage to cover the difference, like they said they would), so all of that comes out of our pocket now. THankfully we have Healthcare Sharing as opposed to traditional insurance so we pay under $500 for the 7 of us (and get better "coverage" than any insurance can offer us) but dental is the one that kills us! Sheesh. Anyway, our budget is pretty much constant, we have no debt, and our grocery expenditure is really the only "flexible" category yet I'm already barely able to stay within the limit of that and food keeps getting more expensive! This topic is something that has come up in conversation a lot in our house lately.

Hi other me. My husband works in the tech field, but wages here do not keep up with rise of groceries, utilities, and taxes. Dental is a killer. The company DH works for just got sold. We are thankful he still has a job. Not betting on a raise or any extra perks.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

It absolutely, positively sure hasn't kept up for us. I once did the math, and to have the same buying power that I did back in the early-mid 2000s and I would need to be making about $25,000 more a year.

In 2013, I was cleaning out the cupboards over the refrigerator (you know, the ones you never use) and found a Wal Mart receipt from 2009. I saved it and did the math. Back then, we were pay about 30% more for every item on the receipt. And, we all know how much portions shrunk by then.

I'm in the IT field. I noticed that our raises started getting MUCH smaller back in 2008, if we got them. A good raise got to be 1.5%. Prior to then, it was 3.5-4.5%, and I would get bonuses every six months. Yes, the bonuses went away too. In 2013, for the first time in my 20 year IT career, I had to take a pay cut of about 15% to keep my job. Last year, I had to take another pay cut to take another job that was more stable. Right now, i'm making what I made back in 2006. The big problem is that good IT jobs are scarce here - the job market has never recovered - which means that the employer can pay much less than they would have 10 years ago. Last year, I saw experienced people being paid what I was making in 2000! Unfortunately, moving isn't an option that we can consider.

Starting in 2010, health insurance went up to the point where the monthly premiums had tripled over what we paid a few years before. AND, you had to pay 20% of the cost out of your pocket. We once had $1300 in medical bills in two months when my daughter got sick. That hurt.

In 2001, I was out of work for two months. Today, what is frustrating and depressing is that we are living like we did back during those two months, but this time I HAVE a job. We just cut the cord on our satellite service. In 2001, we kept it!

Everything is more expensive. Something is going to have to give soon.....

It absolutely, positively sure hasn't kept up for us. I once did the math, and to have the same buying power that I did back in the early-mid 2000s and I would need to be making about $25,000 more a year.

In 2013, I was cleaning out the cupboards over the refrigerator (you know, the ones you never use) and found a Wal Mart receipt from 2009. I saved it and did the math. Back then, we were pay about 30% more for every item on the receipt. And, we all know how much portions shrunk by then.

I'm in the IT field. I noticed that our raises started getting MUCH smaller back in 2008, if we got them. A good raise got to be 1.5%. Prior to then, it was 3.5-4.5%, and I would get bonuses every six months. Yes, the bonuses went away too. In 2013, for the first time in my 20 year IT career, I had to take a pay cut of about 15% to keep my job. Last year, I had to take another pay cut to take another job that was more stable. Right now, i'm making what I made back in 2006. The big problem is that good IT jobs are scarce here - the job market has never recovered - which means that the employer can pay much less than they would have 10 years ago. Last year, I saw experienced people being paid what I was making in 2000! Unfortunately, moving isn't an option that we can consider.

Starting in 2010, health insurance went up to the point where the monthly premiums had tripled over what we paid a few years before. AND, you had to pay 20% of the cost out of your pocket. We once had $1300 in medical bills in two months when my daughter got sick. That hurt.

In 2001, I was out of work for two months. Today, what is frustrating and depressing is that we are living like we did back during those two months, but this time I HAVE a job. We just cut the cord on our satellite service. In 2001, we kept it!

Everything is more expensive. Something is going to have to give soon.....

Thank you for posting this. I found it interesting. My husband is in the IT field. Has been for almost 30 years. At his last job (that he recently left), the conditions were similar. No raises in 10 plus years, no bonuses, no Christmas party (not big deal), got rid of 401 k, and health care benefits were pretty much gone. Everything was out of pocket until a very high deductible was met. $3000 per individual and $7000 (may be more) per family. So any time I had to take my daughter to the doctor's....$400 a visit. And she has asthma so you know that adds up. Her inhalers were almost $300/month, all out of pocket (and never met a medication deductible). My husband also took pay cuts, at least two that I recall. We can also say without hesitating that we have not kept up with inflation. The cost of everything....insurance, groceries, gas, health care......everything, has gone up year after year after year.

 

[loves to dive]

I haven't had a raise since 2001, the year end bonuses I used to get have decreased by about $1500 and I used to get paid for unused vacation time every quarter after a certain amount of hours had been reached, we no longer do that either so, nope, my income has gone down not up.