Has your income kept up with inflation

[AquaDame]

We've been receiving 5-10% raises in the last 6 years (when we both took our current jobs) so thus far we are doing great. That can always change though as our raises are at the discretion of our employers.

 

[MrsPooh]

Our family income is about 30% less than it was in 2002 and all our expenses have gone up, up, up. My current pay is almost exactly what I was making back then and my hubby's pay is far less. And back in 2002 our cost for health insurance through my employer was $278/month with $15 co-payments and a $1,500 deductible. Last year health insurance through hubby's employer cost us nearly $800/month with a $10,000 deductible (which we unfortunately met).

So for us we are in a much worse position than we were fifteen years ago. We haven't taken a vacation in over ten years. We cut cable and home phone. We barely keep up with our bills. We hunt out free things to do for fun. I wouldn't mind if I felt like I was saving money for a better purpose but I just feel like I get a bit further behind each day.

 

[Dakota731]

Funny I was just thinking about this when I went back to work after staying home with my kids for 15 years - my salary was almost the same as it was when I left the job market! It seems like the only job growth in our country the past decade or so has been minimum wage service jobs so I'm hoping some things change in the next decade -I feel bad for young people just starting out!

 

[arminnie]

SS provides my only fixed income (but I do have savings). It is indexed for inflation, but the index is just wrong for retirees. It relies heavily on buying a home. Very few seniors are buying homes.

Groceries and gas have gone up astronomically in the past 15 years. That's where most seniors get hit. SS has had no increase at all or maybe $4-5 a month.

And the return on my savings is minuscule.

 

[Shmily1]

No, no raise in the last two years because they say I already get paid more than the national average. Disappointing thought!

 

[aprilchem]

I just looked back, and DH and I make about double what we did when we got married in 2002. We are both in the same jobs we had then, but have worked to increase our pay in several ways - DH has been steadily promoted and is now director of his department, I have written multiple grants that have been funded that add to my salary, and I've taken on several additional responsibilities at work to increase my pay. We've not had a ton of yearly raises (I know I went at least 6 years of that with no cost of living increase), but have had a few 1%-2% raises here and there.

I also looked at our insurance costs - it's hard to compare because we didn't have any kids in 2002 (we have three now), but it seems like we're actually paying a bit less for insurance for the two of us than we were then. DH has an HSA and I have an HMO, both through work. We have 1 child with a chronic illness (epilepsy) but our OOP insurance costs are still pretty low.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Yes, my job has surpass inflation.
I wouldn't continue to work here if it didn't.
Been at current job since 2008, DH has been with his company since 1992 (started when he was 18)

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

Two government employees here, so the down turn of 2008 brought years and years of zeros plus furloughs. I have worked very hard and been very lucky to get a promotion last year which increased my salary by 9%. My union was out of contract for almost two years, but looking at 2% retro and another 2% on April 1 of this year. My husband is in a different union and has not been as fortunate as I with promotions or furlough repayments, and he has been out of contract for a year now. We are better off, due to good timing and good luck. I am working hard to keep down lifestyle inflation creep and save more, to get free faster, and build a cushion for whatever may come. I work very hard, but I also recognize how lucky I am and how luck can always change.

 

[scrapquitler]

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/

My husband works in IT, he hasn't had his hourly rate increase in about 12 years. Our health insurance costs about double now what it did then. Every other bill is higher now than it was then, too.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

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.

Keep on mind that you not working is saving you money now, but it is hurting you in the long run; you are not building up your SS retirement funds and what if something happens to your husband and you become the support of your household?

 

[superme80]

Keep on mind that you not working is saving you money now, but it is hurting you in the long run; you are not building up your SS retirement funds and what if something happens to your husband and you become the support of your household?

Actually it is pointless for me to work. We would be in worse financial shape. And yes we have plans if something were to happen to him.

 

[DaisyJ]

Keep on mind that you not working is saving you money now, but it is hurting you in the long run; you are not building up your SS retirement funds and what if something happens to your husband and you become the support of your household?

That is why a one income household should have very good insurance.

 

[AquaDame]

My husband works in IT, he hasn't had his hourly rate increase in about 12 years. Our health insurance costs about double now what it did then. Every other bill is higher now than it was then, too.

Everyone I know in IT says the same thing... to get a raise in this industry you have to switch jobs. It's sad...

 

[Liberty Belle]

No. I started my job 3+ years ago and have not had a raise. DH has been in his position for about 10 years (he has been with the company for almost 20) and in all that time has received 3 raises, all of them 3% or lower.

Oh, and neither one of us receive bonuses or COL increases.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I have, but only.because of a career change and a fast rise income. I dout the next 10 will see such a dramatic jump in pay.

DH has not. He makes the same as he did 10 years ago. Hopefully with his new career that will change but we just don't know yet.

 

[erc]

Everyone I know in IT says the same thing... to get a raise in this industry you have to switch jobs. It's sad...

I know IT covers a lot of different industries, but for the most part most people I know look at salary.com to see if they are falling behind the curve for salary in their current position. That usually means no annual raises, but salary adjustments every 3-4 years at least in my experience. My own salary has gone up about 25% since 2006 but insurance and other expenses have increased also, so I definitely get how people feel poorer.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Everyone I know in IT says the same thing... to get a raise in this industry you have to switch jobs. It's sad...

Nursing is like that too. To get anything beyond a cost of living raise (and you are lucky to get that), you basically have to switch hospitals.

 

[mommajen08]

I work for a state university and we just received word today that there will be no pay increases this year. I've averaged a 1.5% increase over the past 6 years (the time I've been in my current position). Thankfully my promotion in 2011 was decent, but I believe this is the second year since then that we have not received even a cost of living increase. My husband (a public school teacher) may be averaging closer to a 2% increase per year, but he has also had a few recent years with no increase, this being one of them.

What kills us, and pretty much everyone else, are the increases in healthcare and taxes. Our rx coverage alone is increasing 11% per year. And we're expecting around a 3% increase in property taxes.

We've been slowly cutting back on pretty much everything as we have two school age daughters and need to be looking towards their college educations, as well as our retirement. On one hand, I enjoy the challenge of making ends meet, but on the other I'm extremely frustrated because I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[kamik86]

If we do 10 years mine definitely has... I was a broke college student in 2007.

 

[Sagginit]

No it has not. Last year I had the best review ever in my position and I was given only a 1% raise. Worse is bonuses were withheld company wide, which for most people its a true bonus and tops out at maybe just 5%, but in my department they structured our pay differently and for me it is up to 15%, for which I have never had a payout below 10%, so this was devastating. I also had incentives cut the previous year so long story short after 8 years with a company and 4 promotions my pay has declined the last two years.

My husband did get a raise last year and a bonus which was a first in years, he found out from someone that left that they are looking at potentially promoting him this year so he is working his butt off as that will be a huge jump in income. He's in IT on wall street so the key is for his position he is not at the top of the pay scale at his company, BUT he is a high performing employee so he had room to get more and he has room to grow which is nice. I just had a baby and we decided that since my pay is stagnating in my field (recruiters have contacted me offering me less money to transfer to another company so I am really stuck) it is better financially for me to stay home. My husband's raise and bonus was unexpected and about 1/4 of my income, so if we factor in what we save on me not commuting, not paying for childcare, tax deductions, and other savings (like me being home to cook dinner everynight rather than relying on takeout) we are going to even out with me staying home. My maternity leave has been 100% of my paycheck and even with me still paying some of the bills and buying baby items I have already saved a ton as it really did cost a lot just for me to go to work in NYC.