Hubby and I make more money than we ever have...why does it seem like we make less?

together we make over 150,000.00 a year so why does it seem like we had more money when we were living on 1000.00 a month in 1990?



BUSH

is why

I make over $75k... granted, I live in Los Angeles County, but damn! I can only afford a townhouse in the ghetto, and I have very little cash after paying bills and filling the gas tank! And I drive a Mazda with great gas mileage! (Last payment coming up! Whoooooohooooo! )

Still, what is wrong with this picture???

put $81 in his tank. I imagine that's not uncommon. It doesn't take a whole lot of that to eat up an average paycheck.
I drive a mini and get 35 mpg, so not nearly as big a problem for me, but just wait until winter heating bills. People are going to be hurting.

food clothes

kids school tuition

kids school pictures

cable

phone

on and on and on

Why not send them to public schools?

and the school is nickle and diming us all the time

Our middle class is getting slammed. It's difficult to even think about what this is doing to the poor.
But bush's pals are getting a tax break, so it's all good, I guess.

All I can think about are poor families and the elderly who cannot afford heating oil. If we have another very cold winter, and I'm betting this will be the case, there will be so many deaths.

My heart breaks for them. I'd always thought that by the time I made good money, I'd be more than willing to share a lot of it. I can barely keep myself alive... I don't know how the young and the elderly do it on so little.

I'm so glad I traded my SUV in back in '02!! I KNEW this was coming! I'm paying $35 a tank instead of $80... I don't know what I would have done! I've got no more "fun" to give up!!

and I don't care where you live. I live on the exact same amount of money that I did in 1986, and I was raising 3 kids and couldn't make ends meet then. Some people need to get a clue.

Plus the effects of inflation.

but we can not switch as he has athsma and severe allergies and I have Chrons

They want to collect all that corporate cash and keep governing as conservatives. Sorry, inflation and a bad economy are bad juju.

My gawd, what do you expect them to do? Acknowledge the problem and make their donors mad?

More than double that now.

And it takes gas or diesel to get everything we purchase to the store.

Don

You can drive a Humvee twice the average mileage a month for $600 even in Bushland. $150K income not greatly diminished in spending power by gas prices.

Now of course since you ask this I assume you live in the same or equally desirable house, drive the same level of car, take the same level of vacations, buy the same level of clothes, eat out only as often and at the same level places and spend the same amount on hobbies and discretionary splurges as you did on $12K a year right?

My income has moved about equally, and I can pretty much guarantee you I sure as hell don't feel like I make less, or even the same, and I DO admit I spend an awful lot more on all the things I listed above too.

I'm sure not guilty or upset that I have done pretty well financially as some Duers would prefer, and Koresh knows I'm not going to win any sensitivity prizes, but even I'm not going to complain about feeling like I'm financially squeezed at a solid six figure level. Inflation exists sure, and Bush has screwed the pooch on a number of key economic fronts no argument at all, but if you can't live nicely and without worrying about personal finances on our kind of income, then you need some remedial budget and financial management training and right now.