this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
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Consider me as a data point. My salary is in the low six figures. I have a reasonable mortgage and car loan. I also live paycheck to paycheck and have trouble paying my bills every month. I am currently in default on several thousand dollars of medical debt, that I am trying to pay off gradually, but I'm not always keeping ahead of my new medical debt.
Part of my income goes to helping out some relatives and friends who are in much worse shape, but even without that, I would have trouble breaking even.
I am just barely short of being in the top 10% of US incomes. The income inequality in this country has left the vast majority of the population struggling. Many can no longer afford enough food or housing.
I'm assuming you live in a place with an egregious cost of living, which is not the majority of America. My family has never made more than 70k in a good year, yet lives comfortably in a home bought 15 years ago in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The vast majority of the population is not struggling. Too many are, but that doesn't mean they make up the majority.
The home bought 15 years ago definitley helps. With higher interest and pricing explosions in growing Metro areas like DFW, I'd expect the housing payment to be well over 3x if you were to buy now. DFW median home price alone is up 2.63x over the last 15yr alone before considering interest rates.
Certainly. The point is that it's mainly younger people and people transitioning between stages of their life who are suffering most from the cost of living crisis.
I live in an urban area where the cost are slightly above average, but not by much.
Depending on whose statistics you accept, somewhere between 55% and 62% of the country are living paycheck to paycheck with little or no savings. That is a literal majority of Americans. It really is that bad and it's getting steadily worse. I was quite comfortable 20 years ago and reasonably so ten years ago. The dividing line passed me about five years back.