So, is it bad, or is it just less good then it was? Here is the bottom line, how many of you are better, or worse off today then you were three years ago?

 

better. I make about 15k a year more than I did three years ago.

 

As far as making money, things haven't changed. I'm not old enough to see a significant change. Gas prices have crippled my spending though. I swear 50-75% of my cashflow ends up in the tank. My parents are trying to sell their house and move. So they've definitely taken a big hit.

 

im only 18 but i was getting more hours at work when i was 16.

michigan's econonmy is the freaking worst in the nation

 

The economy is BS...

 

economy is going down...so what if you make more? the cost of living and inflation is eating that up as quick as you get it...when my dad started his job way back in the 70s he made 11000 dollars a year...i looked it up...he made 11000 a year and yet he was able to feed me and my platoon of brothers plus one kid sister AND manage to get us out of the trailer park into a house (before he ran out on us..lol)...it boggles my mind to think that i make over 100000 dollars a year and have to carefully juggle my mustang, corolla, and condo

 

Good, but you have to also consoider other factors such as payng more taxes, paying more for fuel, and paying more for medical insuarance just as an example. Or, if you happen to be someone who had to sell your house for $50k less then what you paid for it, most of your raise would get absorbed.

So, with your raise, do you still feel better?

 

Michigan is in REALLY bad shape and yes, probably the worst in the nation.

 

So dam true.....****, I remember when $100k was a lot of money, now it is well, just nearly average especially in some places.

When I graduated from college, a typical starting salary was between $30 and $40k for someone with a eng degree. That was in 1990. I would be willing to wager, that starting sallaries have not gone up by that much today. BUT housing costs have doubled if not tripled and all other expenses have gone up. Also, the average college debt today is nearly $50k.

My wife and I were able to buy a new, 2500 square foot home in 1993 for $150,000. I had all my student loans paid-off in two years (I owed a whopping $4,000). I think that students leaving college today are facing a much different situation. Do the math....getting the American Dream is now a lot harder.

 

I think it really depends on where you live. People are still spending like crazy by me and the housing market hasn't been effected. Houses are going up for sale people are buying and there being sold for the average price/building new homes. The economy has def taken a hit though between inflation and the credit crunch and the ridiculous amount of debt because there are a lot of people that just keep charging stuff when they know they can't afford all of it. Thats all showed by the value of the dollar. Also damn just going to the grocery store is a terrifying experience now haha food has really gone up

 

yes here in Maryland prices have skyrocketed taxes went up cost of gas & electric is crazy but to ask if im better then 3 yrs ago? I would have to say no im not i wasnt worried about losing my job 3 yrs ago yea i make alot more money now but im also paying out alot more. now with the market as bad as it is nobody is spending money and with the elections coming up corperations are scared of whats going to happen with new president. When them crooks are talkin "we need to change this an that" it scares corperate america.

 

I dont think there is any way i could make any financial comparisons that wuld be accurate compared to 3 years ago.

I make more money than i did 3 years ago, but now i seem to have less of it for my own interests because i now have a wife and 2 kids.

but all in all, yes, im definatly in a better position that i was in 3 years ago.

 

Well..3 years ago I was 16 working in a resturaunt..it didn't matter much to me.

Now I'm in construction and its a big focus on the economy. My town is more a less an oil town though, so while things go down the *******, everyone here makes more money.

But there are guys up north and down in LA who are suffering and having to come here for work.

As the economy fails people buy less and have less built, where I work we focus mainly on schools, hospitals, power plants, and roads. We are slowly starting to see things slow down here, but it won't be for long, honestly.

Within the past year we've had contracts for 2 hospitals, 3 highschools, a race track, a water treatment plant, and then the small little gigs out in the oilfields and stuff.

We'll hit a completele work stoppage here in about 5 months, but it will only stay that way for a month. Will it hurt us? Sure will, but it'll pick up quickly.

I can't say that for the rest of the country though.

People around here are still nervous about buying homes, cars, and other things, but we really don't have it as bad as cities even a couple hundred miles away from us.

 

like sumone said previously, yea i'm makin' more but i'm spending more too. i think the cost of living has gone up more then my raise has. when it comes to the buying cars thing, they haven't dropped their prices any if at all around here. so that tells me they're not hurting too bad.

like sntbakosfinest, i'm also in construction but i work for a smaller company. we have done verrryy few houses in the past 6-12 months, but the work has shifted to commercial stuff. warehouses, commercial buildings, etc. so in a way the work load hasn't suffered, it's just changed. more people are remodeling or just holding off on building new. do i think we're going to see more residential work? no. not for a while at least. As for the people that say "oh they're still building houses.." yea they might be building them, but are they selling them? i'm not sure about everyone's areas on here but around where i live there's quite a few major developments that have plenty of houses built, but they're sitting empty. and they have lowered their prices significantly since they started selling.

so to sum up my longest post ever. the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. so yea i guess we're in for another depression of sorts..

 

i dont know about the rest of you but the way gas is going my mustang might be grounded for the winter AND the summer

 

i hardly drive the 'stang during the week due to a work vehicle. i'll drive it on the weekends a lil bit, but a tank of gas will last me about 2 weeks or so. the prices haven't hurt me too bad, but i'm really not liking them.

the work vehicle is a diesel and that stuff is right around $4/gal. gas here is around $3.20/gal.

 

My wife and I made more money last year. We also paid way more in taxes. But, our budget is getting better because we are starting to spend less on material stuff. Plus I gave up on any upgrades for my Stang wish list.. I'm still about in the same boat I was 2 years ago. Just making more money and paying more money..

 

We actually made less last year. My income inceased, but my wife quite her career in June of 2006 prior to the move. She returned to work in Oct 2007, but her income is still lower then it was before until her territory gets rolling. 2009 should be a great year for the both of us....2008 should be decent.

We got destroyed on taxes in 2006....2007 was a lot better. Seems like the gov gets you no matter what.

 

Well 3 years ago I was still in college and working at a grocery store. I make $22k more now that I'm out of college and have a career.

This month 3 years ago I bought my car and I will say that gas sucks compared to my focus that I had before. I don't mind though I only put about 200-250 miles on my car a week. My wife and I currently rent an apartment with plans to buy a house this summer when our lease is up.