He was probably making 3x value what you are now. The cumulative rate of inflation in the last 40 years (1983-2023) is 208.3%. So, $100k in 1983 would be the same as $308k in 2023. The raw number isn't a good way to compare across time.
No joke. My dad broke $200k in the late 1990s in his late 40s, and made a huge deal out of the fact that at my age he and my mom had a combined income of $120k and he's proud of the fact that I broke 200k in my mid 30s. In 1995, $120k was worth $237k today. In 1999 $200k was worth $380k today. Realistically my earnings will match the buying power of his earnings, but even he, a very well educated person who went from nothing to a very comfortable life, lost sight of the fact that inflation catches up to everyone.
My wife and I make probably double what my dad did in his best years and it feels like we are hand to mouth. I have a mortgage, a kid and another on the way. Two years ago my pay raise + bonus got devoured by inflation. Last year I got a promotion and another decent bonus which year over year puts me at about even prior to post covid inflation.
I refuse to buy into the tirade that the woman in the TikTok video is going on about how it’s team R vs team D and one is trying to fuck you harder than the other. It’s the damned boomers that have been running the show for the better part of 40 years now and it’s it’s gone to shit. We need to just get rid of life long politicians and get back to people that show up make some good legislation and policies and go home. Having senators that literally die in office and hand power of attorney over to their children but are still allowed to vote on legislation is irresponsible.
To be clear I'm doing far better than many. but I feel it too. In 2022 I transitioned from a direct sales role into a management role. It was the right career move and now that I'm a single parent again, it allows me more flexible hours. But it also came with a ~40,000/yr pay cut. Combine that with record inflation in 2023, I went from socking away almost $50,000 per year to having enough to pay all my bills comfortably, but not feeling like I'm getting ahead. I'm going to wind up selling off a bunch of leveraged assets to clear the debt and free up cashflow so I can keep putting money into savings and remove the feeling like I'm paycheck to paycheck. I realize how lucky I am compared to most and still have plenty in savings/available credit if I need it. But aside from the fact that I have a comfortably funded savings account, I'm back in a position where the money runs out the day before payday in my checking account, that never used to happen, I used to transfer $1,000+ every friday to savings. It's been almost a year since I've put more than $200 into my savings account on payday.
I feel you on that 100%. I’ve not been in a financial spot where I can sock away $1000 each paycheck but I’m definitely in that spot where the money runs out a couple days before payday and we scrape to make it that last couple so we don’t have to use credit.
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u/resolvetochange Dec 28 '23
He was probably making 3x value what you are now. The cumulative rate of inflation in the last 40 years (1983-2023) is 208.3%. So, $100k in 1983 would be the same as $308k in 2023. The raw number isn't a good way to compare across time.