I am a missionary and donations have remained steady.
Better off than four years ago? Definitely yes.
Not exactly setting the world on fire, but getting steady pay raises. Managed to jump from a dying product line to a new growth project at work. We’re shorthanded there and my managers still travel to colleges for job fairs and recruitment, so my job looks very stable. In the last four years Mizpullin has climbed way up the food chain at her company, and my meager successes at work tend to pale next to her new digs and fancy titles. We both still manage a few unsolicited job offers (from competitors) each year, so we’re feeling pretty good about the future and our jobs.
On the negative side, we’re a little cash-strapped due to handling two college tuitions and one trade school, but the only real casualty was my airplane (Mz P declared it a luxury that we could do without. :(). Our current healthcare plan has dumped more of the expenses on us, but it’s still a pretty good deal and we’re all still covered.
All in all, things have improved, tho’
I’ve moved this to IMHO from Great Debates because it’s mostly about personal lives rather than politics.
Yes. I make almost 20K more than I did 4 years ago. In those 4 years, I left one job to move to a better paying one, but turns out money isn’t everything. That job sucked hugely. Not worth the stress or the misery. I then jumped ship again and took a substantial pay cut in order to move to a position that better suited my needs personally (as in, the need not to cycle between abject misery, homicidal rage, and sheer panic every day). I hung in here for a while and got a promotion about 8 months ago, which eventually resulted in a pay raise.
Personally, I’ve had 4 more years of being a Mom to the best kids I can imagine, and my marriage is definitely better than it was in 2007.
Oh… I see… this was supposed to be a referendum on Obama or something?
Well, when I lost my job and got plunged into poverty that was not Obama’s fault and Bush+Cheney were at the helm.
Unlike some, I had no delusions Obama was the messiah or going to fix the mess Teh Stoopid in DC and the bankers had gotten us into.
On the other hand, since Obama’s been in office the monthly food stamp allotment was increased, which means me and mine definitely ate better than otherwise. Hard to argue against that, isn’t it? It’s a little thing, but far more than the Republicans and/or the Tea Party ever gave me.
Four years ago was when my divorce (also known as The Unpleasantness) happened, so yea I’m way better off now.
Yes. My husband’s business (which started in 2005 with 6 partners) had about 20 employees then, and now it has about 75. My job is stable. We’ve taken a slight cut in benefits (paying more, getting less) but given the general opinion of public employees in my state, it could be worse. I still have better benefits than 95% of the general population. We sold our old house and bought a nicer one in a better neighborhood.
It’s about a wash. My wife lost her job in January but has been doing “independent” agency work as an interpreter since then. The money is a bit less regular and we’re forced to rely on my job now for health insurance which was a big jump. We get tighter throughout the month and have taken to cutting back a lot on things like family dinners out and summer vacations. She doesn’t have the luxury of vacation time now or benefits.
On the other hand, we haven’t had to cut out things like cable TV or running the AC during the summer. Her job is a lot less stress than her old position and she can often take the train which makes her commute more bearable. We put her severance package into savings and haven’t had to dip into it much yet so we’re actually ahead with money in the bank.
So we’re living with less but she’s happier when she gets home from work and we’re a lot better off than a lot of people who’ve been hit by the economy. We’ll both breathe easier when she finds a regular, full time job for the stability but it’s hard to complain too much when the mortgage is paid and the lights are on and the fridge still has milk in it.
I am better off. My SO has gotten a couple of promotions, but mainly it’s because we are more sensible about spending than ever before. There is significant money in the savings accounts - two of them! and I am debt-free, and he is almost there. Ir’s a nice feeling.
Better as together, both spouse and myself have moved into higher paying positions. Considering that both of us were unable to find much better than minimum wages even with college degrees before that is not much a huge improvement.
Better in most ways.
At this time in 2007, I was working in a job I didn’t like for people I didn’t like, and making considerably less than I ought to have been.
I wasn’t married yet, and lived with a buddy in his house about 35 miles from work. Rent was cheap, but car costs were HIGH - as in, $75 per week or more in gas (2007 prices), as well as $40/month parking. Because I hate ironing, I got my shirts laundered and pants too, so that was more money out of pocket.
Now I work about 8.5 miles from the house I own, am married, and don’t hate my job. I got about 16k more in pay when I moved to this job, and I can wear jeans and a polo shirt every day.
Oh yeah… and our baby’s due next month!
Absolutely. And the beautiful thing is, four years ago I was better off than I was four years before that.
Certainly better off.
4 Years ago I had just finished my Masters Degree, moved to Philly, gotten a new job, knew no-one, and had last dated two years prior.
Now, I live with my fiance, make almost $20k a year more, have one wonderful cat, just recently lost the other wonderful cat, have remodeled her house to the point where there are only two rooms left that look the same as when she moved in, and will be getting married next year. Besides the lost pet and some debt from the Kitchen remodel, much much better.
Yes.
Money is good, I got my old job back about 18 months ago, I managed to stay debt-free and pay the bills despite 364 days of unemployment. I just bought a car and 4 years ago I’d just bought my house and had no furniture.
Four years ago I lost my job, and spent the year unemployed, and much of the next four years scrambling for any work. This year, I’m working. It’s a contract job, and it won’t last the year, but it’s in my chosen field, and it’s giving me some breathing space. There are definitely good jobs popping up now, as the industry seems to be spending again, so I can apply for jobs that suit my talents and my needs.
Is that better off or worse off?
“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” is usually a political question. The OP is political, but the posts after it aren’t; hence the move (which I actually made after post #15).
This is at least the second thread where you’ve come in to make off-topic personal comments about Snowboarder Bo. Do it again and I’ll start handing out formal warnings.
I think I’m better off – earning more in the same job, less debt, more savings – but I don’t think it is because of anything the Federal government (Bush or Obama) has done.
Broomstick, may I ask how your husband is doing?
Pretty much exactly the same for me.