How Disposable is your Income these days?

[radfringe]

Poll question: How Disposable is your Income these days?

Gas prices are out of control -- and are "trickling down" into higher prices for other things.

The "taxcut" that isn't a taxcut is resulting in higher local/state taxes

Things seem to be costing more every day....

so how disposable is your disposable income these days?

[mhr]

1. Unemployed 60 Months - Every Dime Spent Is Deficit Spending!

eom

[liberal N proud]

2. In spite of a decent promotion last fall, I still have less to spend

on the things that I want to spend it on.
I feel like I can never get ahead.
It sucks, I finally get to go on a real vacation and I have to watch every penny I spend and stay in the crappy hotel off the main route to be able to afford the trip. This was what I was doing 20 years ago when the fabulous Reagan was in office.
Still getting absolutely now where.

[radfringe]

4. my "raise" was wiped out

by increase in health insurance deduction...

meanwhile -- the "raise" just tipped me into a new bracket so I'm actually netting less each payday

[bleedingheart]

13. oh I hear ya...

8 years with a relatively good company...but about 5 years ago there was a wage freeze...so for three years, no raise but the cost of bennies didn't freeze.

Finally got raises but they barely cover the cost of the bennies increase each year.

I feel lucky to be employed but it is a scary market.

[Caria]

8. US too

My raise was not what I'd call "decent" last year but I did get a raise. Now salaries are frozen for at least a year, which I hear really means 2+ years. Prices are up and we feel like we're losing ground. For example, we are keeping the thermostat at 66 now instead of 68 like we used to, but heating costs were higher than ever this year. We've always thought that it was more important for my husband to be a stay-at-home-dad than to have a second income, but that may have to change.

[Danmel]

3. Not very

Between higher fuel prices ( both for gas and for heating), higher local property taxes, higher food costs, higher costs for medical insurances (increased amount we have to contribute, higher co pays and deductibles, higher co pays on prescirptions) and my daughers pending lovely sparkly new orthodontia, we're pretty well tapped out.

Plus we have a leak under the kids tub in the bathroom and have to have a tile ceiling ripped out and replaced in the bathroom below it, in order to repair it and have to replace a section of ceiling in the family room, and we have to regrade part of our backyard because we are getting water in the basement when it rains heavily.

This weekend, it was pouring and the power went out when high winds knocked out a utility pole and we had to go buy a $500 generator because with no electricty the pump we use to keep the basement dry would not run and we couldn't vacuum up water either. Suffice it to say as soon as my husband put the thing together and put in the gasoline to power it, ( and I mean this literally- the minute he was ready to fire it up) on came the lights! Now of course the thing is full of fuel and can't be returned. Had it been 2 minutes earlier, he could have not put in the gas and brought it back. Oh well, homeland security will be happy. We're Prepared!

[Squeech]

5. Nothing is disposable

Every dollar is spoken for. I'm putting Mrs. Squeech through school too, but even so, the galloping increases in gas and heating oil have eliminated our savings.

If Greenspan's concerned about the US savings rate, he has to fix it so the working class has some money left over at the end of the week to save!

[demnan]

6. I've cut back some

My beef consumption has really gone down since beef seems to be extremely high and that's ok.

On another front I've found that organic dairy products don't really seem to cost that much more than regular dairy, so I've taken the occasion to go organic.

I've also gotten my tax cut and paid off all outstanding bills. That should help on the disposable income front in the future. I've also refinanced my condo for a lower interest rate.

[BiggJawn]

7. Damn little is disposable.

I justify the bicycle parts by telling anyone who gives a shit that they represent my "investment in personal fitness".

Othere than that, almost every dime goes to just living.

While the pundits are so quick to point out that gasoline "Adjusted for inflation" actually costs less now than it did in 1981, I couldn't afford the shit then, even considering that, "adjusted for inflation", I was making $15,000 more a year in '81 than now...

That sucks. Adjusted for inflation, I'm making about $8 an hour in 1981 dollars, when in '81 I was actually making about $15 an hour....

[Moosepoop]

9. Entirely.

My income is disposed of before I even get the paycheck.

[movie_girl99]

10. my husband got a new job last June

before that we had only needed one car and had been carpooling for 4 years. The new job was a $5,000 yr increase and has much room for advancement but it is 24 miles away. We had to get another car so you add that, gas and insurance were actually negative by $100.00 a month more now than we were before. Gas prices are killing us. Groceries are higher, our gas bill at home has almost doubled in the last few months. When i called the gas company to ask why, she said that they are having to pay so much more for gas etc....

[bleedingheart]

11. My hubby's layoff last year was our wake up call...

we weren't big spenders to begin with but after he got another job we really got more thrifty and have been working to be even more protected...therefore all our money is going toward reducing any debts we have (including our mortgage) as well as putting it away for retirement and the kid's education.

[Ilsa]

12. Watching what we spend.

Making repairs versus buying new stuff. My husband splurged on new cellphones last month, but that's about it.