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Inflation is cooling, yet many Americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck

https://lemmy.world/post/17601144

Inflation is cooling, yet many Americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck - Lemmy.World

>Even as inflation continues to cool into the second half of 2024, many Americans say they’re still struggling to make ends meet. >Roughly one-third of U.S. workers say they’re living paycheck to paycheck and have nearly no money for savings after paying their monthly bills, according to a survey from personal finance website Bankrate.

Jul 15, 2024 at 10:58pmWeb
Show threadSatansMaggotyCumFartJul 15, 2024
I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for twenty years now.
Show threadDominusOfMegadeusJul 15, 2024
There’s another way?
Show threadSatansMaggotyCumFartJul 15, 2024
I’m just happy I got out of the payday loan to pay off payday loans trap two years ago.
Show threadzelifcamJul 15, 2024

It stopped raining but grass is still wet

Show threadProxJul 16, 2024

It’s still raining, but it’s not raining as hard as it was a while ago. Grass is still wet.

FTFY

Show threadzelifcamJul 16, 2024
Agree
Show threadzelifcamJul 16, 2024
Like that better
Show threadFlowVoidJul 16, 2024
And historically, it rains over 90% of the time.
Show threadEatATacoJul 16, 2024
Nah, because it’s actually getting better as wages are outpacing inflation. There was just a lot of rain and it’s going to take a long ass time to dry.
Show threadJimmybanderJul 15, 2024
The rate of inflation is slower but prices are never going back down.
Show threadredeyejediJul 16, 2024
On top of that companies used inflation as an excuse to raise prices higher than they should have.
Show threadLibertyLizardJul 16, 2024
Because the fed chose to solve inflation by putting downward pressure on wages. This was the only way it could ever happen.
Show threadFartsWithAnAccentJul 16, 2024
I've been living my whole life pay check to pay check despite being highly qualified in multiple fields, no fucking shit CBS.
Show threadTommySodaJul 16, 2024
Because I’ve always lived paycheck to paycheck. Even my parents did when I was a kid. My rent is 70% of my paycheck. What else ya want me to fucking do?
Show threadThe_WorstJul 16, 2024
Just earn more money. (/s)
Show threadKecessaJul 16, 2024
Inflation can cool down all it wants, it’s reported year on year so prices are still much higher than 5 years ago while wages haven’t increased, deflation or huge wage increases would be necessary to fix that.
Show threadEatATacoJul 16, 2024

Wages are outpacing inflation, there’s just a lot of catching up to do.

epi.org/…/average-wages-have-surpassed-inflation-…

Average wages have surpassed inflation for 12 straight months

Average hourly wage growth has exceeded inflation for 12 straight months, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. This real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth is a key indicator of how well the average worker’s wage can improve their standard of living. As inflation continues to normalize, I’m optimistic more workers will…

Economic Policy Institute
Show threadkibiz0rJul 16, 2024

% change is a pretty wild metric. It becomes unwieldy at longer time spans, and does a pretty poor job at comparisons.

Can we get like wages vs cost of living, or rent/mortgage as a percentage of income?

Show threadEatATacoJul 16, 2024
What I linked was wage growth vs inflation, especially among generally lower paid workers (hourly).
Show threadgoferking (he/him)Jul 16, 2024
No because that wouldn’t make things look good
Show threadPacattack57Jul 16, 2024
The root cause of this is housing costs and interest rates which affect car prices as well. Until we at least reduce housing costs, this will continue to be a problem.
Show threadrandon31415Jul 16, 2024

Solutions to inflation:

#1) Wage growth. How do you make more money? Get a new job and move! Problem: Everyone has these golden handcuff mortgages. 2% to 7%. Moving would actually cost people more per month that the extra wages

#2) Wage growth through WFH. This path is currently so crowded that few have a chance. Hopefully once a few office mortgages are done and boomers with office fetishes die, more jobs will move this way

#3) Deflation. Makes economist immediately shout “But people will hold off purchasing things until later, making the economy worse!” The average car age is at a record high. Everyone is holding off on housing. There is word of groceries payment plans on installments. People already are holding off for later.

I say we try 3 until 2 becomes viable.

Show threadsparkleJul 16, 2024

#2) Wage growth through WFH. This path is currently so crowded that few have a chance. Hopefully once a few office mortgages are done and boomers with office fetishes die, more jobs will move this way

It’s insane how much time and money we waste on just commuting for jobs that we really don’t need to be travelling to, and additionally how much we waste on just fucking around in the office without actually doing anything productive (because there’s nothing productive to do). A lot of people could free up a whole half of the rest of their life by just being able to work from home. Whether people realize it or not, the commute (including the gas money and fares) is part of the time they dedicate to work, and having to waste time on it without getting paid means you’re getting lese compensation for your time. Some people don’t value their time enough for it to matter, but some people (like me) do.

If you average 2 hours a day on your commute, that’s almost an entire month of unpaid time you’re using on your job (it’s not 30 days of pure time if you work an average of 4.5 days per week, but I’m including costs associated with the commute like gas or car maintanence and repair, which for most people would bring it up from the original 20 days to at least 30 days). On the commute alone. I would take a massive pay cut to not have to make that commute, as well as not have to waste time sitting at in office that I could be using with my loved ones or to do the things I enjoy, which a good WFH setup actually allows you to do.

Show threadnutsackJul 16, 2024
i thought this is what americans were always doing
Show threadEtterraJul 16, 2024
Yeah you know why people are still living paycheck to paycheck? Because it doesn’t matter if inflation slows down; it never goes backwards.
Show threadThe_WorstJul 16, 2024
It does go backwards but then you’ll have negative inflation. That means people buy less, prices have to go down. Negative effect is that businesses go bankrupt, people lose their job and they don’t have a paycheck to live to.
Show threadgedaliyahJul 16, 2024
Isn’t it funny how inflation always effects every price except the price of labor first?
Show threadsome_guyJul 16, 2024
I thought inflation wasn’t that bad to begin with. Isn’t that what they told us? Sigh…