My husband has a yearly salary revision. The raise is usually to adjust his salary to reflect the increase in the cost of living. This revision is around this time and considering how much the cost of things has been going up I have been wondering what type of increase he will get.
My husband won’t let me tell you the exact number but let’s just say that it is below the inflation rate for the period of Feb 07- Feb 08 as calculated by this calculator= 4.03%. Basically this year we will enjoy a lower standard of living due to the loss in purchasing power.
Good thing we are still very proactive about cutting corners to save money. We still won’t let this little mishap damp our efforts. We are still going ahead with our plan to use this “raise” to put money away in a Roth IRA for my husband. We may just be saving less than what I had initially planned. It’s not that I was expecting a huge raise, it’s the combination of a smaller raise and the still increasing cost of living. I can’t imagine how high gas will get this summer. It’s only the beginning of spring and it’s already well over $3.
We are also grateful for this raise. I know there are a lot of people who don’t get this type of raise at all. I know hourly employees usually don’t and they are usually the ones in most need.
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My husband defintely took a pay cut between getting the same raise as last year and paying a greater portion of his health insurance but we also understand his employers costs are up a lot and we are very grateful that he got a raise at all.
At my office, we haven’t had raises in 7 years, 3 months and 5 days (but whose counting). The struggle to make ends meet is terrible. May end up having to sell the house. Although Monday I will be having a ‘discussion’ with the owner especially since they asked me to take on another business (I’m controller).
Anyways, just wanted to let you know that many of us are struggling (especially those of us dealing with divorce too).
I have an MBA and it’s just not paying off at the moment. I’m considering looking for bookkeeping jobs to do on the side for a little extra money.
Thanks for the post.
Hey John,
I am sorry to hear about your situation. I know lots of people don’t get this raise. It must be hard to be living on the same salary for the last seven years. I wish you good luck with your conversation on Monday. As a former auditor for a manufacturing company, I met a lot of controllers when we would audit divisions. I know there is a lot of pressure and demands from such position. I hope your bosses are able to understand your value in their company.
I have considered doing some bookkeeping on the side for extra money. Another idea I had was also to tutor college students online. That may be an option for a work at home, in the evening type of job as well. Good luck Monday!