Economically speaking, our situation just seems to get a bit tighter and tighter with each passing year.
All the promises from our elected officials continue to go unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, my paycheck remains stagnant and prices continue to rise. But comparatively, we are in much better shape than a lot of people. Plenty of friends are working side jobs simply to make ends meet. Then there are those that had nice HVAC controlled offices but were punted as they hit their fifties. Most of those folks still have kids to provide for. I have a side hustle and every bit of that money goes into the household budget. It makes me crazy to think I count myself lucky when I work a 50 hour salary job and a 20 hour side job just to survive. This just can’t last. There will not be a middle class at all in just a very short time. We go without so much just compared to a little more than a decade ago. No way either my wife or I can get a car upgrade and we both need one desperately. However, I simply will not suffer uncomfortable temperatures inside my own house. While we watch the HVAC thermostat very carefully, I won’t sit around and sweat while I am eating during the summer. The day that I can’t come home and get some HVAC comfort before I go to my side job is the day that I may just give up. I program the thermostat so we aren’t overcooling an empty house. But, that is about as far as I am willing to go.