I am middle class, but now due to the cost of living, I find myself living from pay check to pay check again?

Question

Am I the only one?

I was just wondering if the Republicans are too, they keep telling us how well our economy is doing.

I have savings but ,I now have to dip into it .

Answer 1

The republican stance is that you must be lazy or else you would be rich. That seems to be there answer to everything.

If you look at it from a republican point of view, you have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. you should work Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5pm then at another job from 7pm - 1am, that should give you the 5 hours sleep you need. Then you could work a third job at weekends. If you refuse to do so then in the eyes of Republicans you are simply lazy.

They also seem to think that people Like Bill Gates should be encouraged not to pay taxes as he worked hard to get his money and it's the people who work 40 + hours a week that are lazy and deserve to be punished with high taxes.

Answer 2

No. But if you do, it's time to re-evaluate your budget. I canceled my plans to go to Hawaii in the Spring (my older sister and brother both live there). Instead, I'll drive to Fla and stay with friends for a week, maybe. My car will be paid for in 4 mos. My wife and I are NOT going out and buying a new one to replace my other 10 year old car. I want to get 2 more years out of it. Instead, we are going to take about $200 a month and put it into an account. At the end of 2 years, we should have a nice down payment and keep our car payments low. I am not buying a new computer. In the past, I did without cable. Reconsider how much you will spend for X-Mas. Do you really need that new ring? Is a $500.00 video game system vital? My wife and I, about 9 years ago, decided on a very small home (less than 800 sqft but a nice size lot). As a result we have low taxes, low cooling and heating bills, low mortgage (lower than some peoples' car pmts). Already paid for. We remodeled a little at a time as the budget allowed. I did build a large garage myself.

Economic hard times are always just around the corner. A sudden illness (health insurance is good, being out of work for 3 months is bad), showing up for work and finding the gates locked, transmission going out on the car. We should always try to plan ahead. Just because we get a little ahead doesn't mean we have to spend it. It means not having all the cool stuff that everyone else has but then I don't sweat the small stuff and don't panick at the big things. It has taken years for my wife and I to position ourselves like this, we are careful, plan ahead, and work hard. It only takes a few months to get in the hole but can take many times that long to get back out.

If you knew me, you would not consider me rich for a moment. In the last few elections, I listened to the Al Gore's and John Kerry's call me the greedy rich who doesn't pay his fair share. I guess because I try to be responsible and self sufficient, I pose some kind of threat to Socialism and Liberalism.

Everytime you look at something to buy, ask yourself, "Do I really NEED this?". Be honest.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

I think at this point its well beyond Repub or Dem. We are in a situation that calls for immediate and drastic action. The person that stops all the refocusing of our attention on other issues and steps up with a battle plan for our economy is the one we need to elect. Not one politician that I'm aware of has really addressed it. Well Ron Paul has but after running as a Libertarian the majority of the country won't take him seriously.

Answer 4

Welcome to corporate America, of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. Where corporations are free to monopolize, and raise prices of essential utilities as much as they like.

I would like to say that it will get better, but it wont, there is a huge debt to repay, as well as an ongoing war, the greed of the ruling elites has no limits, nothing short of a revolution will stop them, and the US. just isn't ready yet, the people will have to suffer some more before they unite.

All i can suggest is to reduce your costs as much as possible, get out of any debt you have, consider downsizing, the dollar is only going down so investing in gold or silver may be a better option than savings. Grow your own veg, perhaps invest in renewable energy, solar tubes for hot water maybe.

Good luck, you'll need it.

Answer 5

No, you're not. My ex girlfriend is really smart and capable, but she spent a lot on college. Now she has a good job, but with paying back loans she is back living paycheck to paycheck. Buckle down and save up, go out less, spend less, don't eat out, buy food and cook it. You'd be surprised how much impact some financial changes can make in the long term if you have the capability to make decent money.

Answer 6

No, you're not the only one and ditto on the student loans. I spend so much on paying them back that any benefit I got from going to college is eaten up by the cost of paying them back.

Answer 7

No, Its everyone. The middle and lower class are being pinched to death to support the American Empire that has 700 military bases in 130 countries .

I think Ron Paul is the only candidate that proposes doing anything good about it. Like stopping the Government from "Borrowing "from social security. Stopping the Government from Taxing your tips. A whole host of reforms I think could make a difference.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Answer 8

Well, you could get another job.....or 2.....or 3. It's the republican way! Work till you drop dead. Have no time for your family. Let the kids raise themselves.
No, you're not alone and you will be joined by many more Americans very soon.

Answer 9

Just be glad you don't live in Maryland, they just raised ever tax (income, property, gasoline, sales, car, etc) and it doesn't even cover all the new "free" stuff for the poor that they passed but have yet to fund (meaning another tax hike next year). Somebody needs to pay for all the free stuff and there just aren't enough rich people to do it, so the middle class pays. Expect a lot more of it when Hillary is the President (except then YOU will be eligible for the free stuff too, so that should be of great comfort to you).

Answer 10

No....I got a new job a year ago making five thousand more than my previous job...all that money is eaten up in the cost of living and gas