Showing posts with label Cost of Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cost of Living. Show all posts

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Cost of Living and Wages

Wage increases for 2020 was 1.3-1.6% and is expected to stay the same for all of 2021.  Cost of living increases for 2020 was 1.3% and it too is expected to stay the same...  however, some economists warn that the Covid Relief Bill could cause inflation which could increase the cost of living increase to almost 2% .

Providing that everything remains somewhat stagnant, those who are working, on average, will be earning .3% more money than it will cost them to live.  What this means is that for every $1,000 earned, they will have $3 more in their pocketbooks.  If you are making $30,000 annually, you will have $90 more in 2021 and if you are making $50,000 you will have $150 more in 2021.

Bear in mind that in the cost of living increases just 3/10 of 1%, then the average worker will break even.  In other words, the wage increases will be totally offset by cost of living increases.  And... the cost of living index does not take into consideration, increases in health insurance.

What I discovered when I was earning an hourly wage was that every time we got a wage increase, our health insurance would also increase pretty much eliminating that wage increase.

Good news for retirees...

Congress is looking into increasing Social Security allotments by 3%...  which means that for every $1,000 we will receive an additional $30...

Personally, I think this is an economic and fiscal mistake, but who I am to look a gift horse in the mouth...  take the money and run, as the song says.

In order for Congress to increase Social Security, the US Government would have to borrow money or print up more money...  If they borrow money, then my grandchildren's children will have to eventually pay the bill.  And, since I don't have any grandchildren...  what the hell...

Thursday, December 31, 2020

The American Worker versus East TN

2018-2020 --  The average per worker income is $108,245

2018-2020 --  The average household income in right around $50,000

2018-2020 --  The average middle class income was $48,500 to $145,500

How does this compare to your current income levels?  family or individual?

In 2019...
                In Tennessee...
                                         the average income was $56,627...
                                                                                                   $3,774/month after taxes...

My wife and I receive about $36,000 in Social Security each year as long as we both remain alive...  which is kinda obvious one would think.  but, it is $20,000 less than the average...

  1. If wages increase so too does prices
  2. If wages increase so too does the cost of living
  3. If wages increase so too does taxes increase
  4. Inflation is right around 2% which is not bad    
TN has a cost of living index of 87.6 out of a possible 100 which means it is less expensive to live on average than other places.  AND...  the average monthly cost of living in the USA for a family of 4 is $4,609.00 and if TN is 87.6% of that then TN's cost of living for a family of 4 is about $4,000.00 and less if you are single or a retired married couple.

My wife and I live very comfortably on right around $3,500 each month which does include a couple of week long vacations.  If we want to go more often then we have to draw money out of savings.

In other words, our SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME just about pays for all of our expenses and if we cut back on a few luxuries then we could easily get down to $3,000/month on which to live.  Of course, my wife and I are debt free...  which makes a big difference.

The point is that EAST TENNESSEE is a pretty damn good place to live taking into consideration other factors like:
  • Traffic
  • Pollution
  • City Crime
  • Property taxes
  • Cost of living
  • Weather
  • BLM Crime in cities
  • Healthcare
  • Open spaces
  • Parks and Recreation
  • Transportation



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