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Economically, I'm in the same position. I'm still in the same job I was 4 years ago as is my husband. We haven't gotten any huge raises, but we got our regular expect raise for this company. Personal life wise, it's been great, we got married, bought a house, went on a few great vacations. Cost of living has gone up, but we've reevaluated our finances and even with rising cost, things look good as long as they stay on track (we don't lose our job). So, over all, I'd say I'm better off than 4 years ago.
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I am one of the lucky ones and am def better than I was 4 years ago. I've more than doubled my income (so has DH), gotten married, bought a house, and comfortably ($$wise) awaiting the arrival of our son in Nov!
Our bills+cost of living as gone up; but we've also been able to indulge in vacations; paid for our wedding; house, etc. things that I wouldn't have been able to do four years ago.
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Personally, yes. I am in a wonderful marriage and have a beautiful daughter. Financially, no. Our house is under water (as it was purchased in 2006 when the market was booming) and that is a huge stress factor for us. It feels like we are throwing money away every month. Four years ago I was working full time and was single and just had a whole crap ton of money.
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Yes, but to be fair I was in highschool 4 years ago
So in the last 4 years I have graduated, gotten a full time job, a raise (small but still a raise) moved out of my parents house, gotten married and bought my own house.
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I think financially, yes, we are. We were able to refinance our mortgage to a much lower interest rate thanks to the Fed freezing interest rates to stimulate the economy. 4 years ago Hubs was told that his company was cutting salaries by 7.5% and employees had to start contributing to their health insurance (the company had paid 100% of costs previously). They also cut their hours to 32/week. He spent 4 years looking for a new job and NO ONE was hiring. Finally, he is at a new job with higher pay and full time work. My job has been able to continue giving us raises every year. We have managed to put some money into savings - and keep it there - and still maintain our fairly generous lifestyle. Things get tight now and then if emergencies come up, but overall, yes, we are in a much better place financially than we were 4 years ago.
ETA: I would say the only thing that is worse now than 4 years ago is that we are underwater on our house. Refinancing helped, but if/when we decide to sell, we will most likely take a loss.
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Aboslutely! Four years ago, DH and I were fresh out of college. Since then, we've relocated, secured good jobs, recieved promotions/raises, bought a house and two cars, had two amazing children, remodeled the house, adopted another dog, I became a SAHM and started my Master's degree (halfway through!), and DH completed his Master's (I count this as partially my achievement because both of us worked hard while he was in school :). Financially, we're in a much more stable place; personally, I couldn't imagine a better life than what I have right now.
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Yes. But we live in Canada, and we weren't hit as hard by the recession (although my husband did lose his job).
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Like others have said..yes, I'm better off but not because of the government. I don't think any politician gets credit for me meeting my husband, getting married, having a baby, etc. I'm relatively certain those things would have happened regardless of who was President.
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Financially, I am. I paid off all my credit card debt in August, and found a better (and better-paying) job last March, where I have consistently gotten raises and bonuses since starting.
My husband is not. He has racked up more credit card debt, mostly due to the fact that his employer has had furloughs and no raises and abolished overtime. He has been unable to find another job, much less a better paying one, in the 3 years I have known him. We are grateful he has a job, but it is hard to see him become more and more demoralized as time goes on and potential employers (for whose jobs he is absolutely qualified) keep ignoring him or sending him rejection letters. This was his dream career his whole life, and he now believes that he made the wrong choice and is paying for it by not being able to support his wife and future children the way he always wanted to. Employed or not, it has taken a tremendous toll emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
I don't know who we have to blame for that, but I don't believe either man currently promising to fix it, can or will.
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Yes; personally as well as financially. Our home has retained it's value, and we've both kept good jobs (my husband has tenure, so that was gauranteed), and we've both moved ahead professionally. The biggest "better off" is that LO was diagnosed with a mild heart abnormality in the womb, and without Obama-care's rule about preexisting conditions, LO could be denied health insurance for the rest of her life.
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In general, yes. We had just gotten married 4 years ago and we had made some stupid financial decisions which resulted in a lot of stress for us. But we worked hard to pay off our debt, so now we can comfortably afford for me to stay home with LO. We don't have much financial stress at the moment.
The future is uncertain though. The Obama administration has made huge, huge cuts in DH's line of work, so we are crossing our fingers that the 10+ years he has put into this job will ultimately pay off.
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@ladyfingers: I think you need a hug. I'm so sorry your husband is going through that
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@Mrs. Jacks: Sorry, we're just going through it -- yet again -- with yet another job-application-in-limbo. So I'm a little upset.
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@ladyfingers: I understand and that's why in my original post I really wanted to acknowledge the people who are having a hard time. It seems that by and large people are doing better, but it's not a universally true thing and when you are going through it yourself... it's the whole world really.
I really hope your husband gets a lucky break soon and is able to overcome his demoralization!
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@Mrs. Jacks: Thanks, me too.
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I dont believe Romney really cares whether we are better off or not. But yes I am much better off and am thankful that McCain didnt win because he wouldnt have done anything to help regular working class people like me. Even during the worst of the recession he said he had become a nation of whinners and was never really in touch with how badly people were struggling. I find this to be the case with all republican candidates lately
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feel like i totally jinxed myself with my response earlier. about an hour ago i got a text from hubs that he's being laid off and has 2 weeks to finish his open projects. There just isnt enough work at his consulting firm.
here we go again....
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@Chillybear: Awww sorry to hear that. I hope he find something soon
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@Chillybear: holy @#$#. Now I feel guilty for prompting you to jinx yourself
My hubby just found out that his contract isn't being renewed and was going to be let go in December. Luckily, within 5 days he had 2 new offers (one with a better salary and benefits). Maybe you'll get lucky too?
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Yes, we have been very fortunate. Personally, I think we are both happier now than before. Both of us are more comfortable in our own skin and that is just something that comes with time. But we also function as a couple better, after we both made a few changes. Financially, we are much better off than we were 4 years ago, but like some other HBs have said, I don't think it has anything to do with Obama.
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i do think we're better off, but i'm not crediting obama in any way.
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@Chillybear: I am so sorry
hopefully he'll find something asap
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