DU Poll: Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago?

Please explain why - as specifically as you can without getting too personal- why you answered the way you did.

Meant to point to the fact that almost NO ONE would be able to say they were better off.

in your poll!:hi:

I thought you meant I was being obtuse.

And I had two good promotions in the last 8 years.

That is how bad it has gotten.

Yet somehow, my tax returns do not indicate that much of a difference, particularly in the last 4 years.

I own a home, but it is a struggle to make ends meet, due to the rising fuel and food costs.

We've paid off two rental houses that we now own free and clear.
The rental income covers the mortgage on our 900 sq ft home.
Our cars are paid for.
We have savings (well, at least today).
I'm making a better salary than I ever have.
I have better health insurance than I ever have.

And years of being a social worker and up till 1 am trying to figure out how we would pay the bills.

I'm glad to hear it worked out for you.

My husband and I saved a lot of money and paid down a ton of debt but only because we exercised some restaint in our spending.

came when Clinton was in office.

...I don't care about those who are NOT better off.

I am the exception, not the rule. And I am well aware of that.

in the US, and is propped up by making knockoffs of my own products overseas so that I can keep paying the labor costs here. About 50% of my product is made in Taiwan (NOT CHINA), a Democratic country. 50% of my product is made here. I've done nothing but increase the number of jobs for my company here in the US. I'm hiring a new engineer this week. No jobs have been lost... this is a model that should be used by ALL US manufacturers. They should offer US-MADE products at a premium price, and subsidize their US operations by selling products manufactured in DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES.

My company has had a steady growth of 30 to 35% per year as a result of this approach.

:hi:

Is the country?
No

I am doing work in the same field as I was 8 years ago (trucking industry), but I am with a company that gives me double the commission that I used to get. That said, if I'd had the same split in 2000 that I have now, I'd be raking in the cash!

8 Years ago I had just started my first "real" job and was making about $20,000. Now I am making much more and have progressed much farther in my career. That being said, I am making a third less than I was making 2 years ago. My home has gone from being worth 50% more than what I bought it for to being upside down on my mortgage. 8 years ago I had a cheaper house but it was appreciating in value and I had equity. I might be "Better off" in terms if relative position, but certainly not in direction.