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It depends on what "better off' means to each person.
I'm better off financially than I was in 2009 and the Recession had little to do with that. I could sit and write about all my issues and problems but I'm not into dwelling on them and NOBODY on C-D could care less.
I'm grateful each and every day to be alive and still able to move some. My son recently graduated from college and is making decisions as to his career. He's grown, respectable, has a good heart and can critically think. I have done my 'job' rather well.
I could die tomorrow morning and be happy with the whole deal.
NOT ONE BIT of it is realated to money for me. To each their own.
I actually assumed the question was a financial one since this is the economics forum.
In 2009 I had a PT job at a mall making minimum wage in a ghetto HUD apartment in Jersey with NO savings and nearly 40K in defaulted student loan debt.
10 years later I moved to Indiana making $14/hr FT still near 40K in student loan debt but am able to make income based payments plus a few bucks more to try to lower the balance. And I have several grand in savings.
It's not sunshine and rainbows but 2009 vs 2019 is like night and day.
I was finishing up college in 2009. I ended up with a $15/hr job and had to commute a hundred miles roundtrip daily for that. Gas was much more expensive. I was lucky to have what I did - many of my classmates and friends weren't that lucky.
I make over double what I did then. No state income tax. Short commute. Positive net worth.
I would imagine that most public sector employees around here are worse off because wages haven't kept up with increases in cost of living.
I voted about the same, although that was a mistake from a strictly economic view because now that I'm retired my income is less than it was while working.
Realistic financially - yes better now than 10 years ago. But I was just getting out of college, so I had decade+ to build my resume and build my salary. In 2009 I received pink slip because my department was downsized. I had 6 months to find a job and with 2 years experience out of college, I wasn't sure I was worthy. But on the 5th month, I took a job in the company at much lower position than my position just to stay & that made all the differences. I survived the recession and even went on to making some real estate & stock investment which are building up nicely now. My only regret is not taking advantage of the recession more but I was in my early 20's. I am impress with the small amount I did take advantage of
But in 2009 I was young and I had hopes and dreams and potentials. Now a decade later, I am fatter with very little ambition and weak immune system & too afraid to make financial risk because the market might come down any time.
Yes, much, much better. I now have ZERO debt now - no credit cards, car payments, etc. My savings, 401K and IRA are three times the size they were, and my personal stock portfolio has performed much better than I ever anticipated. The keys are to get out of debt and stay out of debt (INCLUDING MORTGAGE), and put aside as much as possible into savings and investments. Ten years ago, I had serious doubts about ever being able to retire, but now with left 12 years to go, the picture is much clearer, and much brighter.
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