[Christian11]

Originally Posted by Tampa Red

It's amazing how many people you can employ when you pay the lowest wages, least benefits and fire them at will.

I believe Egypt experienced full employment while the Pyramids were being erected.

OMG... this is soooooo true!! TampaRed... that was the best "one liner" on this board so far!!! Kudos!!!

[Christian11]

Originally Posted by chocomom

That's how much my husband and I make combined. Trust me, I've done the math backwards and forwards.

And this post is not trying to be mean, it's just that my my husband and I get comments like, "You could make it if you just tightened your belt" or "I did it 20+ years ago, why can't you?" Uhhhh, this is a very different place and economy from even 10 years ago. Should we stop taking our kids to the pediatrician? Or maybe give up the 2nd car and try to use our wonderful South FL public transportation system (yeah, waiting on the bus bench for hours at a time with 2 kids is my idea of fun). Although what we make sounds like good money, we get by from month to month.

We are only 25 & 26, so we've decided to try to make our situation better before it gets any worse. I just want to open the eyes of those who overlook people like us, with incomes that should be middle class but due to rising housing, insurance, taxes, and utilities costs are bordering on working poor.

OMG, we are in the same pay range per year!! We are 26 and 28, no kids, and we cannot make the ends meet. It is very very hard to work day after day and not have $1 dollar left to save.... we live simple lives, my apt building is almost 20 years old, our cars are simple, nothing fancy. The costs of living have eaten our staggering FL wages.

LOL... you considering taking the "BC" (buses in Orlando are called "Bum Collectors", due to all the stinky people who get on the bus after standing outside for 10 minutes in the FL weather). Mean name, but it describes a lot how bad it is to have to use public transportation. My wife had to use it for a few months when she first moved down to FL... she said it is awful.

We are moving away to NC ourselves. We are not from NC, but we have to move before it gets worse and we have to use credit cards just to pay for rent. Our 2/2 apt in Oviedo is going for $1,100/month right now. We have been informed that renewal rates will climb at least $200/month more than our current rate. Did you notice "at least"? Last year they jacked up our rate by almost $200, this year it is posed to be worst.

Renter's insurance almost tripled from last year. You can say "save the $ from renter's insurance and don't get renter's", but what if God forbid, a fire happens or someone breaks in and steals our stuff? We cannot afford to replace anything, it would be disatrous not to have renter's insurance!

The rich folk, the real estate speculators, home flippers, insurance companies... these guys are putting the squeeze on families in the "middle class pay range" of $50k - $65k per year. The high cost of living is making folks in this pay range to be consider lower middle class. Soon, they will be poor. No one in this pay range can afford a house, much less afford to save any $. It is hard to make $50k in FL these days, you have to have 2 people in family working just to get to this range of pay.

Move away from FL, like we are! You are a young couple too, you can make a better life for yourselves elsewhere. It is better to try to live a simpler life and tough out cooler winters than live on the edge, from paycheck to paycheck, not knowing if it is next month that you will not be able to feed your family....

Folks, things have changed, FL is not longer for anyone making less than $100k per year. If you don't have that kind of income, you will be stuck living in a much lower standard of living than you previouly were.

[SunnyDog]

Originally Posted by pianogal

I wonder how old most of the people complaining that they can't buy a house are? I read one couple in their twenties. I know this will make me sound old...but most of the couples in my generation couldn't buy a home until their 30's. That's when we bought our first home and we scrapped and saved for years, even moved in with our inlaws for a couple of years just to save money to have enough to pay down on our first home so we could afford it.
The home we are currently in is our 3rd home - we didn't just walk into a home like this in our 20's.

I know housing is expensive and I'm not trying to devalue any's opinion or issues BUT perhaps we are so used to instant gratification in our culture that we can't work for 15 years to save the money for our first home so we can pay enough down that we won't be house poor and can afford it.

Hit the nail on its head

[mtvice]

.....Actually I think the title of this thread should be: "Forbes list of top cities for minimum wage jobs". This is much more appropriate for cities in Florida.

....If Forbes Magazine belongs to Steve Forbes , I am not surprised that Florida made the top of the list... but Florida has a long way to go ...

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Cil...thanks for the youtube link...it was funny, but unfortunately sad, too.

Oh yes, its humor is definitely bittersweet, Pianogal.