Yeah..... Back when $50k per year USED to be GOOD money..... Now days that salary will have you living paycheck to paycheck with near zero savings, as much as it costs just to live, unless you have a spouse earning similar money(or sadly shacking up with a gal with 8 kids and getting government handouts). Sucks to be 'middle classed' in the year of 2012. All the while .gov(at ALL LEVELS) and its tyrannical policies/regulations make upward mobility increasingly difficult.
I've done ok working in IT for most of the past 10 years, and my wife working in healthcare. Lately, more than once, I've contemplated moving to the dark side and writing spyware/adware or something. I suppose that would beat running a Still, or growing a pot-field on the side.... lol
I'm in IT too. I don't want to discuss salary specifics. Let's just say that my family is solidly middle class and leave it at that.
If you had told me back when I was 25 that I'd be making what I am now ... I'd have said "OK, sure, I believe you. I have a job, I'm a hard worker, I have a college education. That sounds like an excellent salary and certainly would be attainable."
HOWEVER ... if you had told me back when I was 25 that I'd be making what I am now .... AND needing to cut corners, shop the sales, cut coupons, shop consignment sales religiously, stop eating out, stop taking vacations, basically cut out all the fat and leave only the essentials just to stay above water ....
I'd have told you that you were crazy.
What the heck, I can't complain too loudly about my situation. I have a job and am (barely) staying above water, which is far better off than most people. The thing that bothers me this year is that, due to some large unforseen expenses over the past few months, I've cut out the charitable donations that we usually do. Mrs WBill and I just did something with our church, and that was it.
It's a small thing, I know, but it bugs me. I'm planning to try to make up for lost ground next year.