The majority of Americans say they did not get a pay raise this year

Ten years ago, someone paying for a landline, cable subscription, and iTunes song downloads is probably paying for a mobile plan, one or more video streaming services, and probably one music streaming service.

Presumably the gig economy has also caused shifts. I track all my expenses. Last year, I paid ~$9,200 over the course of the year for my auto payment, auto insurance, and parking fees alone, not counting gasoline or maintenance.

This year, I’ve spent < $600 on transportation because I now only walk or use Uber and Lyft.

Remember though - at least in the US, outside of the large cities, there’s still that population that lives in small towns. I have family in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. For people in those specific towns, you don’t see Uber very much because everyone has a vehicle. There is no 1 hour Prime Now delivery. The gig economy is less impactful than a place such as Seattle or San Diego.

Although maybe there were also cheaper

My family’s baseline expenditures are down except for food. Cord cutting reduced expenses significantly and buying phones and shopping plans cut that cost.

If you’re using Uber and paying $10 for takeout delivery all of the time, you’re wasting money, full stop.

Job hopping is the only way to get a meaningful raise.

2018 numbers not reported (obviously), and given this being the first year of the tax overhaul, this year “should” have resulted in a much higher average increase in salary (if you believe trickle down to work, this would be the year for it to finally work.)

No pay raise = a pay cut in real spending power.