Antiwork: Unemployment for all, not just the rich!

Just over two years ago, I finally got a raise to $15/hr from the $11 I was making. My husband at the time was working at a grocery store making $12. That bump to $15 was enough to immediately cash in our savings and move out of my Father in Law's house into our own place in 2021.

Our only big purchases since have been a ~$3,000 vacation (pre paid and all inclusive and only an hour from home.) and we traded in our early-oughts Mercedes for a mid-10s Camry and pay about $300/month for that.

Here we are just two years later. Same apartment. I make ~$18/hr + commission with plenty of overtime. He makes $20/hr. We are both solidly set into skilled careers with large, extremely stable companies in industries where we aren't necessarily threatened by AI. We're in the same apartment, but paying rent has never gotten any easier. Everything gets more expensive. With insurance we still can't really get healthcare. Our grocery bill just keeps rising. Energy drinks have become a splurge purchase. We used to buy a flat of them every two weeks.

We've gone from $47k pre-tax to $86k pre-tax in two years and life just keeps getting harder.

Even basically doubling our income has done nothing to improve our lives or our futures. We are no closer to getting a bigger apartment (FORGET BUYING A HOUSE) and starting a family. All the financial advice I desperately read tells me to invest but when I've got $60/week leftover after setting aside money for rent/electric/internet/pet care/gas I'd much rather spend that $60 on like, one nice dinner or something to ease the monotony of the week.

Something has to give. I feel like I'm losing my mind. I have cut corners everywhere I can. We buy our meat in bulk. We no longer eat breakfast or even keep snacks in the house. Our clothes come from thrifting/gifts/buy nothing groups. I haven't been to a concert in years. The furthest we've gone from home is two hours to see my family. I cut both of our hair. We just had to budget for two weeks to spend $190 on some costume pieces for our trip. I don't know what to do anymore.

On the outside our lives look extremely luxurious because we both work in luxury industries, and it's exhausting to have our friends and family assume we're okay.

I want a family. I want a savings account that doesn't get drained for gas regularly. I want to invest and grow my wealth and have something to leave behind. Something has to give. I'm so tired of eating pasta and rice.

ETA: I did not post this to be told there must be some secret I'm hiding or just to be told I'm terrible at budgeting. If you don't believe me that's your business but you're missing the point of the post. Costs are rising too fast for the American worker to improve their lives in any meaningful way.