I have been working the same job for almost 2 years now. 1 hour commute each way, not too bad since it paid well (engineer) and I just graduated college. Gas was $1.90 when I started. Flash forward to now with all the shit going on in the economy. Gas is over $5, 13% of my take home pay every week goes to gas alone. The 2 hours of driving a day is getting to me mentally. What I felt was a fantastic wage 2 years ago feels like poverty wages, even though I’m making $4k more than what I made 2 years ago. I went to school, paying $2k a month in student loans and feel like I’m making no progress in life financially (minimum payment is $200 but I purposely do way more since I live at home). Fiancé and I are very frugal, saved up tens of thousands combined, but good luck trying to buy a house. Rent in this area is $2k minimum, $2.5k for something decent. Is this the future we were promised by our parents by going to school and “working hard”?