I just got an average annual raise of 5% last week. Then, this morning I get a text from my landlord that my rent is increasing by 25%. That takes all of my raise and then some… It’s just becoming impossible to get ahead. I’d saved a few thousand dollars for a down payment on a new car that I badly need. And my raise was going to let me be able to afford the payment. Now, any hope of getting a new car is gone. A bit of a rant, I know. But I just don’t think companies understand that if they don’t pay their employees enough we literally will not be able to afford to keep working there.