Americans are widely split on a key question: Are they better off financially than they were three years ago?

Many have gotten new jobs and raises. They’ve bought homes, boosted their savings and spent heartily. But higher costs of living have chipped away at their spending power, as have rising rents, food costs and utilities.

Despite a growing economy and strong job market, just 14 percent of American say they are better off since President Biden took office three years ago, while 55 percent say they are worse off, according to a November poll by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

The Washington Post asked six Americans to talk more about their financial situations and why they are feeling better or worse.

FEELING BETTER OFF

Nicholas Cerrato, 30, bartender in New Brunswick, N.J.

Paid down debt

Nicholas Cerrato started the pandemic with $8,500 in credit card debt, and emerged debt free. Plus, he’s been able to save an extra $15,000, he said.

“That’s what the pandemic helped with the most: being able to get ahead of my payments,” he said. “I was able to save a lot of money, because I wasn’t going out and doing things. That really took off a lot of financial stress for me.”

Lots of Americans steered pandemic-era earnings and extra stimulus money toward credit card debt. Although roughly 50 percent of cardholders typically carry a balance, that share dropped to 45 percent in the first 20 months of the pandemic, according to a government watchdog analysis of Fed data. In all, Americans’ credit card balances fell 11 percent in 2020, the largest drop on record.

For Cerrato, becoming debt-free was possible thanks to a job switch, from a restaurant to an upscale cocktail lounge, in early 2022, when bartenders and other hospitality workers were in high demand. He expects to bring in about $80,000 this year, up from $55,000 in 2019. Plus his rent, $1,980 for a two-bedroom, hasn’t risen too much, leaving more room for hobbies like golf and whiskey collecting.

“I feel like I can spend my disposable income much more freely now, without as much stress,” he said. “That’s really changed the way I think about things.”

Samuel Tapia, 33, electrical lineman apprentice in Southern California

Higher wages

Samuel Tapia is on track to make more money than he ever has: $310,000 this year, up from $130,000 three years ago.

He’s one year into a three-year apprenticeship at a local utility company, where he helps build and maintain power lines. Tapia and his wife, who is in nursing school, grew up in a poor, immigrant neighborhood in East Los Angeles, and feel like they are finally firmly in the middle class. They are even shopping for their first home.

Tapia has benefited from higher wages – his union secured a 20 percent hourly raise last year – as well as an influx of new work. He often starts working at 6:30 a.m. and doesn’t return home until well after dinner, logging 80 hours some weeks.

“Everyone is trying to go green right now, especially in California,” he said. “All of the EV chargers, the marijuana grow houses, they’re overloading the system. There is no shortage of work.”

The Biden administration has poured billions into green energy and electrical vehicles, hoping to slow climate change and jump-start the economy. Linesmen are in such high demand, Tapia said, that many of his colleagues have been lured away by higher salaries and $50,000 cash bonuses. The onslaught of new government-backed projects and incentives, he said, means there is a constant stream of growing demand.

But his financial success has come with a price: Tapia said he is physically and mentally exhausted, working up to 16 hours a day.

“I wake up slower, I wake up grunting in pain,” he said. “Everything hurts. My back, my shoulders, my knees. It’s extremely physical work: We’re climbing poles, working through heavy rain, wind, heat storms. And I worry a lot. What if I get hurt?”

Tapia joined the Marines after high school and briefly attended college before dropping out to work. He applied to be a police officer, but was disqualified because of bad hearing. He took a job at the local electrical utility in March 2020, just before the pandemic.

He’s had a steady stream of work since then, allowing his family – including two daughters, 11 and 15 – to live comfortably.

“There’s no question that we’re better off now,” he said. “We can go to the grocery store and just buy the name-brand cereal without thinking twice. My wife can go to Target without having to check the bank account first. Those are things we just couldn’t do before.”

Shantinique Brooks, 29, in Rochester Hills, Mich., say she’s making three times what she did in 2020, “so I’m definitely able to handle all of my regular obligations as well as my student loans.” Elaine Cromie for The Washington Post

Shantinique Brooks, 29, an insurance attorney in Rochester, Mich.

Extra savings

Shantinique Brooks, who lived with her parents for much of the pandemic, was able to “aggressively save” far more than she ever has, even during a four-month period of unemployment.

Brooks worked as a paralegal until she was laid off in January 2021. But extra pandemic-era unemployment benefits helped until she found an attorney position four months later, doubling her salary.

By the time she moved out in 2021, she had enough saved to get her own apartment and furnish it. She’s also been able to put more money toward retirement and travel more.

“Overall I’m making three times more than what I did in 2020, so I’m definitely able to handle all of my regular obligations – cable, rent, car insurance – as well as my student loans,” she said, adding that she got a $30,000 pay bump after switching jobs this month.

Households of all kinds were able to save unprecedented amounts during the pandemic, thanks to lockdown-related slowdowns and robust government stimulus programs that helped families stay afloat. In all, Americans saved an extra $2.1 trillion in the first 17 months of the pandemic, according to the San Francisco Fed. And although many families have spent down most of that money – just $350 billion remained as of October – economists say those savings have been crucial in helping Americans.

Now, even with having to pay $658 a month for her student loans, Brooks said she feels well-positioned to continue saving.

She’s also deliberate about keeping her costs low. When her last landlord in Troy, Mich., wanted to raise her rent by $400 a month, Brooks moved further out to the suburbs, where she now pays $1,175 for a two-bedroom. She is similarly frugal with meals, relying on groceries or quick lunches at Panera, Subway or Chipotle most days.

“I know that some people, like me, are seeing gains in this economy but others are having a way more difficult time, especially with inflation,” she said. “I’m grateful that I’m in a better position than I was.”

FEELING WORSE OFF

John Sawilchik, 82, retired in Palos Heights, Ill.

Shrinking investments, higher cost of living

John Sawilchik retired as a programmer 15 years ago and invested the money from his 401(k) in a mix of stocks and bonds that had been paying big returns, until last year, a particularly tough one for financial markets.

The one-two hit of inflation and rising interest rates has resulted in higher costs and lower returns on his bond investments. For the first time in his life, Sawilchik said he and his wife are spending more than their income from retirement funds and Social Security. He estimates that his retirement account has lost about 12 percent of its value in the past year, since the Fed began raising borrowing costs.

“I am very much on a fixed income, and now that income is taking a big hit,” he said. “I’m feeling the pinch.”

Meanwhile, prices are up on just about everything, he said: Sawilchik’s usual Panda Express lunch, a bowl with beef and rice, has gone from $7.15 to $9.35 in the past three years. The cost of replacing his garage door battery has more than doubled. His homeowners association, which began replacing the subdivision’s roofs for $30,000 a pop in 2021, is now spending $45,000 per roof, and requiring every resident to shell out thousands of dollars to cover higher costs.

As a result, he and his wife, a retired human resources director, are driving less to save on gas, and have started cutting subscriptions to Sirius XM, Consumer Reports and Paramount Plus, among others. And although they’ve paid off the mortgage on their $320,000 ranch-style home, Sawilchik said they are struggling to keep up with property taxes, which jumped 25 percent this year.

Even though inflation is easing, prices are still up 3.1 percent from a year ago and up nearly 19 percent from early 2020. Food, gas and medical care are all significantly more expensive than before the pandemic.

“I’m worried about having enough money if I get sick, if they have to put me in a nursing home,” he said, adding that he had an angiogram and angioplasty this year. “I’m getting pretty upset about our finances.”

That pessimism, he said, is starting to color his views on the upcoming presidential election. Sawilchik, who considers himself a moderate Republican, said he didn’t vote for former President Donald Trump or Biden in the past two elections and he’s not interested in either this time around, either. He was hoping Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., would run, but said he’ll settle for just about any third-party candidate.

“My opinion of the economy is that it’s poor,” he said. “The administration can talk about how many jobs they’ve created and how the economy is growing but everybody I know, my family included, is having a hard time affording what we used to have.”

Amy E. Allen, 39, Washington, D.C., a speechwriter for the federal government

New medical debt, student loans and credit card debt

Amy E. Allen was feeling good about her finances in 2020 – she’d recently gotten a federal job that paid $90,000 a year, and finally had the job security and stability she’d been hoping for.

Then she got sick. In March 2022, after falling seriously ill, Allen was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and a host of other chronic conditions, requiring several surgeries and daily trips to doctors and specialists. Even with good insurance, she racked up about $14,000 in medical debt. Not knowing how else to pay it off, she charged it all to a credit card.

“Normally I’m really good about savings and paying things off and not being in debt,” she said. “But this time things spiraled real fast.”

Plus, both of her cats also got sick, one with cancer that requires pricey chemotherapy and the other with glaucoma. Even though her pay has gone up nearly 40 percent to about $132,000 a year, it hasn’t offset the medical bills.

When her law school scholarship ran out in 2022, Allen charged the last semester to her credit card, adding another $9,000 to her total.

As households emerge from the pandemic, they are increasingly relying on credit cards to get by. Credit card debt is rising at record rates – up $154 billion in the past year alone, the biggest annual jump on record, according to the New York Fed. That debt is becoming costlier too, as credit card companies raise interest rates and tack on new fees.

For Allen, just about everything now revolves around paying down her $30,000 balance. She’s been selling old textbooks and is considering selling plasma. Grocery shopping often takes place at Trader Joe’s, where Allen buys milk, cereal, carrots and hummus to last as many meals as possible.

In addition, she’s applied for a range of second jobs in proofreading, technical writing and bartending.

“I’ve never had debt like this in my life,” Allen said. “I always thought I’d buy a house and have a kid but I’m understanding that’s not going to be financially possible.”

Ashraf Youssef stands in an unused treatment room at Ash Salon & Spa in McLean, Va., on Dec. 21. Ashraf, who owns the salon, has said that profits have not bounced back since the pandemic and he has been forced to stop spa services. MUST CREDIT: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post. For The Washington Post

Ashraf Youssef, 57, small business owner in Tysons Corner, Va.

Business debt

Ashraf Youssef opened his sprawling salon and spa in Tysons Corner Center, one of the Washington-area’s premiere shopping malls, in late 2018. It was an instant success: He had 21 employees, hundreds of clients and easily made $80,000 a month.

But that all dried up in the past three years. Now Youssef, having loaded up on debt and depleted his savings in hopes of saving his business, is all but prepared to close down.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next or what I’m going to do,” he said. “I have a family, a mortgage, two car payments, insurance, taxes. But my business is gone.”

The pandemic dealt a sudden blow to Youssef’s salon, forcing him to shutter completely for three months. Even after he reopened, there were hardly any customers. Most of the mall was still closed or operating for limited hours, and the region’s office workers were all hunkered down at home. Some of the mall’s higher-end eateries, including BRIO Tuscan Grille and Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, closed for good, giving people fewer reasons to venture to the area.

“I’d open every day and close just a few hours later, because there was no business,” said Youssef. “I was losing money every month.”

Small businesses like Youssef’s were among the hardest hit early by COVID-related closures. By some estimates, 100,000 small businesses, or about 2 percent, permanently shut in the first two months of the pandemic. Many more struggled to find their footing as the world reopened. The small business optimism index, a National Federation of Independent Business measure, fell to its lowest level in over a decade in April; it has since rebounded some but remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Although Youssef negotiated down his rent from $13,000 a month to $7,000 in 2020, it remained unaffordable. One by one, he started laying off workers, some of whom made $35 an hour. Today Youssef is down to three employees and still has to pay back the $82,000 loan he took out from the Small Business Administration. Monthly revenue, he said, has fallen more than 75 percent from early 2020. He and his wife have pulled back on just about everything, including outings with their 5- and 9-year-old children.

Youssef continues to man his salon – cutting and styling hair while answering phones and handling administrative duties. He was planning to shutter at the end of this month, but the mall’s management offered him a last-minute lifeline: lower rent for the next six months. Now Youssef says he’s making a last-ditch effort to turn things around.

“We have a little bit of hope now,” he said. “We’re still short-staffed, we’re still losing money but maybe we can survive.”