Filed under → The Real Raise
Prices rose 3.7% in the last year. If your raise was smaller than that, your paycheck went up and your money went down.
Your raise next to the raise that keeps you even, and one that actually moves you forward.
Your paycheck is counted in dollars. Your life is counted in groceries, rent and gas, and those cost 3.7% more than a year ago.
So the raise that matters is the one left after prices take their cut. Anything under 3.7% means you can buy less than last year.
You can't set prices. You can know your number before your next review, and walk in with it.
Ask for at least the keep-even raise above. "Prices rose 3.7%, so a 3% raise is a pay cut" is a fact, not a complaint.
Look up what your job pays nearby on the Bureau of Labor Statistics or a salary site. Proof beats feelings when you ask.
A savings account paying under 3.7% loses ground too. Check your rate, and let long-term money grow where it can outpace prices.
Inflation is the Labor Department's consumer price index for September 2026, up 3.7% from a year earlier (released October 14, 2026).
The math: your raise in dollars, minus what the same paycheck needed to grow just to buy what it bought last year (last year's pay times 3.7%). The "get ahead" raise keeps up with prices and adds 2% on top.
It's a yardstick, not your budget. Your own costs may have risen more or less. Nothing you type leaves your browser.