Jill S., a 50-year-old from southeastern Texas, is having a good year. In September 2008, she was offered a new job at a university in a heavily populated part of central Texas. Not only was the position a jump in title, it included a salary increase of 10%.
The community Jill and her husband moved to for the new job has plenty of shopping malls, restaurants and other entertainment. Jill and her husband even discussed the idea of buying her a new car as a sort of reward for her promotion. But she hasn’t; Jill says she almost feels guilty–or embarrassed–about her recent success in the tough economy.
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“I hear that lots of folks are losing their jobs and people are going without. And I’m experiencing the opposite,” says Jill. “I’m very careful about what I say around other people now. I don’t talk about spending.”
