In a viral TikTok, a man shares how he was better off financially making minimum wage at Chili’s 10 years ago than he is now.
In his TikTok, which had over 557,000 views as of Friday, content creator and photographer Mordecai (@mordecainuccio) responds to another TikTok in which a British Columbia woman reveals she was financially better off in 2012 making minimum wage than she is in 2023 making $100,000 a year.
Moredecai’s TikTok begins with a clip from Sam’s video. The clip has text which reads, “The cost of living is so high in 2023 that I was better off financially when I made minimum wage in 2012.” Sam affirms this by saying the same.
Mordecai (@mordecainuccio) then cuts in with his own video, saying “Oh my God, somebody said it, somebody f*cking said it. Somebody said what I was thinking.”
@mordecainuccio #stitch with @Sam 🏳️🌈 If I had this income in 2012 my life would be 20% better right now 😭 #millennialproblems #inflationcrisis ♬ original sound – Mordecai-New York Photographer
He explains how his life looked in 2012. “Let me tell you something. In 2012, I was living in Ybor City, Tampa, working at a Chili’s getting minimum wage as a food runner, OK? But I was making enough to pay half the rent with a roommate in Ybor who was also my co-worker,” Mordecai says.
Despite now living with his fiancé and making more money, Mordecai says the financial freedom he had 10 years ago feels impossible now.
“We were making minimum wage, but we were living our best lives,” he says. “We were going where we wanted, doing what we wanted, adventuring where we wanted to. Nowadays, that feels impossible to do with my fiancé.”
“I’m in a whole different state that once, five or six years ago, was more affordable than it is now. Back in Tampa, my roommate and I paid $425 each for a two-bedroom, two-bath with a walk-in closet in his room. My consolation prize was that the bathroom I had was enormous,” he continues.
Mordecai also mentions that credit card and student loan debt has affected his way of life in 2023.
“I truly did not realize how beautifully I was living on minimum wage. And I had minimal credit card debt compared to now. I didn’t have student loans like I do now,” he says.
He thanks Sam for speaking up about this issue, saying, “I was literally telling someone a few days ago, ‘I feel like I’m making more money than I ever have before, even though it’s only like 10 or 20 thousand more than I’ve ever made on average per year earlier in my life, but for some reason, I feel like I am struggling with that income comparatively to when I had minimum wage and was living a good life.”
According to Mordecai, even travel has become impossible. “For the most part, if I wanted to travel back then into different countries and states I could’ve very easily done so. And now we’re in a dual-income household and you would think that we would be able to travel more,” he shares. “But it’s like we’re working more hours for more pay, that when the time comes to use that money, does not feel like the money that I need it to amount to be able to cover the cost and have enough leftover to enjoy my life. It’s crazy. It is absolutely crazy.”
Finally, he mentions that there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the rising cost of living. “And every time I think about the ups and downs and like, ‘It’ll level out soon, it’ll not be this way forever,’ people left and right just keep telling me it’s gonna be super expensive,” Mordecai concludes.
In the comments section, users affirmed Mordecai and Sam’s point, sharing their own stories of the high cost of living in 2023.
“I am working TWO jobs, my therapist is working TWO jobs, all my homies are working TWO jobs and we are still broke,” one user lamented.
“I remember when making 30-40K a year was like a middle-income family with a house 2 cars and a yearly vacation no issue,” another viewer shared. “I make 42K and I am SUFFERING,” came another user’s response.
“I’m making the highest hourly wage of my life and I’m living in my mom’s house. In 2014 I was working at Walmart and traveling!” a fourth user shared.
As previously reported on by the Daily Dot, a Gallup poll has shown that 50% of Americans feel that they are worse off financially than they were in 2022, the highest percentage of Americans polling this way since the Great Recession era of 2008 to 2009.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mordecai via Instagram for more information.
Update 2:03pm CT, Oct. 7, 2023: In a message to the Daily Dot, Mordecai called for Congress to pass a bill raising the minimum wage.
“Life is becoming too expensive and people are making double to triple their incomes from 2012 and are barely able to survive,” he wrote. “We need Congress to make change because our pockets cannot keep up with inflation and at this rate, millions of people are paying the price for the inflation longer than we should be.”
