Shows / Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Lucas and Luna examine the real-world tug-of-war between wages and prices, tracking how cost-of-living shifts affect workers' purchasing power across sectors and geographies. Each episode opens with a fresh data point from the latest CPI or average hourly earnings report, then drills into a specific case: a union contract negotiation in Germany, a fast-food wage mandate in California, or a tech layoff wave in India. Lucas brings the macroeconomic framework—real vs. nominal wages, inflation…
Episodes
Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing PowerHow Your Raise Is Finally Outrunning Rent Prices
In episode 49 of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine a long-awaited shift in the cost-of-living landscape: for the first time in three years, average…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Actually Beating Core Inflation Now
For months, headlines have screamed about 4.2% CPI inflation eroding wage gains. But Lucas and Luna dig into the numbers that tell a different story: core…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Beating Inflation But Not Utility Bills
Episode 47 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna drill into a detail that wage-growth headlines miss: utilities. The CPI shelter index gets all the…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Your Raise Is Finally Outpacing Healthcare Costs
For years, healthcare costs have been the silent thief of wage gains. But new data from May 2026 shows that average hourly earnings are rising at 4.2%…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Energy Prices Are Stealing Your Raise
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna drill into the latest May CPI and PPI data, showing how a 1.1% jump in wholesale prices — driven by surging…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Getting Eaten by Energy Prices
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine how surging energy costs are quietly eroding the purchasing power of recent wage gains. With…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Still Beating Inflation But Barely
Lucas and Luna break down the latest May 2026 CPI report showing 4.2% annual inflation, the highest in three years, against average hourly earnings of $37.50…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Growing Faster Than Childcare Costs for the First Time
In this episode of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine a surprising turn in the cost of childcare. For years, childcare costs have risen…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Higher Wages Are Changing the Way We Buy Insurance
Episode 41 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo explores how rising hourly pay is colliding with a less obvious cost: insurance premiums. Lucas and Luna break down…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Growing Faster Than Student Loan Payments
In episode 40 of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine a shift that's quietly improving household budgets for millions of borrowers: wages are finally…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Bigger Than Your Neighbor's Depends on the Industry
This episode of Wages and Prices examines why the real purchasing power of your raise depends heavily on which industry you work in. Lucas and Luna dig into…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Bonuses Are Shrinking Even as Hourly Wages Rise
Lucas and Luna break down a quiet shift in how Americans get paid: hourly wages keep ticking up, but variable pay like bonuses and commissions is dropping…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Growing Faster Than Car Payments for the First Time
In Episode 37 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine a surprising shift in household budgets: wages are finally outpacing auto loan payments…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Might Be Saving You From Drowning in Debt
Episode 36 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo. Hosts Lucas and Luna look at a surprising trend: despite real wage growth finally turning positive in early 2026…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
The Raise You Got vs the Prices You Missed
Episode 35 of Wages and Prices digs into a quiet pattern in the May 2026 data: average hourly earnings are up to $37.50, but the broadest CPI hit 332.4 in…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Real Wage Growth Finally Turned Positive in 2026
For most of the past four years, raises have been a losing battle against inflation. But fresh data from May shows that average hourly earnings are now growing…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Long-Term Unemployment Is Growing While Wages Rise
With the May jobs report coming Friday and ADP showing private payrolls grew by 122,000 in May, Lucas and Luna dig into a puzzle: wage growth is positive but…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Outpacing Prices for the First Time in Years
In Episode 32 of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine a rare economic turning point: after years of raises lagging behind inflation, wage growth is finally…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Depends on Where You Live
Average hourly earnings are up nationally, but a new Fed study shows wage growth varies wildly by metro area. Lucas and Luna break down why workers in Sun Belt…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Where Your Raise Goes When Job Openings Surge
Episode 30 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna examine the surprising divergence between surging job openings and slowing wage growth. Using…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Job Openings Are Surging While Wage Growth Slows
Job openings hit 7.6 million in April 2026, the highest in nearly two years. But average hourly earnings only crept up 5 cents from March. Lucas and Luna dig…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Your Raise vs Rent The Good News Nobody Is Talking About
In this episode of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dig into the latest numbers showing that for the first time in years, average hourly earnings…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Growing Faster Than Rent for the First Time
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna unpack a rare bright spot in the cost-of-living crunch: wage growth is finally outpacing rent increases…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Rising Rent Is Eating More of Your Paycheck Than Ever
Episode 26 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo dives into the single biggest expense swallowing wage gains: rent. Hosts Lucas and Luna break down why even with…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Your Raise Vanishes Into Rent Before You Feel It
Lucas and Luna dig into a surprising finding: the biggest share of average wage gains in 2025 and early 2026 has been absorbed by rent and imputed…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Disappears Into Insurance Costs
In this episode of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine how rising health insurance premiums are quietly consuming workers' pay raises…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Gets Eaten by Energy Costs
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna explore a frustrating economic puzzle: wages are growing faster than inflation, yet most workers don't…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Energy Inflation Is Quietly Reshaping Your Paycheck
Lucas and Luna examine how persistent energy costs, driven by the ongoing Iran conflict, are eating into real wage gains. With April core PCE at 3.3% and the…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Energy Inflation Is Stealing Your Paycheck
In this episode of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine why energy inflation is eroding the purchasing power of recent wage gains. With the…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
The $450 Iran War Tax on Your Paycheck
Episode 20 of Wages and Prices breaks down how geopolitical conflict directly hits your purchasing power. With the Iran war adding an estimated $450 per…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Your Raise Is Real but This Unexpected Cost Is Stealing It
Episode 19: On paper, your paycheck is growing faster than prices — average hourly earnings hit $37.40 in April and the employment cost index is climbing. So…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Feels Smaller Than Your Costs
Lucas and Luna dig into why workers feel like raises aren't keeping up, even when 3.3% core inflation seems mild. Using the latest PCE data from April and…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Stays Invisible When Inflation Is Sticky
Lucas and Luna dig into a frustrating reality of the current economy: wages are rising, but many workers still feel like they're treading water. Using the…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Feels Like a Lateral Move in This Economy
Episode 16 of Wages and Prices looks at the psychology of wage growth. With average hourly earnings at $37.40 and the CPI at 332.4, nominal pay is up over 4…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Where Your Raise Goes Before You Feel It
Episode 15 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo examines the gap between nominal wage growth and workers' purchasing power in 2026. Lucas and Luna break down…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Where Your Raise Goes Before You See It
Episode 14 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo — Lucas and Luna dig into the gap between paycheck growth and purchasing power by looking at the rise of mandatory…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
What Sticky Services Inflation Means for Your Paycheck
A new data point from April 2026 is quietly driving the gap between your raise and your purchasing power: services inflation. While goods prices have…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How the Iran War Sent Consumer Sentiment to a Record Low
Consumer sentiment hit a record low in May 2026, even as wages finally outpaced inflation for many workers. Lucas and Luna break down the paradox: why…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Vanishes Before You Feel It
Episode 11 of Wages and Prices digs into the gap between headline wage growth and what workers actually take home. Lucas and Luna examine the latest data…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Your Paycheck Is Growing Faster Than Prices for the First Time in Years
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine a rare bright spot in the cost-of-living landscape: wage growth is finally outpacing inflation for…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Health Insurance Is Eating Your Raise
Lucas and Luna dig into the latest employment cost index data and find that while wages are growing at 3.4 percent annually, employer-paid health benefit costs…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Consumer Sentiment Hit a Record Low Despite a Strong Labor Market
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index just hit an all-time low in May 2026, even as the S&P 500 sits near 7,500 and average hourly earnings…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How the Wage-Price Spiral Actually Works Today
Lucas and Luna dive into the current wage-price dynamic using fresh data from May 2026. Average hourly earnings are up to $37.40, but CPI is at 332.4 and…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How the Wage-Price Gap Varies by Occupation Type
In this episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna dig into a data point that rarely makes headlines: the gap between average hourly earnings and the…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Paycheck Outruns Prices in Some States
In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine why workers in some states are experiencing faster real wage growth than others, even with national inflation cooling…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Fed Rate Cut Odds as Consumers Keep Spending
With the Dow hitting 50,286 and core PCE still above the Fed's target, markets are pricing in rate cuts that the new Fed chair Kevin Warsh hasn't…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Real Wage Growth Still Feels Invisible to Workers
Lucas and Luna dig into a frustrating disconnect in the post-pandemic economy: average hourly earnings are up, the employment cost index is rising, but most…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Wage Growth Is Real But Your Rent Is Eating It
Lucas and Luna break down the April 2026 earnings data vs. the latest CPI print. Yes, average hourly earnings hit $37.40 an hour. But shelter costs are still…
- Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
The AI Economy Is Rewriting the American Dream for Blue-Collar Workers
In the debut episode of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine how the AI-driven economy is reshaping the American Dream for blue-collar workers. With the…