I think my boss is mentally living in 2002. Because when I told him I needed a raise, since my salary wasn’t keeping up with the cost of living, he laughed. Then, once he composed himself, he asked if I was joking, I said no. Then he proceeds to tell me that a $58,000 a year salary is more than enough to live off of. I’m single and live in Memphis, my salary barely covers the rent. What’s my next move here?

That is so out of touch. Cost of living has changed so much, and $58k does not stretch like it used to. Honestly, I would start quietly looking for a new role while you still have this one. A boss who laughs at a raise request is not someone who is going to invest in you.

You should not be asking for a raise “since your salary isn’t keeping up with the cost of living.” If you’re asking for a raise, it should be because you’re providing more value to the company in some way. Because you’ve grown your skills, because you’ve exceeded the expectations they had for you when you were hired, because your responsibilities have changed, because of something else. When costs increase for you due to inflation, they increase for the company as well.

Median household income in Memphis is $51k. For “non-families” (single people living alone or with others) is $38k (according to worldpopulationreview.com, which I know nothing about). So that would indicate that $58k is, in fact, more than enough to live on. But you might have to find a different place to rent, or get some roommates.

Others have said he isn’t qualified to say what you can live on. That’s true - but OP brought it up. If you bring up your personal finances in a conversation with your boss, then he’s entitled to tell you his opinion. Keep it professional. Don’t talk about your personal finances; talk about your value to the company.

moving to another job

Please tell me that you're looking for a better job.

Your manager evinces the all-too-common belief that his title equates with him being a superior being, and you're pond scum. Let them eat cake.

There is no excuse for a manager to ever laugh at someone like that.

Also, join your local vegan meetup and find someone to share expenses with.

I would go to HR and ask about COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) for your position. If you are within the range they might not do anything.
I was making less than that (like $43K) when I lived in the Chicago suburbs and I ended up having to get roommates to be able to live. Once I left that position I got paid more but also my living accommodations changed as well because I moved in with my boyfriend into a house he had paid off. I was still practically living paycheck to paycheck as we weren't sharing all the costs for the house (electricity, water, etc) but I still had a car loan and student loans to pay off and I was putting as much towards them so I could get rid of them.

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58k a year is plenty. base living but a raise should happen

Are you doing more than just "meeting expectations" of what your JD entails? Otherwise, COL increases are all an Employer really needs to give you (which are never more than like 1.5-2.5% a year).

If you truly aren't being compensated for the output and quality of your work, sounds like maybe it's time to be looking for another job. However, if you don't have transferable skills, than that might be why an Employer is able to only pay you $58K.

It may not be appropriate but show him your cost of living expenses.. (Not all.. just major) Show him the wage gap. If you give a visual representation it may help him understand your request better. - Rates, and Deals are no longer deals a lot of the younger generations did not get "grandfathered" in to benefited discounts like they have either.

If this is a job that you enjoy or like (if you don't cry thinking about going, you may be on the right track 🥲) Share how you want to grow with the company. Share insights on how you have made efforts, what impact they made, and how you will continue to do so, if not more. This will incentivize the raise request.

In general, keep looking. Even once you have found "THE job" I would keep looking.. you never know when the company will shut down, downsize, or what have you. Keep looking, and keep learning.

I have not seen anyone mention "call a union to see if this might be the route you want to take."

I have seen people suggesting the "I am a stellar worker who will put the interests of the company above my own" tack. If this is the case, that the company really wants to keep you specifically, then you have that power. It is diminished a bit in the negotiation if you really like this job with this company because you don't have as much incentive to walk away.

As mentioned there is the cost of training, and the cost of running a recruitment that should bias the company to keeping its present employees.

I am here because Glassdoor gives intel on the salary market in your field and area. Use this research to determine your position in the negotiation. If it is indeed the case that the company will face the additional cost of having to pay a premium on new employees to fill your position right now then that is an additional cost in addition to the regular costs of filling a position. That definitely gives you leverage personally without having to dig into hoping that your evaluation of your value to the company matches their evaluation.

However, getting to the point of the post - if the problem is that wages at the company are not keeping up to cost of living, ie that this problem is a collective problem with all the employees it might be time to take collective action enact a collective solution. I admit unionizing is definitely not going to be easy. It is definitely way more work than the small interviews people have been pitching, and could cost you your job and your reference. I also have no idea how open your coworkers are to such a proposal. However, the phone call to a local union is cheap, to go over the dangers and benefits is definitely worth it as an additional avenue of inquiry.

If you do not feel you are getting as much out of the relationship as you are putting in, that is a you problem and you need to fix that by reducing your effort to the point that you are being paid or move to an employer than can utilize your effort to its maximum potential. If the company is failing to hit the optimal point in the wage market from a micro-economic perspective that is a them problem at it is your duty as an micro-economic actor to move the wage market toward optimal and take the new job. If the problem is that the wage market is not matching the needs of the economic actors (ie that your cost of "production" is exceeding the consumers [employers] price point) it is your duty as a macro-economic actor to shift the market by collective action. Is it absolutely necessary for you to continue to have spending power, or there is a real risk of a depression. If this particular employer can not operate in an environment where they can pay wages to support that then it is company's decision to withdraw so it does make sense to run to HR to override the manager's decision individually or collectively.

Take matters into your own hands. Find another job.

Become a Sales Professional and determine you own compensation!

Your rent is 4000 a month? Although 58k a year is garbage now adays, its none of his buisness whats good for you and whats not. If your underpaid for the work you do and or havent recieved a raise in a fair amount of time, its timne for you to move on

Find a cheaper place to live. Or find a different job, employers don't care about how their employees are sacrificing to get by. Only way you will get more money is having another job offer that will force them into increasing your salary if they want to keep you.

What should base pay for remote LPN be with no remote experience but 7 yrs nursing exp?

I make 40,000 with 5 kids in Florida. No point in complaining. Someone always got it worst

If you want a deal, you need some leverage before you negotiate, in many cases, get an offer with better pay from other company before you knock on your manager`s door

What is your job position? I lived in Memphis for a time and I do understand about the cost of living…

I agree with SSC1. Don't bring up personal finances to justify a raise. When I was a manager I never understood people that would come in and ask for a raise and their only justification for it was "I just bought a new car" or "my wife is pregnant with another kid" or "my daughter is about to start college so I need to pay tuition." (All of those are real reasons I heard) It surprised me how common that was because I would never use that as a reason to ask for a raise, all it did was make me think they were bad with money. Go in with facts about how you've taken on more responsibility, become more efficient, or learned know skills to better perform your job. If you can do that and then if they either won't give you a raise or financially can't afford it then it's time to look elsewhere for employment.

Pay ranges are rarely adjusted for cost of living increases. Your best bet is to show your manager what you do for the company and why you should get paid for. If pay ranges or determined based on the cost of living, they would then have to go down if the economy went back up again. Sadly, a lot of people have had to leave their jobs to get a new job with much higher pay.

new job!

Find some additional training in your field outside of work. Also, 60k in Memphis is very doable as long as you're living within your means.